October 14, 2025 // Bishop
‘A Love that Must Stand in Defiance of Fear’
As the world collectively exhales a sigh of relief as a ceasefire agreement has been reached in the war in Gaza, the faithful of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend proved more than ready to provide support to those who have suffered during the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas.
A Catholic Relief Services worker is pictured at a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Gaza May 5, 2025. Jennifer Poidatz, acting representative for CRS in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, told OSV News July 31 that Gaza-based CRS staff are working to bring high-calorie, high-protein food to residents amid destroyed agricultural lands, fuel and energy deficits, high prices, danger and disease. (OSV News photo/CRS Staff)
This past summer, Bishop Rhoades called for Catholics within the diocese “to provide humanitarian relief and pastoral support for the suffering Christians and other victims of violence in Gaza and surrounding areas in the Middle East.” He also highlighted that our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, “continues to call for a ceasefire and for aid to enter the territory, noting with great sorrow that ‘Gaza is starving.’”
The collection raised nearly $180,000 for those suffering in the midst of the war. As of mid-October, funds given for the special collection totaled $179,133, with more expected to come in.
Bishop Rhoades designated half of the money raised to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), which works to provide food, shelter, hygiene supplies, and care for those in war-torn lands. The other half is being sent to Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) which also provides relief services for the malnourished and wounded.
Michael La Civita, director of communications and marketing for CNEWA, told Today’s Catholic: “Catholics, whether in the United States or in Uganda, belong to a global Catholic communion of churches. Rooted in the Gospel, we strive to respond to the question put to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ emulating the good Samaritan, who showed mercy to the robbers’ victim, and by answering Jesus’ command to ‘go and do likewise’ as we bind the wounds of a broken world,” he explained.
The large amount raised by the diocese will help to fund a variety of relief services, La Civita said.
“CNEWA’s support in Gaza includes subsidizing the pre- and post-natal clinics of the Near East Council of Churches; health care for the injured and chronically ill at Al Ahli Hospital, which is sponsored by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem; programmatic support (psychosocial counseling and education) at the Arab Orthodox Cultural Center, until it was leveled in 2023; the various parish programs for food preparation and delivery of the Orthodox St. George and Holy Family Catholic churches; as well as community-based feeding programs and counseling efforts for families devastated by war through AISHA Women Society and SPARK for Innovation,” La Civita said.
“Our concern for our sisters and brothers, whether of our faith or not, is also an important visible sign of solidarity, especially for those under siege, those who are isolated and alone and seemingly without friends,” La Civita said. “Our generosity, our solicitude, our care demonstrates a love that must stand in defiance of fear, anger, hatred, and vengeance that threatens to consume them.”
On behalf of CNEWA, La Civita said he was grateful for the generosity of the faithful in the diocese.
“Thank you to Bishop Rhoades and the generous Church of Fort Wayne-South Bend for their solicitude for the suffering people in Gaza,” La Civita said.
Father Mark Gurtner, vicar general of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, commented on the collection, telling Today’s Catholic: “We know that Christ has said, ‘Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ As Christians, our love for God spills out to our love for others, especially those who are most in need – most in need of peace, most in need of material goods, most in need of love.”
He continued: “I think the recent events in that area of the world have highlighted for people the great suffering that conflict can bring, and there is a desire to be of some help to those in such grave need of basic life essentials.”
In the end, explained La Civita: “Faith tells us that in suffering, God is still with us. This is how we survive.”
Clare Hildebrandt is staff writer for Today’s Catholic.
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