By Eva-Maria Kolmann
The May 13, 2017
canonization by Pope Francis of two Portuguese shepherds to whom Our Lady
appeared 100 years ago at Fatima has particular resonance for international
Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Celebrating its 70th
anniversary this year, ACN was consecrated 50 years ago to Our Lady of Fatima.
With the Pope coming to Fatima to canonize them, Jacinta Marto and her brother
Francisco will be the youngest non-martyrs proclaimed saints in the history of
the Church.
Our Lady of Fatima certainly has worked wonders for ACN. George Marlin, chairman of ACN-USA, explained: “From the very beginning, this charity has been a miracle: it has given countless people the strength to forgive and to show unconditional magnanimity.”
“The organization grew
out of a belief in Jesus Christ as well as the staunch conviction that the
Gospel holds the truth. Today, our charity continues to bear witness to the
living God as hundreds of thousands of people all over the world support our
brothers and sisters in the faith in His name.”
ACN was founded in
1947 by the Dutch Premonstratensian priest Father Werenfried van Straaten. From
the very beginning, the focus was on fostering reconciliation as well as
bringing about the love of one’s enemies as called for in the Gospel.
Tellingly, the charity
which began as an aid campaign to help German refugees after World War II, was
launched in Belgium and the Netherlands, whose populations had suffered greatly
under German occupation.
The aid for the
“enemies of yesterday” was thus not only intended to alleviate the immediate
distress of the people, but also to overcome hatred, foster reconciliation in a
ravaged and hostile Europe—and at the same time become a “school of love” for
those who bestowed the aid.
Growing rapidly, ACN
extended its activities to encompass the countries behind the Iron Curtain as
well as those in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Over time, ACN began
to focus its efforts on supporting the pastoral work of the Catholic Church in
countries and regions where the faithful suffered various forms of
discrimination and persecution, or where local Churches lacked the necessary
means to fulfill their mission.
Next to providing
material aid, one of ACN’s primary concerns was giving the persecuted “Church
of Silence” a voice.
The work of ACN is
closely linked with the message of Fatima and the organization is organizing
various holding various campaigns to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
appearances of Our Lady at Fatima. The festivities will culminate with a large
international pilgrimage to the Portuguese shrine in September 2017.
Father Martin Barta,
ACN’s international ecclesiastical assistant explains that the founding of the
charity should be considered within the context of the October revolution and
the appearances at Fatima, during which Our Lady warned of the perils of
communism.
Father Barta said that
ACN, taking its cue from the messages at Fatima, has “grown into a global
spiritual movement” that calls for a “rebellion of the heart”—a “revolution”
not based on the “false myths of godless communism or humanistic relativism,
but on the reality of the cross of Jesus Christ, His Pierced Heart.”
He added: “In the end,
[Our Lady of Fatima’s] Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
ACN was consecrated to
Our Lady of Fatima because Father van Straaten considered the foundation of the
charity to be a response to the message of Fatima, which had warned of “total
rebellion against God.”
That threat first
occurred in the October Revolution in Russia, which initiated persecution of
the Church of unmatched severity; and its legacy still continues today in
various forms throughout the world.
The work of ACN is an
immediate answer to the Mother of God’s call conversion and a turning toward
God, suggests Father Barta, adding that: “As a pontifical foundation, we want
to intensify our efforts in helping the Church carry the triumph of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary all over the world.”
Today, ACN supports
more than 5,000 projects each year in more 140 countries, with funds raised
through the work of 23 national offices.
Currently, ACN’s prime
focus is on helping persecuted and threatened Christians in the Middle East and
preventing the purging of Christian communities from the cradle of
Christianity. Another major objective is to support the young and vigorous but
materially poor Church in Africa.
With picture of Father
Werenfried outside the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Fatima, Portugal (©
ACN)
Editor’s Notes:
Directly under the
Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports
the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need.
ACN is a Catholic charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through
prayer, information and action.
Founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul
II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work
in over 145 countries throughout the world.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including
providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church
buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since
the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed
worldwide.
For more information contact Michael Varenne at
michael@churchinneed.org or call
718-609-0939 or fax 718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need, 725 Leonard
Street, PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384.
www.churchinneed.org
