725 Leonard Street | P.O. Box 220384 | Brooklyn, NY, 11222 | (800) 628-6333 | www.churchinneed.org

Dear ACN Family of Faithful,

During our last ACN staff meeting of 2010, we reviewed the happenings and accomplishments of the closing year. It was a difficult one for many of you, and for many around the world, with the continued economic downturn, the tragedy of Haiti’s earthquake, and a rise in persecution and violence against our fellow Christians. Yet, even at this tough time, you stepped forward with your support and prayers, and sustained the mission of Aid to the Church in Need. Thank you.

When the earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, the scenes of devastation and human suffering were overwhelming. But the positive response of you, our ACN family, was overwhelming, too. Through your generosity and compassion, you reached out and provided emergency assistance, and helped ACN continue our commitment to the poor and suffering in Haiti. The Catholic Church stands by the people of this country and remains the only solid presence of hope, faith and charity in an ocean of human despair. I want to thank you on behalf of the Haitian people for your continued generosity and prayers (see other side for several Haiti projects that you made possible).

Throughout 2010, your generosity and support helped us with a variety of projects that seek to keep the Faith alive, from assisting contemplative sisters with basic living needs and supporting the training of vocations, to maintaining the sacraments where our Faith is being severely threatened – especially in Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, and Pakistan.

With your help, we continue to stand against the darkness. Sadly, though, acts of violence continue into the New Year. On the first day of 2011, a bomb exploded in a Coptic Church in Egypt, killing 21 inno-cent people and injuring 96 others. Violence against Christians is on the rise and our brothers and sisters face persecution and threats to their lives simply because they are Christians. The Holy Father’s words remind us to stand strong: “In the face of present difficulties, may Christ’s followers not lose heart, for witnessing the Gospel is, and always will be, a sign of contradiction.” With your prayers and support, in 2011 we will continue to help keep God’s Light shining in the darkness.

The year 2011 brings two important events for faithful around the world to reaffirm our witness of the Gospel. The first is the pilgrimage of the Holy Father to Assisi to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace (convened in Assisi in 1986 by Pope John Paul II). The second is the 26th World Youth Day International Gathering in Madrid, Spain, beginning on August 16th. In the next few months, ACN will bring you news about both of these Faith-building events.

As we enter 2011, thank you for continuing to stand together for our suffering brothers and sisters. Please join us in a prayer that those in the darkness may find His Light, and that peace may be present again. Father Hugh Barbour Sarkis Boghjalian

Spiritual Director National Director

January 2011

725 Leonard Street | P.O. Box 220384 | Brooklyn, NY, 11222 | (800) 628-6333 | www.churchinneed.org

Charity in Action: Haiti

As news of Haiti’s terrible 2010 earthquake spread and support poured in from our generous family of faithful, ACN contacted Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, to determine how best we could help. He replied, “Anxious to spread around as much as possible such precious assistance, I hereby propose seven projects in three sectors: orphanage and education assistance (4 projects), the homeless and elderly (2 projects), and poverty-stricken single mothers (one project)....”

You and our ACN supporters funded them all. Here are three ways your aid had an immediate, positive impact on the lives of our suffering brothers and sisters in Haiti in 2010:

You helped feed some 700 impoverished students: The mountain parish of Saint Michael the Archangel, Morne à Chandelles, Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, has seven parochial schools scattered in the far-flung mountains and valleys. The main school (kindergarten to high school), which has around 700 students, collapsed during the earthquake, as did the church and rectory. The children who attend the school are not only educated, but are fed also as they come to school with empty stomachs. The Archbishop proposed that we allocate $10,000 to the neediest children of Morne à Chandelle as humanitarian aid. Hungry children were fed because of you.

You helped shelter single mothers in Cité Soleil, Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince: The Daughters of Charity, who run a cluster of ministries in the notorious squatters’ area of Cité Soleil, asked the Archbishop if he could contribute to their project to help single mothers put roofs over their heads. The Archbishop

wrote us: “The misery in that area is inhuman.” With your support, we were able to provide $20,000. You helped rebuild the Home for the Terminally Ill and the Dying, of the MSC, in Sanfil, Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince: Sanfil is a densely populated, poverty-stricken area not far from the city center. There some 100 men and women, mainly those sick with AIDS and drug-resistant tuberculosis, who come to spend their last days in the care and comfort of the Missionary Sisters of Charity. The Archbishop reported that “the main residence and the chapel were severely damaged by the earthquake.” ACN, with your assistance, provided $50,000 for rebuilding.

Thank you. The staff at ACN would like to express our deepest appreciation for your support and prayers. “With profound gratitude and with the assurance of my prayers,” Archbishop Bernardito Auza thanks you as well.

January 2011