ONE Magazine December 2019 by CNEWA

one

December 2019

God • World • Human Family • Church

Transitions Opening a new chapter at CNEWA Uplifting Armenia’s poor Beginning anew in Israel Welcoming the stranger

one COVER STORY

A Letter From India by Lijo Chummar

FEATURES

Conquering Poverty With Love Caritas Armenia carries out its mission text by Gohar Abrahamyan with photographs by Nazik Armenakyan

They Call It the House of Grace Former prisoners start over in Israel text by Michele Chabin with photographs by Ilene Perlman

Heroes in Habits Young Ethiopian women answer the call text by Emeline Wuilbercq with photographs by Petterik Wiggers

DEPARTMENTS

Connections to CNEWA’s world

Issues from CNEWA’s world

Focus on the world of CNEWA by John E. Kozar

t A church at the House of Grace in Haifa, Israel provides residents with a place to focus and grow in faith.

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Volume 45 NUMBER 4

You have to see this 24 Front: Lijo Chummar walks with his catechetical class in Kerala, India. Back: Emahoy Haregewein tends the grounds at the Catholic Women’s Monastery in Holeta, Ethiopia. Photo Credits Front cover, 3 (upper right), 20-23, Sajeendran V.S.; Pages 2, 15-19, Ilene Perlman, Page 3 (top), CNS photo/Paul Haring; Pages 3 (upper left), 6-13, Nazik Armenakyan; Page 3 (lower left), CNS photo/Jon Nazca, Reuters; Pages 3 (lower right), 29-35, Back cover, Petterik Wiggers; Page 4, CNEWA; Page 5, Rick Schwab; Pages 24-5, CNS photo/ Yannis Behrakis, Reuters; Pages 25 (inset), 27, CNS Photo/Vatican Media; Pages 36-39, John E. Kozar/CNEWA. Publisher Msgr. John E. Kozar Editorial Staff Paul Grillo Deacon Greg Kandra Michael J.L. La Civita Elias Mallon, S.A., Ph.D. J.D. Conor Mauro Timothy McCarthy

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ONE is published quarterly. ISSN: 1552-2016 CNEWA Founded by the Holy Father, CNEWA shares the love of Christ with the churches and peoples of the East. CNEWA works for, through and with the Eastern Catholic churches to identify needs and implement reasonable solutions. CNEWA connects you to your brothers and sisters in need. Together, we build up the church, affirm human dignity, alleviate poverty, encourage dialogue — and inspire hope. Officers Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Chair and Treasurer Msgr. John E. Kozar, Secretary Editorial Office 1011 First Avenue, New York, NY 10022-4195 1-212-826-1480 www.cnewa.org ©2019 Catholic Near East Welfare Association. All rights reserved. Member of the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.

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News from CNEWA’s world Msgr. Vaccari to Lead CNEWA In October, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chair and treasurer of the Board of Trustees of Catholic Near East Welfare Association, announced Msgr. Peter Vaccari will succeed Msgr. John E. Kozar, joining CNEWA as vice president on 1 January 2020. At a date yet to be determined, Msgr. Kozar will retire and Msgr. Vaccari will assume his responsibilities as president. In a staff meeting in New York announcing the move, Cardinal Dolan said Msgr. Kozar had Cardinal Dolan and Msgr. Kozar welcome Msgr. Vaccari to CNEWA. approached him nearly a year ago to discuss a successor, noting he would be turning 75 in 2020 and wanted a smooth professor, chaplain with the Air Force Reserve, and transition. rector of the seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, Long Island. The cardinal offered his gratitude to Msgr. Kozar for initiating the process, expressing his personal affection Msgr. Kozar and Msgr. Vaccari shared that they hold in for him and the work he has done with CNEWA over the common a deep and long-lasting friendship, built over last eight years. many years of traveling together to the Middle East on pilgrimage, and they look forward to working together A priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, Msgr. Vaccari, 67, during this period of transition. has served as rector of St. Joseph Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York, since 2012. Ordained a priest in Turn to Page 36 to read Msgr. Kozar’s reflections on 1977, he has served as a parish priest, seminary this and more in his Focus essay.

Empowering Women In late summer, we received a report on the Kidist Mariam Center in Ethiopia. A project CNEWA has supported for several years, the center trains young women to help them build a dignified, independent future — one that can increase their household income and reduce the women’s workload. In addition, the students learn about entrepreneurship and develop communication skills, all in at atmosphere that fosters religious values. According to the report, a total of 287 students this year attended vocational courses on everything

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from food preparation to tailoring and hairdressing, with nearly 200 now working at hair salons, textile plants and restaurants. “All these activities could be done, thanks to the support of CNEWA, and the great work of our staff members and the perseverance of all our students.” Serving Lebanon’s Poor During a recent visit to CNEWA’s office north of Beirut, Sister Wardeh Kayrouz, a social worker and member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, offered an update on the activities her

congregation has undertaken — with support from CNEWA’s donors — to reach the poorest of the poor. Her community has paid special attention to those displaced because of war. Sister Wardeh and her team have helped serve nearly 200 families, many of whom had fled Iraq and northern Syria. Through a network of local churches and dispensaries, they have provided medical care and educational and cultural support. The greatest challenge they are facing now, she reported, was the high level of illiteracy among displaced children, some of whom have never been to school and are

being raised by parents who are likewise lacking any formal education. Her congregation is working to instill the importance of learning in these families, which she hopes will benefit all in the years to come. Health Care in Kurdistan In October, members of CNEWA’s emergency response team saw firsthand the invaluable work being done in Dohuk at the Mar Narsai Health Center. CNEWA helped launch this temporary health care facility in 2015 and, this year, with our funding partner Misereor, is supporting the construction of a permanent facility that will be completed in early 2020. The goal is to serve displaced Iraqis who have been forced to settle in Iraqi Kurdistan after the invasion of the Nineveh Plain by ISIS in August 2014. When completed, the new building will help care for about 120 persons a day, staffed by health care professionals working in shifts to meet the expected demand. CNEWA Visits New Jersey Our CNEWA parish visitation team continues its outreach to parishes around the country with a visit to Our Lady of Mt. Virgin Church in Middlesex, New Jersey, in the autumn. Deacon Greg Kandra preached at the Masses over the weekend, introducing parishioners to CNEWA’s work around the world. Development Officer Christopher Kennedy joined him to greet parishioners after Mass, answer questions and distribute free copies of our award-winning magazine, ONE. To learn how CNEWA can bring a message of hope to your parish, write to us at info@ cnewa.org.

Honoring ‘Spirit of Mission’ On 8 October, CNEWA was privileged to offer its first Spirit of Mission reception, honoring in a special way those who have carried forth CNEWA’s work around the world. The event was hosted by the Holy See’s then permanent observer to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, at his residence in Manhattan. The event honored the Daughters of Charity, represented by Sister Lettemariam Mogos, D.C., and the Rev. Msgr. Richard Lopez. Sister Lettemariam has served as CNEWA’s regional director in Eritrea since 2013. Her community, the

Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, runs a multitude of programs for the poor and marginalized throughout CNEWA’s world, and has long been a close partner of CNEWA. Msgr. Lopez is a priest of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. For 32 years he taught theology at St. Pius X High School, until his retirement in 2013. He and a number of his students continue to advocate for and support the work of CNEWA. The Spirit of Mission reception raised more than $14,000 for the work of women religious through CNEWA’s world.

There is even more on the Web

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Visit cnewa.org for daily updates. And find videos, stories from the field and breaking news at CNEWA’s blog, ONE-TO-ONE, at www.cnewablog.org.

