Connections to CNEWA’s world Remembering “Brother Joe” In February, a member of the CNEWA family, Brother Joseph Loewenstein, F.S.C., entered eternal life at the age of 95. In the 1980s, the man affectionately known as “Brother Joe” served as the director of our regional office in Jerusalem. He also served as the first vice chancellor of Bethlehem University and the university’s second president. As the university described him, he was “a permanent fixture [at the university] for most of its existence, educating thousands of teachers, civil society and business leaders, parents, nurses, scientists and church workers.” Brother Joe has been recognized by many for his devoted work in Palestine, particularly with those living in refugee camps as he spent more than 42 years in Bethlehem. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, in an email to CNEWA, he summed up his life: “My philosophy is ‘helping others’ — be they students, the poor, anyone in need.” It is a philosophy he lived out beautifully and passionately. May his memory be eternal.
Iraq Trip As this edition of ONE goes to press, Pope Francis has just returned to Rome from his historic apostolic trip to Iraq, 5-8 March, making him the first bishop of Rome to visit what was ancient Mesopotamia, whose diverse peoples today struggle to rebuild their homeland after more than four decades of war, displacement and persecution.
Iraq, Pope Francis is also visiting us — seeing firsthand the loving work that CNEWA has undertaken, along with our partners in the field, to make Christ present in Iraq. In a special way, we share in the excitement and joy of this moment, a moment that bears witness to the Good News so many are hungry to hear!”
The pope’s itinerary included meetings with priests and religious men and women in Baghdad, an interreligious meeting in Ur, the hometown of the prophet Abraham, a courtesy visit with Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husaymi al-Sistani in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, and visits with the faithful in Mosul, Erbil and Qaraqosh — all of it documented on our blog: cnewa. org/blog.
95 Years of Service March 2021 marks another milestone for CNEWA, as this special agency of the Holy See commemorates its 95th anniversary. Since its creation by Pope Pius XI on 11 March 1926, Catholic Near East Welfare Association has become the leading Catholic agency for its pastoral and humanitarian support of the Eastern churches in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe.
As CNEWA’s president, Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari, said recently, “In visiting
As CNEWA moves closer to marking a century of service, accompanying
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the Eastern churches in ways that, as our mission statement puts it, “build up the church, affirm human dignity, alleviate poverty, encourage dialogue — and inspire hope,” “we intend to share the stories of the remarkable witnesses of the Gospel who have offered their lives in service to all the people of God through this remarkable agent of good,” said CNEWA’s Msgr. Vaccari. Bringing CNEWA to You Beginning with the New Year, CNEWA has expanded its family of print and digital resources for donors and readers. “People, Look East,” whether in its email, blog or magazine form, offers readers insights into the world of the Eastern churches, the communities of the faithful that CNEWA is privileged to serve. This series — the magazine version of which is launched in this edition with Atonement Friar Elias Mallon’s
