Iraqi Christians Under Siege

Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 February 2011 17:58 Tuesday, 15 February 2011 17:45

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In Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, around 230,000 Iraqi Christian refugees live in limbo. Isolated and impoverished they urgently need, food, shelter, medical aid, legal and spiritual counseling.

In Iraq, around 350,000 Iraqi Christians are struggling to keep a Christian presence in the country.

In 2003, there were one million. Living in fear and in poverty, families, priests and religious need protection, jobs and resources to keep the faith alive.

About CNEWA (Catholic Near East Welfare Association)

Amidst the upheavals and challenges of the modern world, CNEWA (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) has been a lifeline for those in need throughout the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe for more than 75 years.

Founded in 1926 by Pope Pius XI, CNEWA’s mandate is:

• to support the pastoral mission and
institutions of the Eastern Catholic
churches.

• to provide humanitarian assistance
to those in need without regard
to nationality or creed.

• to promote Christian unity and
interreligious understanding and
collaboration.

• to educate people in the West about the history, cultures, peoples and
churches of the East.

CNEWA does not have inflexible priorities – they are set based upon time, place and urgency of need. We do not compete; if other agencies are doing a good work, we leave it to them. CNEWA addresses those needs that would otherwise “fall through the cracks,” enabling the power of love to reach men, women and children in need.

From training priests to serve the people of God in India to providing clean water systems to war-damaged villages in Lebanon – from providing job opportunities to unemployed Palestinians to caring for orphaned children in Ethiopia – from providing health care to the poor in Iraq to awarding scholarships for Orthodox priests to study in Catholic universities in Rome, CNEWA connects generous North Americans with those in need living in some of the remotest parts of the world.

The agency publishes a bimonthly magazine, ONE. Its name identifies the real spirit of CNEWA and its work – it is about one God, one world, one family and one church. Operationally, CNEWA’s charism is always to act as if we are all one, unless we are forced to encounter a difference.

More Christians Flee Iraq After New Violence (NY Times)