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Care for Marginalized

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eep creases move across the animated face of Seda Arshakuni, revealing the suffering and pain she has endured in her 92 years. “My ancestors fled from [the city of] Kars during the exile,” she says of the Armenian Genocide, when Ottoman authorities deported and exterminated more than 1.5 million Armenian and other Christian minorities from the crumbling empire between 1915 and 1923. She was born and grew up in Gyumri. But while she was a young woman, storm clouds gathered. Soon after her marriage and the birth of her first son, the nightmare began. On one day, 14 June 1949, Stalin ordered the deportation of some 12,000 Armenians, including Seda, her husband and their 10-month-old son, to southern Siberia. “We never learned the reason,” she says. “Most probably because of my father-in-law, who had been a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation,” a banned political party that predated the founding of Soviet Armenia in 1921. “We remained in exile for seven years and I gave birth to my second and third sons in Altai. We were a cheap workforce,” she remembers. They constructed buildings, grew wheat and carried wheat-filled bags, some 200 tons among six women on a daily basis. The work took a toll. “We were embarrassed by our hands,” she says. She adjusts her black scarf with her curved fingers. “But we overcame that, too, and came back home. [Looking back], “I’d have rather stayed in Siberia,” she adds, her voice trailing off. In 1956, when she returned to her native city, she thought she had

Conquering Poverty With Love The Mission of Caritas Armenia text by Gohar Abrahamyan with photographs by Nazik Armenakyan

At 92, Seda Arshakuni is the eldest regular visitor of the Caritas Day Care Center for Seniors in Gyumri.

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CNEWA Connection t Youth take a class on bicycles in the Little Prince Center in Gyumri. u Seniors come to the Caritas Day Care Center to eat, rest, socialize, play games and more. y Student Emma Khachikyan receives a piano lesson at the Little Prince Center.

CNEWA has partnered with Caritas Armenia for a number of years, helping to support a variety of projects and programs that have given compassionate care and dignity to people for whom life has been particularly unfair and cruel. Earthquakes, political upheaval and war have left deep scars. The very old and the very young have been impacted the most — and for several winters now, CNEWA has provided funds for Caritas’s Warm Winter Appeal. We are doing it again this year. The appeal provides firewood, heating, warm clothes, food and medicine to hundreds of Armenians, many of them elderly, living in the northern reaches of the country where the winters are especially harsh. A significant number of these poor men, women and children live in homes that are little more than sheds or shipping containers — structures that were intended to be temporary after the 1988 earthquake, but which have become by necessity permanent. Volunteers and staff members of Caritas Armenia reach out to those in need to help them know security, safety and, above all, warmth. They also seek to help these people know they are not alone and they are loved. They witness to the Gospel simply by being present to them in their greatest need. Help us help them this winter — and give Armenians dignity and warmth. Visit this special web page www.cnewa.org/web/ww19, or call: 1-800-442-6392 (United States) or 1-866-322-4441 (Canada).

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overcome a lifetime’s worth of challenges. She raised a family and later returned to work as a cook for a nursery school. But again, one day changed everything. On 7 December 1988, an earthquake devastated northern Armenia. In less than a minute, 25,000 people lost their lives, tens of thousands were injured and an estimated 514,000 people became homeless. The earthquake killed Seda’s three sons. “My sons were renovating a building at the time. The building collapsed, leaving my boys trapped in the rubble. Each of them had two children, and I took care of them. Now, each of them has three, four children and it’s their turn to take care of me. “They do it well, and respect me a lot. That’s my destiny, my sorrow, but I’ll live it through with God’s help.” She remains positive — and grateful. “I have experienced many good things in life,” she says. “Twenty years ago people from Caritas knocked on my door to see if I needed anything.” Soon after Caritas established a support center for pensioners, and Seda was enrolled. “I have lived my life,” Seda explains, and “I have helped my children and grandchildren as much as I could. I live on a small pension now. There is one thing in my life that is lacking — compassion. And I get that at Caritas.”

“We are agents and collaborators in bringing messages of hope and relief to people in need.”

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aritas Armenia is part of the Caritas Internationalis family, a network of Catholic national social welfare agencies that works to eradicate poverty and carry out Catholic social teaching. “The social teaching of the Catholic Church — with its main goal of a fuller human development — is one of the best vehicles to find common ground among people of various ideological and denominational backgrounds and deepen mutual understanding,” says Father Hovsep Galstyan, the spiritual director for Caritas. Most of those whom Caritas in Armenia serves belong to the country’s historically dominant faith community, the Armenian Apostolic Church. This gives Caritas Armenia, as a social service agency, a unique platform to engage in ecumenical dialogue, Father Galstyan says. We “must be motivated by faith … as we are agents and collaborators in bringing messages of hope and relief to people in need.”

he Caritas program Mrs. Arshakuni attends every day lies in the heart of Gyumri. Established in 2006, the center hosts more than 50 seniors from 11 in the morning to 5 in the evening. It has become indispensable, particularly during cold weather; the program provides hot meals, nursing care and companionship. Some spend their time watching television — mostly news or soccer matches. Men usually play backgammon and chess in one corner of the multipurpose room; in another room, the women make themselves comfortable on their couches, playing cards or reading a book. Others make clothes and send their work to people in need — to soldiers or the underprivileged.

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raksi Demirchyan, 82, does not even watch her fingers as she sews, a lifelong

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“There is one thing in my life that is lacking hobby. She says she has been doing it for 70 years now. As she sews, she recounts how a “lifetime of circumstances” brought her here. “My husband passed away and since I don’t have children and felt alone, I decided to move to Gyumri, where my sister resides,” she says. “I have survived many hardships, but the center is a safe place where you can fully enjoy your day and escape loneliness.” Armen Martirosyan manages the centers for pensioners in Gyumri as

well as its sister facility in the village of Tashir. He says the centers focus on those who do not have mobility issues, but adds that the Caritas program for pensioners also includes regular home visits to more than 400 people confined to their homes in municipalities such as Artashat, Gavar, Gyumri and Vanadzor. “We provide food and supplies, and we also offer them access to use the public baths,” adding that the centers also provide laundry facilities and visiting nurses.

Young guests take an art class at the Little Prince Center.

— compassion. And I get that at Caritas.” “We also try to fill their day with activities so they get together and don’t feel alone,” he says. Winter, however, is the most critical time of the year. Particularly in the county’s north, temperatures can plummet to –22°F throughout the long winter season. “The extreme climate conditions, as well as the housing conditions of the elderly, make daily life for them practically impossible,” says Gagik Tarasyan, who directs Caritas Armenia. To keep warm, “they burn whatever is flammable: pasteboard,

cardboard, garbage, paper, plastic, old clothing, shoes and young tree saplings.” Some of these substances produce toxic fumes that can be harmful, even lethal. To combat this cycle, and save lives, Caritas established a Warm Winter Campaign, which CNEWA has supported for a number of years. Caritas focuses on those living in crumbling or temporary housing, such as containers and other makeshift solutions. First, Caritas’s social workers and

volunteers provide fuel to more than 700 households, rushing firewood or providing gas or electric heat through utility companies. Beneficiaries also receive food, hygiene supplies, first aid and medicines. Mr. Martirosyan is certain all areas in Armenia need such programs. However, the situation is more acute in the north, where the National Statistical Committee (N.S.C.) estimates that 44 percent of the people live below the poverty line. Nationwide, up to a third of all pensioners subsist below the poverty line. The causes are many, ranging from the 1988 earthquake, the imposition of a blockade during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, the collapse of the Soviet Union and, throughout it all, the harsh and unforgiving climate. “The country’s current problems on one hand and its extreme weather conditions on the other make the area insecure for even agriculture,” Mr. Martirosyan explains. Poverty hits children especially hard. The N.S.C. reports that in 2017, 30.8 percent of the nation’s children lived in poverty. In the Shirak province, of which Gyumri is the capital, the percentage of children living in poverty is an astounding 51.8 percent, the highest rate in Armenia. Caritas knows these statistics all too well. It has already established programmatic centers for children — all known as Little Prince centers — in Shirak, two in Lori, one in Gavar and one near Ararat. Here, children between 10 and 18 learn, play and heal. They eat together, mingle with each other, and receive social and psychological services if needed. Caritas’s child care program also promotes healthy lifestyles for

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“We can break the chain of poverty.” the children, helps working families and sponsors educational and lifeskills training. Currently, around 450 children are involved in the program. To visit one of these centers is to see a place of possibility, where Armenia’s youngest citizens get a glimpse of a brighter future.

he Little Prince center in Gyumri is located in the Ani district, or as Gyumri residents call it, the 58th district.

