By Gina Christian
OSV News
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York has announced he will travel to the Middle East amid a war now in its seventh month.
The cardinal will undertake a pastoral visit April 12-18 in his role as chairman of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.
Founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, CNEWA supports the Catholic Church in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe.
During his trip, Cardinal Dolan plans to meet with local Christian, Jewish and Islamic religious leaders; Israeli and Palestinian representatives; and various social service and humanitarian efforts.
The visit will mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, established by Pope Pius XII in 1949 and placed since its inception under the administration of CNEWA.
The mission functions as CNEWA’s operating agency in the Middle East, working through the local church to provide emergency aid, health care, educational support, post-traumatic counseling and catechesis to all, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation.
Over the years, the mission’s mandate has been extended to meeting the needs of all vulnerable persons throughout the Middle East.
The archbishop of New York serves as ex-officio chair of the mission’s board of trustees.
Accompanying Cardinal Dolan will be Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari, who serves as president of both CNEWA and the Pontifical Mission to Palestine.
For security reasons, the full itinerary of the trip — which does not include travel to Gaza — has not been released, CNEWA communications director Michael La Civita told OSV News.
However, La Civita said that Cardinal Dolan will reprise previous visits to Ephpheta Paul VI Institute (Effeta Betlemme), a school for hearing-impaired children in the Palestinian Territories; the House of Grace, which supports prisoners, at-risk youth, families in need and Holocaust survivors; and the Notre Dame des Douleurs (Our Lady of Sorrows) Home, which serves disadvantaged seniors.
La Civita told OSV News the cardinal’s visit had been planned prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, ambush — coinciding with a Sabbath and Jewish holiday — on some 22 locations in Israel.
Israel formally declared war on Hamas Oct. 8, placing Gaza under siege and pounding the region with airstrikes as Hamas returned fire. The ensuing humanitarian crisis has left the Middle East “on the verge of the abyss,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
