As the Israel-Hamas war expands to include attacks in Lebanon—where the Iran-backed Shia militia Hezbollah is based—OSV News interviewed Michel Constantin, regional director for the CNEWA-Pontifical Mission.
The Pontifical Mission was founded as the Pontifical Mission for Palestine by Pope Pius XII in 1949 to care for Palestinian refugees and placed under the direction of CNEWA—the Catholic Near East Welfare Association—which was established by Pope Pius XI in 1926.
The mandate of the mission has been extended by several pontiffs to care for all those affected by war and poverty in the Middle East. Speaking from his office in Beirut, Constantin shared with OSV News that he and his staff are experiencing “déjà vu … only worse” as the war threatens to engulf Lebanon, which recalls the 34-day Lebanon war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
Although “all Lebanon is … a dangerous zone,” he and his staff are providing humanitarian and spiritual support to thousands of displaced residents as well as those trapped in their village by the conflict. “How do we help them? Through the heroic work of the church,” said Constantin. “Without the church, we couldn’t do anything ourselves.”