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Prior to the earthquake, the neighborhood was full of gardens. After the earthquake, 58 acres of gardens were replaced by multistory residential buildings — homes for families who had lost everything in the earthquake. Many of the children from the area have found another home at the Little Prince center. Armenuhi Sargsyan, a social worker at the center, says parents at first did not even know what was going to happen. They thought it

was a yet another financial aid program. “Things were different from the very beginning,” she says. “The children were shy to make use of the center’s services. They were shy to eat; they would pretend they did not need it. But many of them had not eaten meat for years. “They — parents and children — soon realized the importance of the program,” she continues. “We highlight the importance of interaction among children, we

Classes available at the Little Prince Center also include sewing and clothesmaking.

teach them how to overcome conflicts, we also work on their creative and critical thinking skills.” The center takes the children on outings, for tours or to visit cultural centers. Children keep in touch with each other even when then finish the program. Ten-year-old Sevada has been attending the center for about a year with his brother Sevak, 12, and sister Emma, 14. He plays sports and does not like to talk. “We play football and basketball here,” he shouts as he runs to continue a match, adding, “I like to come here.” Sevada is one of ten children — four boys and six girls. They live together in a small house. Emma dreams of becoming a famous pianist. She started playing the piano at the center. Her instructor notes that when Emma approaches the piano, she reverently cleans it, then washes her hands and begins to play. “We [work to] recognize the child’s potential and start working on enhancing it,” Anna Martirosyan, the center coordinator, says. “By widening their horizons, we can break the chain of poverty.” She says, too, that the children remain connected to the Little Prince Center, often returning to volunteer or to staff programs. Gohar Karapetyan, 19, is one example. She attended the center with her younger sister and is now a volunteer. When their mother died in 2013, Gohar and her sister were devastated. They rarely heard from their father, a seasonal laborer who lives abroad. They helped their grandfather’s second wife to care for the family. But by attending the center, a world of possibilities opened up to them.

Help us weave a better tomorrow and keep Armenians warm today #WeAreCNEWA www.cnewa.org/web/ww19

“I wouldn’t talk to anyone when I first enrolled,” she recalls. “I was shy and only had one or two friends. With the help of the center psychologist and social workers, I became more social and began to attend drawing and sewing classes. It helped me overcome my selfconsciousness and now I volunteer and offer programs of my own.” Together with her friends, she has begun to care for the birds in the neighborhood. “We have already built ten bird houses and feeders. We have painted the houses in original ways, benefiting both the birds and the city. We have also planned a greenhouse, and now we’re looking for a convenient place to make it happen. “Although I study at the medical college, I am expanding my interests and activities,” Gohar says proudly. “Little Prince has become a home to all of us,” she says.

aritas success stories have helped this charity of the Catholic Church in Armenia become a recognized cornerstone of social outreach in the country — especially in the north.

“Of course, Caritas can’t solve global issues, but our role has increased significantly,” says Gagik Tarasyan, director of Caritas Armenia. “We are transparent in our work, so trust in us has never faded.” Members of the Caritas Armenia family — employees, beneficiaries and partners — are developing a “deeper understanding of Caritas,” adds Father Galstyan. And that understanding is rooted in the Catholic community and the Gospel. “Its mission,” he says of Caritas, “is to offer abundant love, without any discrimination, privileges or restrictions, love given freely and unconditionally.” A communications specialist, Gohar Abrahamyan manages issues of justice and peace in the Caucasus for local and international media. GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN HAS WRITTEN MORE ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN ARMENIA AT:

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Care for Marginalized

They Call It the House of Grace In Israel, a house offers a new beginning for former prisoners text by Michele Chabin with photographs by Ilene Perlman

n 1 April 2019, Abdullah Igbari walked out of prison a free man. After having served a sentence of 28 years and four months for murder — nearly half his life — he was keen to steer clear of drugs and other temptations that could once again cost him his freedom. He realized, however, that he could not succeed on his own. And so he found the House of Grace, the only halfway house serving Arabic-speaking men released from prison in Israel. “I chose to come here because I knew I would get the help I needed,” says the 59-year-old, relaxing in the compound’s scenic stone courtyard after a long day at work as a tailor. Although entering a halfway house was not a requirement of his probation, the assistance he has received has proven crucial to his successful reintegration into society. After nearly three decades in prison, Mr. Igbari did not know how to use a cell phone or an automated bank machine. His driver’s license had expired long ago. But with the help of the house’s staff, he has been able to acclimate, find a job and function in a society he had no longer recognized. Addicted to drugs for 30 years, Mr. Igbari says he has been “clean” for 12 and intends to stay that way.

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“We’re still weak,” he says, referring to the dangers posed by temptations he and the other former inmates face — especially recovering addicts. “This is my family here, my support system.”

stablished in the early 1980’s by the late Kamil Shehade and his wife, Agnes, House of Grace is a refuge for those trying to reclaim their lives. While the facility is non-sectarian, it is guided by the Christian principles of love, forgiveness, the capacity for change and, ultimately, redemption. Here, those in dire need can find a sense of home and family. “My parents were inspired by the words in Mathew 25: ‘I was … in prison and you visited me,’” says Jamal Shehade, one of the couple’s five adult children, who now serves as House of Grace’s director. Mr. Shehade and his siblings were reared by his parents at House of Grace. From an early age, he recalls, interacting with the former prisoners “was part of our lives.” “I don’t remember when we children realized they had once been in prison; I only remember that it was normal — we were happy, and we felt there was something special in the house.” There were times, however, when the residents’ needs forced

Kamil and Agnes to cancel plans with their children. “I sometimes felt upset, but understood my parents were doing important work,” Mr. Shehade says of his devout parents, who were encouraged by Archbishop Maximos Salloum, then the Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop of Akka, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee, to learn more about the work of the Madonna House Apostolate in Canada. Founded in 1947 by Catherine Doherty and her husband Eddie, members of the Madonna House community live simply, centered on the Eucharist, dedicating their lives to witnessing the Gospel through working with the poor and the marginalized. Kamil and Agnes began inviting newly released prisoners into their home in the early 1980’s, wanting to help them integrate back into society. With the support of the archbishop, the couple founded the House of Grace in a long-derelict parish compound of the Melkite Catholic community that they lovingly restored — including the compound’s historic church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Over the years the house’s mission expanded to include not Established in 1982 in Haifa, House of Grace works to aid some of the most disadvantaged groups in Israel.

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CNEWA Connection t A local sponsor brings a food donation to House of Grace. u Residents come together at the end of the day for group therapy and discussion.

