CV NEWS FEED // Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan is set to visit Israel and Palestine on April 12-18 as chair of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA).
Cardinal Dolan will meet with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders during the visit, which was planned prior to Hamas’ October 7 attack, according to an April 3 news release.
Accompanied by CNEWA-Pontifical Mission’s President, Msgr Peter I. Vaccari, the Cardinal is scheduled to tour various social services and humanitarian aid facilities, as his visit marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine in 1949.
As OSV News reported, “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 that Dolan’s visit would not only serve the purpose of commemorating the Mission’s anniversary, but also communicating the Church’s “solidarity with the vulnerable throughout the Middle East, particularly in Israel and Palestine.”
Dolan will celebrate two liturgies for the Missions’ anniversary, and will visit the homes of families whose loved ones remain hostage.
La Cavita told OSV News that Dolan’s visit would go ahead as planned, despite most recent Israeli attacks on Gaza which left seven aid workers for World Central Kitchen dead.
“This is where you have to have faith that we will be protected by the Lord through the intercession of the Blessed Mother,” he said, noting that Msgr Vaccari “always” prays to the Blessed Mother for protection.
CNEWA is an agency of the Holy See that was founded in 1925, “as an instrument of love and a sign of hope for those in need scattered throughout the historic but unstable lands of the ancient Eastern churches.” The agency does this by connecting laity, priests, and bishops, in countries such as Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Ethiopia, India, Armenia, and Ukraine to a vast network of donors around the world.
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