German: Kirche in Not | |
Aid to the Church in Need logo (2018).  | |
| Founder | Werenfried van Straaten |
|---|---|
| Founded at | West Germany |
| Type | pastoral aid organization |
| Location | |
Region | International |
President | Cardinal Mauro Piacenza |
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
| Website | acninternational |
Aid to the Church in Need (German: Kirche in Not, Italian: Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre) is an international Catholic pastoral aid organization, which yearly offers financial support to more than 5,000 projects worldwide.
Aid to the Church in Need's General Secretariat and Project Headquarters is in Königstein, Germany. With 23 national offices, Aid to the Church in Need provides aid to Catholic communities in more than 140 countries around the world.
History
The roots of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) go back to the time after World War II. For the Dutch priest Werenfried van Straaten[1][2] the Stunde Null was the starting point of his life's work. In 1947 he founded Aid to the Eastern Priests, which shortly after became the aid organisation, Aid to the Church in Need. His relief organisation provided food and clothes for East German refugees. The initial goal was to aid refugees who fled or were expelled from Eastern Europe in the wake of the Second World War, many of them Catholic.[1]
During his pontificate, in December 2011, Pope Benedict XVI recognised the importance of Aid to the Church in Need's work by elevating the charity to a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the Pope appointed the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, to the position of President of the Foundation.[3][4]
Sexual Assault Allegation
In 2021 a German news magazine published an article which made known the existence of a letter from 2010 indicating that Werenfried van Straaten was accused of committing sexual assault in 1973 against a 20-year-old woman working for the charity.[5][6] In a statement consisting of questions and answers, the charity responded to the disclosure and noted that "ACN deeply regrets the serious allegations and condemns any kind of behavior of which Father van Straaten has been accused in the article."[7]
References
- ^ a b "Obituaries: Father Werenfried van Straaten". The Daily Telegraph. February 1, 2003. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
- ^ Bogle, Joanna (2001). Fr Werenfried: A Life. Gracewing. p. 20. ISBN 978-0852444795.
- ^ "Aid to the Church in Need is raised to the status of a Pontifical Foundation by Pope Benedict XVI". www.vietcatholic.net. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- ^ "Pope declares Aid to Church in Need a pontifical foundation". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- ^ Raoul Löbbert and Georg Löwisch (10 February 2021). "Pater Werenfried van Straaten: Gut und Böse". Zeit Online. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Aid to the Church in Need confirms 'credible' accusation of 'serious sexual assault' against founder". Catholic News Agency. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Questions & Answers regarding the article "Gut und Böse" in the ZEIT supplement "Christ&Welt"". acninternational.org. Aid to the Church in Need. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.