CNEWA has long worked closely to support and uplift those on the margins in Palestine and Israel. House of Grace is one more example of that — but it is far from the only one. As we have reported over the years in the pages of this magazine, CNEWA has supported and funded church outreach ministries to migrants and refugees, particularly domestic workers from the Philippines and Ethiopia, and asylum seekers from Africa and elsewhere. To be a part of this important work in the land we call “holy,” call: 1-800-442-6392 (United States) or 1-866-322-4441 (Canada). only the rehabilitation of released prisoners, but also the well-being of Christian and Muslim families from the poorest neighborhoods of Haifa, a mixed Arab-Jewish city in northern Israel, and its neighboring Arab villages. During the school year, House of Grace runs an after-school enrichment program for at-risk Arab children and teens, as well as a two-week summer camp. House of Grace also provides food packages, counseling and emergency assistance to struggling families, and runs a thrift shop open to all. Many of the people in the house’s social welfare program are women in difficult marriages or who are bringing up their children alone. “Some have been abused, some reside in shelters,” says Lina Zreik,

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a social worker in charge of counseling and logistics at the house. “Some don’t speak Hebrew well or need help to receive the rights they should be receiving. All have social and financial problems.” Ms. Zreik refers them to the appropriate government agencies and writes letters on their behalf. Many of their children attend the house’s after-school program, which has the added benefit of keeping them off the street and away from the negative influence of gangs, she adds.

r. Shehade calls the house a “bridge” between the prison and the community. “During the time they’re here,” he explains, “they are encouraged to

find a job, reestablish contact with their families, learn how to deal with debts they may have. We also teach them the skills needed to deal with the challenges of daily normal life and prevent them from running away from these challenges through drugs and alcohol.” During the first nine months of the 21-month program, residents live at the house while holding down full-time jobs. They must return by 5 p.m., dine together and clean the communal kitchen and living quarters. Once a week they meet privately with their counselor, and three times a week they gather for group therapy. They also undergo regular drug testing. For residents, the return to family and community is a gradual process. “About 50 percent of our residents are married with children,” says Elias Sussan, a social worker who directs the house’s rehabilitation program. “The first month they cannot go home, and after that they can go home every other weekend, eventually moving to once a week.” If anything, he adds, the following 12 months are even more demanding. “In prison and during the first phase at the house they are somewhat protected; they’re not being influenced by friends and family. During the second phase they have to assume the responsibilities their wives carried out alone. They need to learn to be fathers with full-time jobs.” Once those who have successfully completed the first phase leave, they are required to adhere to a strict curfew and return to House of Grace once a week for individual therapy and drug testing.

The House of Grace is guided by love, forgiveness, change and, ultimately, redemption. About 70 percent of the house’s residents stay out of prison and off drugs for the duration of the program. “The prison rehabilitation authority says this is a very high success rate,” Mr. Shehade notes. “They say the rate is about 50 percent at other facilities and 30 to 35 percent for those who don’t go to a halfway house.” Muhammad Sbeh is one of House of Grace’s most compelling success stories. He spent a total of 13 years in prison, spread across three periods of incarceration, for selling drugs and guns. “Had I not come here I’d be dead, in prison or in a mental hospital,” Mr. Sbeh, 51, says bluntly. With the staff’s encouragement, he finally cut off all ties with

his criminal associates, participated in therapy sessions and worked diligently at his construction job. Then, in a move that surprised even the hostel’s most experienced staffers, Mr. Sbeh took courses to become a certified addictions counselor. Today Mr. Sbeh works as a social adviser to former prisoners and youth at House of Grace. His eyes fill with tears as he recalls the first time he was entrusted with counseling duties. “I cried. It was emotional because no one had every believed in me before. “It strengthened my resolve to be a role model. When I sit with them they see that if I could do it, they can too.”

Several times a month, Mr. Sbeh stays overnight, acting as a “house father” figure. “I ask them about their day at work, whether they have any problems they’re trying to solve. It’s all about communication,” he says. Ali Abu Aish, who has spent 12 of his 31 years in prison, says Mr. Sbeh’s journey from prisoner to counselor inspires him every day. “He understands where we’re coming from because he lived it,” Mr. Abu Aish says. “He was in prison longer than I was, and here he is, helping us. “He really is a role model.”

n a recent summer day, as the former prisoners work at their respective jobs, the youths attending the house’s

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summer camp conduct science experiments under the watchful eyes of a teacher. On other days, the campers have tried their hands at baking, bowling, swimming, various sports and board games, and even riding in go-carts. Ten-year-old Zahra, who attends the House of Grace summer camp with her two brothers, says it has “saved” her summer. “If I wasn’t here I’d be playing games on my phone all day, every day. It’s really fun doing science experiments,” she says as she and the other children add food coloring to distinguish the contents of different test tubes.

Muhammad, an 11-year-old camper, says he loves playing soccer at camp. “I have friends here. At home I’d be playing on my Xbox.” The team at the House of Grace hopes the values instilled at the camp and the after-school program will prevent the children from falling prey to the kind of negative influences that sent the hostel’s older residents to prison. “Their parents can’t help with things like tutoring, which leads many kids to drop out of school, which leads to crime. It’s all connected,” Mr. Shehade says. He emphasizes that the support House of Grace provides to some

400 families is more than simple charity. “Though we provide financial support, we recognize that it can make families dependent. So we help them through the process necessary to stand on their own feet — to find a job or deal with problems within the family by speaking to our social workers or attending workshops.” In many cases, parents may find themselves too consumed with survival, or lacking skills to cope with certain parenting challenges. Alcohol, drugs and other self-destructive behaviors, while bringing momentary comfort, only exacerbate their problems.

“For many, it is the home of the Good Samaritan because it receives every human being regardless of religion, race and gender.”

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“I wish we could run the summer camp for additional weeks, but we lack the resources,” Mr. Shehade says, watching as children kick a soccer ball and play tag. Indeed, for all the ambitions expressed in its daily operation, the House of Grace operates with limited resources, a lean budget and a great many prayers. The Israeli government provides 40 percent of the house’s budget for the rehabilitation of prisoners, but pays nothing toward its other services. Catholic Near East Welfare Association and other charitable organizations and individuals, international and local, provide the house with the necessary funds and supplies to enable the community to continue its service to the marginalized of Haifa. However, it is the prayers of its supporters on which the House of Grace relies. “We rely on this support,” Mr. Shehade says. “Miracles are happening here and for us to be able to carry out our ministry we need not only financial support but prayers that our existence as Christians in the Holy Land can continue.”

lthough geared toward Israel’s disproportionately poor and underserved Arabic-speaking community, House of Grace also helps its Jewish neighbors receive services by referring them to the appropriate government agencies or charity organizations. “We don’t make a distinction between Arabs, Christians, Muslims, Jews. We are open to everybody,” Mr. Shehade stresses. Christians comprise just 2 percent of Israel’s population and even less in the West Bank and Gaza. “We strive to be a living example of what a Christian person is,” the director says. t Brothers Thomas, Jamal and Bernard stand with their mother, Agnes, who with her husband founded the house.

When people need a second chance, we are there #WeAreCNEWA www.mideastcnewa.org

Janet Matar, the 83-year-old Anglican volunteer who runs the house’s thrift shop, voices the same sentiment. “I don’t ask who is who,” Matar says of her shop’s varied customers, who include people who cannot afford to pay anything. “What is important is to give.” “For many,” remarks the pastor of the city’s Melkite Greek Catholic community, “it is the home of the Good Samaritan.” Archimandrite Agapios George Abu Sa’ada believes the House of Grace is truly living the Gospel, as “it receives every human being regardless of his religion, race and gender.” Amir Kouni, 48, who has been in and out of prisons for selling drugs and weapons, expressed gratitude for the acceptance he has received at the house. “This is why I came here. I don’t want to go back to prison. I want to be an honest person.” Mr. Kouni, who was completing the last day of his nine-month stay, says he has undergone a “reckoning.” “We sit and talk in group therapy. In drama therapy I learned not to keep everything inside. I thought I

knew everything but it turns out, I don’t. I admitted that I didn’t raise my three daughters. They suffered. So did my wife.” In a life marked with regret and shame, Mr. Kouni now shares a cause for pride. “I did something good here, during these nine months at the halfway house. It’s a start.” Jerusalem-based journalist Michele Chabin has written for USA TODAY, National Catholic Register, Jewish Journal and ONE.

