Catholic Exchange

Expressing our Love, in Zimbabwe and Around the World

• Media & Culture
• Friday, March 6th, 2009
• Kenneth F. Hackett

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… Read More

Building Peace in West Africa

• Media & Culture
• Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
• Kenneth F. Hackett

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… Read More

Saving Lives By Preparing for Disaster

• Media & Culture
• Monday, August 4th, 2008
• Kenneth F. Hackett

As we enter the height of the Atlantic hurricane season, disaster preparedness is very much on our minds at Catholic Relief Services.
CRS is known for our efficient and effective response to disaster. But a key aspect of emergency response… Read More

Global Food Crisis Forces Difficult Choices

• Archives
• Thursday, June 5th, 2008
• Kenneth F. Hackett

I recently had the opportunity to visit Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the places most affected by high food prices. I saw firsthand the difficulties the food crisis is causing and the choices it… Read More

Let the Miracle Continue

• Archives
• Saturday, March 1st, 2008
• Kenneth F. Hackett

For the past several years, Catholic Relief Services has had the great privilege to be part of a miracle.

It was not long ago that we were forced to watch in despair as our brothers and sisters wasted away and eventually died from AIDS. HIV was running rampant, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and there was little we could do. A diagnosis was a death sentence. And HIV was having a crippling effect, destroying economies and breaking up families. Husbands and wives were widowed, children lost their parents.

New hope came through a miracle of science called antiretroviral drug therapy, which literally gives new life to people living with HIV. But this so-called "AIDS cocktail" of drugs is expensive, and at first it was only available to people of means. It certainly wasn't an option in the poor communities served by organizations like CRS. That is, it wasn't an option until PEPFAR.

Tsunami Reconstruction Nearing Completion

• Archives
• Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
• Kenneth F. Hackett

This month we mark the third anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck in the early morning the day after Christmas 2004. This unfathomable disaster took the lives of an estimated 200,000 people and left millions more without homes.… Read More

Women: The Backbone of Society

• Archives
• Friday, April 21st, 2006
• Kenneth F. Hackett

Each year on the second Sunday of May, we honor and celebrate the lives of mothers. In our own lives, our mothers are the source of our being and a font of cherished memory. Around the world, it is the… Read More

Peace and Justice: Our Challenge

• Archives
• Thursday, April 21st, 2005
• Kenneth F. Hackett

The recent death of Pope John Paul II was a great loss for the Roman Catholic Church. Pope John Paul was an inspiration to anyone who yearns for a world of justice and peace.
His guidance renewed in us our… Read More