Dear Friend, In 1943, as war raged across Europe, a Polish-American priest from Chicago was dispatched on an urgent mission of mercy. Thousands upon thousands of bedraggled Polish refugees fleeing Soviet forced-labor camps in Siberia were streaming into Iran, seeking safe haven. The refugees, most of them women and children, along with some elderly men, [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Dear Friend, More than two decades ago, several theologians wrote a book titled Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret. At the time, it was true. Hopefully, with the publication of Pope Benedict’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), more people will become aware of the treasure that is Catholic social teaching.
Read the rest of this entry »In Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, CRS is working to provide options to vulnerable women at risk of being trafficked.
Read the rest of this entry »Dear Friend, This time of year, I have the pleasure of engaging in one of the favorite parts of my job: offering a few words of wisdom to graduating college students. In years past, I’ve spoken at commencements across the country, from the University of San Diego on the West Coast, to Siena College and [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Dear Friend, The highly skilled professionals who work at international humanitarian organizations have developed our own “insider” language to describe the work we do. For example, many humanitarians refer to the people we serve as “stakeholders.” Others call them “beneficiaries.” I prefer to use another term: families.
Read the rest of this entry »Dear Friend, A few years ago, we were looking for ways to help farmers in Tanzania and our staff come up with a project to combine microfinance savings groups with agricultural promotion. With private donations from the Ryan Memorial Foundation, they started the Chickpea Market Promotion project. It had a modest goal of forming 10 [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Dear Friend, I visited Zimbabwe a week before the swearing-in of the opposition leader as prime minister by his erstwhile enemy President Mugabe, which initiated the Unity Government. While there, I traveled to see Catholic Relief Services’ programs and express the solidarity of American Catholics with the bishops of this troubled country. I was accompanied [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Dear Friend, As we prepare to observe Lent, many of us find ourselves preoccupied with the hardships brought on by the global economic crisis that followed closely on the heels of a global food crisis. Amid dire economic news, we see the signs of stress placed upon our families and friends—the stress of dealing with [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Dear Friend, For months we’ve been hearing about the global food crisis. The cost of food and fuel increased suddenly and sharply, making it harder for poor people around the world to feed their families. In dozens of cities, people took to the streets in protest. Now the focus is on the collapse of the [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Dear Friend, As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, violence and civil unrest continue to dominate the daily headlines. The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo cry out for an end to their suffering. Our own country is engaged in two wars. The birthplace of Jesus remains a [...]
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