READ MORE ABOUT THE HOUSE OF GRACE ON OUR BLOG AT:

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cnewablog.org/web/ Dec19Grace MICHELE CHABIN AND ILENE PERLMAN HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT COVERING THIS STORY IN AN EXCLUSIVE VIDEO:

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Accompanying the Church

A letter from

India

by Lijo Chummar

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y name is Lijo Chummar. I’m the headmaster of a Sunday school in the state of Kerala in south India. I consider it a privilege to lead young minds on the path of faith. It’s something I’ve done for nearly 30 years. Being a catechism teacher has its share of responsibilities — to the church, to the parish, to parishioners. But above all we teachers are called to help guide the young ones on their journey of faith. We have 2,000 Catholic families in our parish and 50 teachers in the school. Together, we teach the students to look after those who have less than they do.

We teach them to reach out to everyone: beggars on the streets, people with leprosy, those who are mentally ill and those who have no one to look after them. Our students wash and feed them and remind them of their inherent dignity. I believe the lessons learned outside the classroom are as important as what is learned inside. We give books to people at railway stations, bus stops and hospitals. We visit those in need at psychiatric hospitals, orphanages, homes for the elderly and homes for the disabled. This, I feel, is my biggest challenge: Inculcate in young

people the idea that faith is more than a theory or a philosophy — it is something practiced and lived. How does one become a catechist? I was fortunate to have Christ in my life from a very early age. I grew up in a Syro-Malabar Catholic family in a village called Edakunnu. We were a family of four: my mom, dad, my sister Laji, and me. My parents were both teachers. Our life was simple. Edakunnu was away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Most of the families there were Catholic. Most men were farmers and women either helped with farming or

Lijo Chummar directs his students during an event in which the relics of St. Mariam Thresia were displayed for public veneration.

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looked after their homes. Church was the center of their lives. Holidays were focused on saints or religious events. On Fridays, people did not eat meat. On Sundays, everybody went to Mass. Church leaders ran schools and hospitals. Monks and nuns provided food and shelter for travelers. Priests recorded births, married people and presided at funerals. This simple lifestyle and faith cultivated in me a real love for our Catholic culture. The Carmelite Sisters ran my school. The sisters used to help poor families by counseling them, especially those who were addicted to drugs or alcohol. They inspired me to help recovering addicts when I was older. There were other influences as well. There was a convent run by the Sisters of Nazareth near my house. It had a 100-acre farm with a hospital and an orphanage. A monastery was also situated nearby, and there was a home for retired priests in my village. Mass was celebrated at 5 every morning. My mother used to take me every single day, beginning when I was very young. When I look back at it now, it was indeed a great blessing to have had a wonderful Christian influence so early in my life.

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One of my memorable experiences in Edakunnu was meeting a saintly priest, Msgr. Mathew Mankuzhukari, who was my confessor for five years. This experience drew me closer to being involved in parish life. My sister and I used to visit the convent library and started reading the biographies of Catholic saints. One of the books I read was about St. Maria Goretti. This was the first book I read that provided an intimate look into the mind and heart of a saint. Her simplicity and purity captured my heart. Then I read about St. Francis Xavier, who is called “the Second Apostle of India,” after St. Thomas. This book gave me an entirely new perspective about mission and evangelization. Later I read the lives of many saints and developed an ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and a special love for the Mother of our beloved Lord. In 1990, the Holy Spirit had a profound effect on the church of Kerala, sweeping over the region through the Potta Divine Retreat Centers. Divine Retreat Center, which claims to have been ministered to ten million people, was founded in

1987 by Vincentian priests. This blossomed quickly into the largest Catholic retreat center in the world, helping to spread charismatic Catholicism in India. In 1991, I attended a charismatic retreat. It transformed my life. For this I owe much to the Potta Divine ministry. At Potta Divine, I had a glimpse of what the evangelical life of the early church might have been. I was also able to hear gifted priests preach the Gospel and experience the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This renewal experience touched my life profoundly.

ears have passed since Edakunnu. I now live with my family in the city of Trichur, where I teach mechanical engineering at the Government Engineering College. My wife Shiny and I have three children: two teenage daughters, Josiya and Sefaniya, and my son Jesse. Jesse is studying to be a Syro-Malabar priest at the Kottayam Vadavathoor seminary. The Book of Proverbs tells us: “Train a boy in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not swerve from it.”

t Mr. Chummar visits Amma, a palliative care center run by the Holy Family Sisters in Trichur. u Distributing supplies to those in need is one of the many ways Mr. Chummar lives his faith.

These words became true in my life. My children have strong faith. Even when they were young, they used to go to church and attend Mass every day. They used to fast and abstain from candy and cake. On Christmas or Easter morning, as soon as Mass was over, we used to distribute sweets to the poor. The joy they experienced was immeasurable. A couple memories from their childhood are still fresh in my mind. One day when my son and I were walking in the market, a couple of beggars, men we had been seeing and helping for years, recognized us and came to us. They held our hands in joy. Then they put their hands on us and blessed us. Another time, we were visiting an old age home. One of the mothers there thought I was her son. She came to me and gave me food. Both these instances fill my eyes with tears of happiness as I recall them. Since the experience at the retreat, my prayer life changed and I had a fervent zeal to share the Gospel with my friends and neighbors. I shared my experiences with my local priest. He asked me me to start a prayer group in our parish, as well as serve as a religious teacher there. Our group was a huge success. In time, it expanded. Many others joined in. Today, our prayer group includes doctors, engineers, businessmen, teachers, taxi drivers and many others. Sadly, this mission dwindled after the big floods in Kerala in 2018. But we continue in our service, albeit on a smaller scale for now.

Prayer continues to guide us in all we do. We have a young priest in our eparchy, the Rev. Jijo Vakaparambil. One day, he was diagnosed with cancer. All of us in the parish started praying for him. We wondered how we could help him. This led us to undertake a pilgrimage to a mountain in our eparchy called Kanakamala. We climbed the mountain, carrying in our hearts two intentions: Heal this priest and bring an end to the sale of alcohol in our town, which has caused so much hardship and pain. The Lord answered our cries majestically. The priest was

healed and liquor sales dropped. As a result, every year we make a pilgrimage to this holy mountain. Our present intentions are for the sanctification and physical healings of priests all over the world and for healing and deliverance for all those addicted to alcohol. When I share my humble experiences of my Christian life, I have to add this: I have nothing to boast. It is only pure grace, as St. Paul says. It is not me, but the grace of the Lord working through me. So I give all honor and glory to my beloved savior, the Lord Jesus.n

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Issues from CNEWAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world

The Stranger by Elias D. Mallon, S.A., Ph. D.

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Editors’ note: To uplift and give dignity to all God’s children, and to offer aid to people in need, are important components of CNEWA’s mission. In our own day, increasingly those people in need are men, women and children in flight: migrants, refugees, displaced persons of all kinds. Whether the dateline is Syria, Ethiopia, India or Egypt, the news every day brings more stories of people fleeing persecution, war, terrorism and natural disasters — and CNEWA has consistently answered the local church’s call for help, extending a hand or an embrace, offering a warm meal or a safe haven. As we

have declared often: We strive to follow the lesson of the Good Samaritan to “go and do likewise” and to bind the wounds of a broken world. That mission can often be obscured by the divisions and discord that mark so much of our world today. But our call to“welcome the stranger” is part of our call as Christian disciples. It is intrinsic to the Gospel. With that in mind, Atonement Father Elias D. Mallon offers here a vitally important perspective we believe can offer light and hope to a world that today seems too often overshadowed by doubt and fear.

he world is facing the largest mass movement of people in history. There have been mass movements of people before. Most of these were connected with violence. The movements of the “barbarians” in the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries and the Mongol invasions of the 13th century are merely two examples. Each of these was accompanied by great destruction and changed the world forever. The present mass movement of peoples is different in several ways: It is not connected with military violence nor is it limited to one people, such as the Vandals, the Huns or the Mongols; it is global. With refugees coming from the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America and elsewhere, the contemporary mass movement of peoples is unique in world history. The world of CNEWA is doubly impacted by this kind of movement. Some of the countries where we work, such as Iraq, are experiencing massive emigrations, especially of the young. Other countries, such as Lebanon and Jordan, are “target countries” that are being flooded with refugees they can hardly sustain. For Pope Francis, this movement of peoples and the suffering it entails has been a constant theme of his pontificate. One of the first things Francis did as pope was to visit Lampedusa, a small island in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Africa. It is the first piece of European dry land that many refugees from Africa and elsewhere reach. Tragically, it is a goal that has claimed the lives of many who tried to get there on overfilled, dangerously inadequate boats. Pope Francis has also has visited Middle Eastern refugees on the A broken-down dinghy overcrowded with Syrian refugees floats in the Aegean Sea in the summer of 2015.

