/^2iX o TEN QUESTIONS ANSWERED Catholic Hear East lOelfarc Association ESTABLISHED BY THE HOLY SEE What is the Catholic Near East Welfare Association? What is its work? Who founded the organization? The Catholic Near East Welfare Association is a missionary society. Its work is to support the missionaries who are laboring in the Near East. It was founded by His Holiness, Pope Pius XI. Where is the Near East? The Near East is that section of the world that can roughly be called Eastern Europe, Western Asia, North Africa, and the West Coast of India. It is sometimes called the Mid- dle East. The countries making up the Near East are: Greece, Albania, Jugoslavia, Bul- garia, Roumania, Czechoslovakia, the Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Syria, the Holy Land, Iraq, Arabia, Persia, Egypt, Eritrea, Abyssinia and the West Coast of India. Are the Peoples of these countries Pagans? No, they are not. There are 172,000,000 Christians in these countries but only 8,100,000 are Catholics. The other Christians belong to what is known as the Separated Churches. In some of these countries the vast majority of the people are Mohammedans. Are the Peoples of the Separated Churches Protestants? No, they are not in any sense of the word. The Catholics and the Separated Peoples of most of these countries are the descendants of the earliest Christians. Those who broke away from the Church did so mainly for political and racial reasons. They kept intact their ecclesi- astical organizations, and even today believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and in a large measure, in His teachings. They believe in the seven Sacraments; they have real priests and real bishops; and, consequently, have the real Sacrifice of the Mass. This is the reason they can never be called Protestants. They call them- selves Orthodox, never Protestants. How do we know a Christian from the Near East? The Catholics and the Separated Peoples of the Near East belong to what is known as the Eastern or Oriental Rites. What is meant hy a Rite? By a Rite is meant the particular way in which a church carries out the sacred func- tions, namely: the offering of the Holy Sacri- fice of the Mass; the administration of the Sacraments; and the recitation of the Divine Office. In the offering of the Holy Sacrifice, there is one part that is essential and another part that is accessory. The bread and wine are essential, so are the words of consecration. The ceremonies which precede, accompany and fol- low are accessory and secondary. In the ad- ministration of the Sacraments, there is one part that is essential such as matter, form and intention. There is another part accessory and secondary such as the prayers and ceremonies which accompany them. The particular way in which the sacred functions are carried out de- termines the Rite. In the Near East, there are Five Groups of Rites — Alexandrian, Antiochian, Armenian, Byzantine and Chaldean. They are called the Eastern or Oriental Rites. Are there Catholics in the Oriental Rites? Yes. In each of these groups there are Catholics, but the vast majority belong to the Separated Churches. To what Rite do most American Catholics belong? Most American Catholics belong to the Roman or Latin Rite. Is a Catholic of the Near East a member of the same Church as a Catholic from the United States^ from Ireland^ from Germany or from France? Yes. We must not forget that in the Catholic Church there flourish other Rites, some more ancient and just as sacred as ours. We have heard of, and perhaps have met, Greek Catho- lics, Armenian Catholics, Syrian Catholics, Russian Catholics, etc. They have the same Faith as we have and are in union with the Holy See; their priests offer the same Sacrifice that our priests offer; but, their customs, their ceremonies and prayers are different. These are only secondary differences. We are permitted by the law of the Church to hear Mass and receive the Sacraments in their Churches. Who are the Separated Peoples? They are those people of the Oriental Rites who do not belong to the Catholic Church. They loosely call themselves Orthodox. When we hear of a Greek Orthodox, or an Armenian Orthodox, or Russian Orthodox, we know that the reference is not to a Catholic; but to one who is separated from, the Church. These peo- ple number more than 163,000,000. They are separated from us, mainly because of schism brought on by politics and racial hatreds. THE PICTURE The picture these questions and answers un- fold is a sad one. In the very ^places in which Our Lord preached, Catholics are very few. The lands that heard the Gospel from the Apostles are today inhabited by those who are separated from the Church of Christ. A vast multitude—one hundred and sixty-three mil- lion people—are outside the Church of the Son of God. These people are the nearest to us in belief and practice yet they are not Catholics. THE HOLY FATHER The Holy Father looks out on this vast mis- sion field and sees its possibilities. To the Catholics who are so few in these lands, he Near East twenty is a Catholic. They must not be neglected. To the other teeming millions, he has sent missionaries to lead them back to their Father’s House. These missionaries must be supported and equipped to do their work. The Holy Father established the Catholic Near East Welfare Association to aid him in this missionary activity. OUR WORK The Catholic Near East Welfare Associa- tion has built chapels and schools in the Near East and is keeping these open. We are sup- porting the Seminaries in which the young men of the Near East are studying for the Holy Priesthood. We are doing everything possible to maintain and equip the Priests of God whom the Holy Father has sent to the Near East. But all of this work—the whole plan for the salvation of these millions of souls—depends on your assistance. Your annual dues are the weapons we use. Your membership and your prayers are vitally necessary. The Redeemer Himself taught the importance of saving even one soul—you can help to save many. The task is well under way. It must go on. At a time when much of the world is steeped in materialism there is true inspiration in the knowledge that your membership will help to carry on His work in the lands where He and His Apostles actually walked. Think over this opportunity. Then address your dues to the Catholic ^ear Bast U)elfare Association 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, N. Y. SPIRITUAL BENEFITS In gratitude for what has been done, the Holy Father has granted to all members the following privileges: 1. Over 15,000 Masses are offered every year for the living and deceased. 2. Mass is also offered every day in the Vat- ican Basilica for the deceased. 3. All members, living and deceased, share in the Masses of the Holy Father and in the Masses of our President, Cardinal Hayes; as well as in the Masses of all the bishops and priests who are engaged in this work. 4. A Plenary Indulgence at the moment of death is granted to all members. *5. A Plenary Indulgence may be gained the day of enrollment and on fifty-three other days through the year, as listed below: Palm Sunday Easter Corpus Christi Holy Thursday Ascension Thursday Sacred Heart Solemnity of Feast of St. Joseph Pentecost Sunday Jan. 1, 6, 18, 27 Feb. 2, 9, 22, 24 Mar. 19, 24 April 25 May 1, 3, 6, 9 June 14, 18, 24, 29 July 2, 7, 25 August 5, 15, 24, 29 Sept. 8, 14, 21, 29 Oct. 2, 18, 24, 28, Last Sun. Nov. 14, 17, 18, 21, 30 Dec. 3, 8, 21, 25, 27 To gain these Indulgences the following conditions are necessary : Confession. Holy Communion, a visit to a Church, during visit six Our Fathers, six Hail Marys and six Glorias for the return of the Separated Orientals, and one Our Father, Hail Mary and Gloria for the inten- tion of the Holy Father, CLASSES OF MEMBERSHIP Associate Membership • • • $1.00 annually Perpetual Membership $20.00 Family Membership . . . $5.00 annually This includes Mother and Father, Sisters and Brothers or Husband and Wife and Children Family Perpetual Membership . . $100.00 THE DECEASED MAY BE ENROLLED IN ALL CLASSES OF MEMBERSHIP Catholic Ttear East IDclfarc Association 480 Lexington Avenue at 46th Street New York, N. Y. His Eminence Patrick Cardinal Hayes President Monsignor James B. O’Reilly, Ph. D. National Secretary Rev. John J. Corrigan Assistant Secretary Nihil Obstat: Rt. Rev. Arthur J. Scanlan, S.T.D. Imprimatur: Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York New York, July 29, 1936