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Greek islands — also favored points of disembarkation in Europe — a journey all too often ending in death at sea. He has seen the suffering and knows it firsthand. The pope addresses that suffering powerfully and poignantly in his 2019 message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The theme of the pope’s message is “it is not just about migrants.” Speaking of a “growing trend to extreme individualism” and “a utilitarian (equating the value of human life with usefulness) mentality,” the pope speaks of a “globalization of indifference.” This is a truly frightening concept. Resistance and even opposition may be difficult but they can usually be dealt with. Indifference, on the other hand, is almost invincible. Why? Because indifference says, “I just don’t care.” In his message, Pope Francis recognizes the challenges that “target countries” face in receiving and absorbing large numbers of displaced people. Consider, for example, Lebanon. For a time, almost a quarter of the population of Lebanon consisted of refugees. The social, political and economic impact of this reality was almost impossible for the tiny country, which is about one-third the size of the U.S. state of Maryland. Francis recognizes that this generates fear and “to some extent, the fear is legitimate … because the preparation for this encounter is lacking.” Nevertheless, in this tremendous challenge, the pope sees an opportunity to retrieve the compassion that is central to the message of Jesus.

here is no doubt the mass movement of peoples in our world has an impact on just about every aspect of a target county’s life. It would be naïve and

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foolhardy — and Francis is most definitely neither — to overlook the overwhelming political challenges that are inextricably interwoven with the moral and religious dimensions. The moral and religious dimensions of the treatment of migrants and foreigners are also deeply woven into the much-touted Judeo-Christian moral code. While Francis is aware of this, far too many Catholics are not. But it is deeply engrained in our religious tradition.

“For Pope Francis the movement of peoples and the suffering it entails has been a constant theme”

The word ger in Hebrew means “alien, foreigner, stranger.” It appears 88 times in the Old Testament, mostly in the legal texts. The Law of Moses consistently sees three specially protected groups in Israelite society: the widow, the orphan and the stranger (ger). Abuse and mistreatment of these people are what traditionally are referred to as “crimes that cry out to God for vengeance.” That is to say: In the Law of Moses, if the widow, the orphan and stranger are not protected by the dominant society, God will punish that society. It is rare but not unheard of that a law in the Old Testament is

accompanied by a rationale. However, there is an extraordinary verse in Leviticus 19:33 (with similar verses in Exodus 22; 21, 23:9): “If a stranger lives in your land, you must not molest him. The stranger (ger) is to be to you like a native. You must love the stranger (ger) as yourself for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am YHWH your God.” There are several things important here. By ending the law with “I am YHWH your God,” it is clear this is not merely a suggestion or ideal. It is a demand of the God of Israel. It is clear that, not only the period of slavery in Egypt, but also the liberation from that slavery had a profound impact on the religious ethics of the ancient Hebrews. While it may come as a shock to some, the “nuclear family” is a modern invention and was unknown in the ancient world. The “family” was always the extended family, extending to the point of becoming a clan or a tribe. The stories about the origins of the “Twelve Tribes” in the Book of Genesis all trace each tribe back to what is called an eponymous (one who gives the name) ancestor. Hence, each tribe saw itself as a family. Thus the idea of extending protection, hospitality and kindness to someone beyond the extended family — the ger or alien — was a revolutionary break with the customs of the time and region. It introduces a more universal ethic into the religion of the ancient Hebrews. Another interesting point, with contemporary implications, is that the Israelites are commanded to treat the stranger as a “native.” The Hebrew word used here is ’ezrah. It has the connotation of something that has sprung up from the native soil (see Psalm 37:35). It is interesting that the racism of the Nazis was expressed by Blut und Boden (“Blood and Soil”) in

German. Recently the expression has been used by people and politicians on the extreme right to attack migrants as “foreigners” (very often of a different skin color). It is ironic that Israel’s enslavement in Egypt provided a motivation for compassion. In sharp contrast, the hatred of what the pope calls “nationalists” against immigrants in North America, for example, ironically lacks the self-transparency to see that they themselves were not long ago also immigrants. The “Golden Rule” of “do unto others” (crucial in

Leviticus 19:34) seems to have been forgotten or simply does not apply. Such treatment of the stranger and alien contradicts the JudeoChristian tradition. With an almost uncanny precision, God commands the Israelites not merely to tolerate, but to love the stranger as if he or she were as native as the local soil. That is not always an easy thing to do. There are huge challenges and people are — at times justifiably — afraid. In a pastoral way, however, Pope Francis calls us to overcome our very real fears and

A migrant hugs Pope Francis after a 15 February 2019 Mass for migrants and many Catholic organizations and individuals who help them.

respond to the challenge — indeed the command — of God to love the stranger as ourselves. For Jesus, this is the Great Commandment: to love our God with all our being, and our neighbor as ourselves. For the follower of Jesus, regardless how difficult it may be, this is not merely a suggestion. n

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Building the Church

Heroes in Habits Young Ethiopian women answer the call to religious life text by Emeline Wuilbercq with photographs by Petterik Wiggers

“H

ere, there will be a church,” says Emahoy Haregawin. (Emahoy is the title granted to religious sisters in the Ethiopic tradition.) “And further,” pointing to an empty space, “our monastery.” It may take a bit of imagination to visualize what this vast lot will look like when the work is completed, but her enthusiasm leaves no doubt about the project’s realization. Here, in Holeta, a village 20 miles northwest of the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, cattle mill about in the barn; girls prepare spices; others pick vegetables in the garden. Emahoy Haregawin is putting all her energy into the founding of the first Catholic monastery for women in Ethiopia, where Catholics make up less than 1 percent of the population. She is determined to carry out the construction of a home where she and other women can observe the Rule of St. Benedict — a lifestyle combining contemplation and action, as summed up in the motto,

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“Ora et labora” (prayer and work). It is a dream long ensconced in her head and heart. Once a member of another congregation for 17 years — the Little Sisters of Jesus, whose vocation is that of a contemplative life among people in small communities — Emahoy Haregawin says she knew she was not totally fulfilled. She discerned a different call. “It was in me,” she says. “I discovered it little by little. But it takes time to answer the inner call. “I had a calling within a calling: Why not live a monastic life in Ethiopia?” However, the Ethiopian context offered little room to live fully her vocation of the contemplative in action. Here, the monastic tradition has no real presence among the Catholic community; religious congregations for women are usually active, and its members are missionaries. This is astonishing in a predominantly Orthodox country, where “Christianity is dominated by monastic life,” she says.

But the many needs of an impoverished country have made Catholic religious life here fundamentally active, with apostolates carried out for decades through Catholic schools, child care programs, clinics and dispensaries. “The Ethiopian Catholic Church lacks a monastic, contemplative life,” the sister says. “If we get there, we will spread something. “It’s a call to the church itself: It is necessary in a country that there be monasteries, places where contemplatives dedicate their lives to prayer, voicing the silent prayers and fears of believers to God!” Indeed, even without a finished facility, the efforts of Emahoy Haregawin have already made a mark, inspiring others to consider a life of loving service and continuous prayer in God’s name. Emahoy Haregewein walks the grounds she is gradually transforming into the Catholic Women's Monastery in Holeta.

he unfinished monastery already attracts vocations. Four young women live here, determined to embrace this religious life, despite the challenges. “They are young girls who go to church, who were raised in believing families,” she says, noting that not all come from Catholic roots. “They want to serve and give themselves to God.” Among those seeking to join in the life of this monastery is Bayush Gebre, a 22-year-old girl from Mendida, about 60 miles northeast of the capital. With braided hair framing her shy smile, Ms. Gebre serves as the conductor of the community. She sings the psalms with vigor while playing a keyboard in the small chapel, guiding the other sisters in prayer. She has been here just over a year. It takes five years to complete formation, concluding with final vows.

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When she was a child, Ms. Gebre was attracted by the activities of the priests and sisters of her parish. She taught catechetical classes to children. “This desire that I had when I was a kid grew in me. Today, I’m happy and I have the vocation to develop it through prayer,” she says. However, the road has been fraught with difficulties, as one of her grandmothers found it difficult to understand how the child she had reared had decided to walk this path. She wistfully remembers when the young Ms. Gebre would help her around the house with chores, a stark contrast to the young woman’s quiet, prayerful life today. Even if it takes time to convince the relatives, Emahoy Haregawin says, “they feel very happy to give their child to the church eventually.” She adds another note many parents consider: “There is also the

idea that if she becomes a religious person, she will be educated.” Even if Ms. Gebre misses the parish activities and more time with her friends and family, she says formation has only made her stronger. “I don’t regret anything,” she says. “It was my decision to be in a community in a daily prayer life. I’m now looking for more.” But to be part of the founding of a monastery is not without its difficulties. According to Emahoy Haregawin, one of the challenges is the background of most postulants to religious life. u Emahoy Haregewein works in the reading room of the monastery. q Aspirants Birtukan Midju, Ejigayehu Addise and Azeb Kotchito see to daily chores.

“When you feel the call of God, you can give your life at any time.” “In Ethiopia, a girl has to fetch water and wood, milk the cow, care for sheep, walk two hours to go to school,” adding that the girls are born into a rural and patriarchal culture and reared to serve at home. “We must teach them everything: catechesis, cleaning, reading. We really need an available sister who will examine their ongoing formation carefully.” Emahoy Haregawin says she sometimes feels overwhelmed by such a mountain of tasks and responsibilities. The sisters milk cows, take care of the hens, make charcoal from wood, make jams and, above all, prepare the eucharistic breads for the closest parish where they go every Sunday, bringing along vegetables, eggs and even the candles and rosaries to sell. “When we do not have electricity during the day, the young girls sometimes stay up all night to prepare the bread,” says the sister, whose means are too limited to

purchase a generator. However, such challenges merely highlight that these young women have an immense desire to learn. “It takes time, presence and patience,” she says, adding she can depend on the girls’ good will. The young candidate Ms. Gebre understands establishing a new convent is challenging. “Through prayer, we can overcome it,” she says simply. “They give me courage,” Emahoy Haregawin says, smiling. “They tell me, ‘we are about to pray, but continue to work, we will pray for you.’”

“T

he foundress is everything to this place,” says Ms. Gebre, speaking of the monastic founder. “When she is out of the compound, we have to take on more responsibilities. We sometimes make mistakes, often because we are so few.”

Sisters are few because of a crisis of vocations to religious life — albeit in a different way than in many other parts of the world. “Urbanization and rapid economic and political changes can limit vocations in our culture,” explains Emahoy Haregawin. Young woman feel their options have expanded, and their curiosity pushes them to test everything. This can lead to a widening gap with older generations. “In Ethiopia, a girl [is expected] to be raised with her parents; if she decides to start her life, she has to get married. It’s even more serious in a religious life: The girls think that if they have had relationships with men, they cannot have a religious life.” The sister says she works hard to dispel such notions. “When you feel the call of God, you can give your life at any time.”

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The

CNEWA Connection t Bayush Gebre, a postulant at the monestary, looks forward to a life of prayer and service. u Sisters tend the animals and grounds at the monastery in Holeta.

While Catholics make up a small minority in Ethiopia, the Catholic presence there is significant, with priests, brothers, religious sisters and a growing number of lay people serving as teachers and catechists across the country. CNEWA assists them and accompanies the church in its mission by helping to form vocations of all kinds. Over the years, CNEWA has been instrumental in helping to educate and form generations of priests, religious sisters and university students. We have also helped grow the faith throughout the country, where Orthodox Christianity is dominant, by helping to further the education of Orthodox priests. We are also partnering with local churches to help build up Christian families and strengthen Christian marriages, supporting initiatives such as those at the Kidist Mariam Center in Meki, which works to form families with Christian values and ease financial strains through vocational training. CNEWA also supports a particularly important program — a growing prison chaplaincy program, now active in 11 prisons. CNEWA is proud to help fund this initiative and form lay people to minister to incarcerated men and women. To support and encourage all kinds of vocations in Ethiopia, call: 1-800-442-6392 (United States) or 1-866-322-4441 (Canada). Other obstacles, still, stand before vocations — poverty, for example. In Addis Ababa, Consolata Missionary Sister Getenesh has been involved in the formation of sisters for 16 years. She confirms that poverty is a big challenge in a country where

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about a third of its inhabitants live below the poverty line. “The sisters give themselves to Jesus, without any financial return, so their family doesn’t get anything out of it, despite expectations,” she explains.

Because most rural people send their children to school in order to get help, they see their children as “economic assets for the family,” says Argaw Fantu, CNEWA’s regional director in Ethiopia. The acceptance of having a child who would only help their family through prayer takes some time. Another obstacle is peer influence, he adds, especially because most Ethiopian girls in the rural areas are expected to marry and build their own families. “The reaction of my family was a big challenge for me,” confides one novice, 28-year-old Ejigayehu Addise, who is in her third year of theological studies. “They didn’t accept my decision. Some wanted me to work as an accountant, some wanted me to get married and have children. But the call remained in my heart. I prayed a lot to convince them and join the congregation.” They still remain puzzled by her choice. “They don’t understand why we waste our time without getting married; they consider it useless,” she says. “Girls around my age, if they are not married and have a family, they are not accepted,” says Birtukan Midju, another novice. “People discourage you. My parents think I’m doing wrong. But I gave priority to my feelings. It’s my decision; it’s my life. However, if you are not very strong in your choice, you get easily discouraged.” So, inevitably, some decide to ignore this call, a decision that saddens Sister Getenesh, who takes the time to talk to these girls to help determine if their decision is strong enough to overcome the way other people look at them.

“It takes time, presence and patience.”

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We’re helping sisters to spread the love in Ethiopia #WeAreCNEWA www.ethiopiacnewa.org

“It’s challenging, but something inside is stronger than their doubts,” Ms. Addise says. In Ethiopia, family reactions tend to be different among Orthodox believers, who appreciate the consecrated life, but view it in extremely stark terms. “My family encouraged me to follow this kind of life, but told me not to come back,” says Sister Weletemariam Moges, 35, who, covered in a medical coat, helps at the dispensary of the convent. It took her nine years to make her final vows at the Getesemani Monastery, an Orthodox community of 85 women established in Sebeta, 15 miles southwest of Addis Ababa, in 1961. This was two years longer than the maximum time required to complete her formation, called wetane, which typically takes three to seven years. But she wanted to strengthen herself, to be ready and well-prepared for vows. Originally the palace of Empress Menen, wife of Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia, the monastery provides not just a home to sisters, but also offers health care services, child care and farming assistance. “I have not visited my family in nine years,” she says. “It was my decision to give my life. Sometimes,

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we talk over the phone. They came once, after a gap of three or four years. I was happy not only that they came to visit me but also that they received blessings from the convent.”

n Addis Ababa, Sister Getenesh is hopeful: The number of girls who have decided to join the congregation has increased to 14, including six candidates or postulants who study in an environment of faith, and help the community through activities in schools, orphanages, and also at the church. “They are sisters without the veil,” Emahoy Getenesh jokes. She prefers that these young women spend as much time in formation as they need. “All of them could have been sisters already. We keep them long, sometimes ten years. They need time to discern and prepare,” she adds. Afterward, they are sent to Italy for two years of novitiate. According to the sister, this process is also defined by generational changes. “It’s a ‘dot-com’ generation, a Facebook generation, so their faith needs to be strengthened. This new generation needs this kind of training.”

The way to go is long, she says, before giving oneself entirely to God, and full of temptations and doubts. It took Sister Ayeletch of the Daughters of St. Anne the courage to overcome the challenges that are inherent to religious formation. Originally from a poor and illiterate family living in Bonga, the 22-yearold woman has recently made her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. During her formation in Addis Ababa, however, she found her faith tested twice. Four sisters from her congregation died in a car accident. Then her father passed away. She had to be strong to vanquish the pain and doubts. Now, she is getting ready to serve the community in the St. Raphael School for Blind Children in northern Ethiopia. Though she sometimes feels frustrated by her choice not to build her own family, she says she compares herself to her mother and her five children, and realizes she can reach many more people through the life she has chosen. “When I consider myself I may think that I’m nothing, and that I cannot make a significant change,” she says. “But God through me may do something different. My vocation is to help people. “What does the community need? Love. I want to share the love of Christ to the youngsters.” “It is a worthy sacrifice: The sisters are called for a greater cause,” comments Emahoy Haregawin in Holeta. “Our religious presence in the environment manifests itself in prayer and the desire to share our faith with others.” Ms. Gebre expresses this very desire, wishing young people to be closer to the church. She prays for them at this time of uncertainty in Ethiopia, where ethnic and religious conflicts have taken the lives of many people.

“When the youngsters are closer to the church, they learn about their faith and identity, about who they are and their purpose. If I were not in this kind of relationship with the church, maybe I would not be where I am now.” Through the prayer of the sisters, she hopes to help people to grow in their Christian values. This is also what motivates Ms. Addise, who has always wanted to be a missionary. “I was very happy when I joined the Consolata Missionary Sisters. They received us as a family. We also have what we need materially and spiritually to fulfill our journey,” she says. And whenever she has doubts, she can rely on Sister Getenesh, who accompanies the young women on their religious path. “We share our feelings and difficulties once or twice a week. It helps me improve how I behave as a sister, to mold my behavior and my character,” she adds. Although it is sometimes difficult

to live in community, and to cope with one another’s habits, they make compromises and constantly learn about each other, fostering understanding and acceptance. “We became blood sisters,” explains one postulant, Azeb Kotchito. Sister Getenesh would like to welcome more young women into the community, but they do not have enough resources to accommodate additional aspirants, which is another obstacle in building religious life for women in Ethiopia. Emahoy Haregawin hopes to send the postulants abroad for their novitiate — to Kenya or Uganda, perhaps — so they can evolve in their religious journey without having to wait for the monastery to be completed. Yet even as the facilities are far from finished, she looks upon what they have with gratitude. Something wondrous, she believes, is being built.

“I see the hand of God, his grace in the foundation,” she says with a broad smile. Emeline Wuilbercq is a French journalist based in Addis Ababa, where she serves as a correspondent for the African edition of Le Monde. Her work has appeared in Jeune Afrique and The Guardian, among other publications.

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT VOCATIONS IN ETHIOPIA AT:

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cnewablog.org/web/ Dec19Ethiopia WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT RELIGIOUS SISTERS IN ETHIOPIA AT:

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Focus

on the world of CNEWA

“We journey together and transition as Jesus has taught us.”

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y now you have probably heard the news that the Holy See has approved a successor for me, Msgr. Peter Vaccari, currently the rector of St. Joseph Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York. (See Page 4 for more details.) We will be sharing more details of this transition and plan of succession as we move ahead on this journey. Msgr. Vaccari is extremely well qualified and suited to serve in this important leadership role at CNEWA. And he is very excited to begin serving those in need in our CNEWA world. The plan of succession and an orderly transition to surround it was initiated by myself and was strongly t Ethiopian Orthodox clergy process in Lalibela, Ethiopia, during Msgr. John E. Kozarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2014 pastoral visit. p Two Ethiopian faithful rest against the stones of Lalibela, in 2014.

supported by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chair of the Board of Trustees at CNEWA, and all the board members. Even more noteworthy is the full support of the Holy See in approving the nomination and election of Msgr. Vaccari, and the kindness extended to me in including me in this planning process. Times of transition often make us think about the many changes we undergo in our lives â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but at this time, I am thinking in a special way about our work at CNEWA, work that goes on with fervor and joy. Transition seems to permeate so much of what we do and how we do it. Jesus provides the perfect role model for all time, showing us how a Christian, through baptism, participates in a lifetime of transition. We realize that this life here on earth, for all its joys and sorrows, is only temporary. For a person of faith, it represents a journey, a transition that, through

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the personal witness of Jesus in his life, death and resurrection, can prepare us for the eternal life that God invites us to share with him in heaven. Of course, the majority of faithful in our CNEWA world suffer. Many are oppressed, exploited, persecuted or have little or nothing to call their own. Even though so many of these poor souls represent the “havenots,” they do not complain. They look for a ray of hope in this process of transition; they often find that hope only in Jesus. I remember seeing displaced people living in misery, who hold high the cross of Jesus and proclaim his cross as a symbol of victory. In their hearts, Jesus holds each of them in his arms and carries them on the journey from this life to an infinitely better one. And the church is there to assist. Religious sisters, priests, lay leaders — and CNEWA — walk with them. We journey together and transition as Jesus has taught us. Many people are afraid of any transition, as they find no guarantees of security. However, Jesus and his church assure us if we are faithful with him and walk with him, we can possess eternal life and can

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overcome all adversity, suffering and evil. In our humble service, and in the good works of CNEWA, we are so often edified by the heroic example of those who suffer so much more than we could ever imagine. And yet, they continue on this journey of faith, this lifelong process of transition, following Christ to an eternal reward. The children I have encountered in my travels often give the most poignant and unadulterated example of not fearing transition to a better life. I recall their prayerfulness, their acts of charity with siblings and other children. Again and again, they share completely what little they have — truly modeling their friendship with our Lord. So often, they show no fear. So the transition from this life to an infinitely better one, in an environment of hope, is at the heart of our CNEWA ministry. We walk with the local church, through our prayers and offerings, reaching out to assist with basic pastoral and material needs to make the transition more sustainable and hope-filled. As I welcome Msgr. Vaccari to join me in a shared role of leadership

p Youth prepare to receive their first Communion in the village of Ader, Jordan, in 2014. u A church celebration welcomes dignitaries attending a missionary conference in New Delhi, India, in 2012.

and service at CNEWA, I am uplifted and encouraged in this journey, this transition we will be making together, knowing CNEWA will not just carry on, but will flourish because our Lord has assured us so. You join us on this journey and you sustain the many good works and ministries that we are privileged to provide in service to the church universal and in the name of Pope Francis through your prayers and financial gifts. The poor whom we serve are so much better equipped to continue the journey of transition because CNEWA walks with them. In their name, I thank all of you and invite your prayers as Msgr. Vaccari and I enter into our own special version of transition. May the Holy Spirit always illumine our way. Blessings to all of you,

READ MORE ABOUT MSGR. KOZARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SUCCESSOR ON PAGE 4: MSGR. KOZAR REFLECTS ON TRANSITIONS IN LIFE IN A VIDEO AT: onemagazinehome.org/ web/Dec19FocusVideo

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