Network News Archive

Father Robert J. Vitillo Will Leave Catholic Campaign for
Human Development For New Post With Caritas Internationalis

Father Robert J. Vitillo, for the past eight years Executive Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, will leave CCHD for a new post with Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based global confederation of national Catholic social service and development organizations that operate in some 200 countries.

Father Vitillo will serve as full-time Special Advisor to Caritas on HIV and AIDS. Working in collaboration with other Catholic organizations, he will direct the Caritas Internationalis response to wide-ranging aspects of the global pandemic in various parts of the world.

Father Vitillo will coordinate the Caritas Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS, serve on the AIDS Funding Network Group of Catholic organizations engaged in HIV and AIDS programs in the developing world and other needy countries, and assist the Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis in liaison with the Pontifical Council on Health Care and the Holy See Permanent Observer at the United Nations Centre and Specialized Agencies in Geneva.

He will begin his new assignment, based at the Centre Catholique International de Geneve, in Geneva, Switzerland, in early February, 2005.

Prior to joining the staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Father Vitillo was Caritas Internationalis delegate to the United Nations in New York and to the World Bank in Washington. He was Caritas Internationalis Chief of Service for Europe and North America from 1986 to 1989.

"Father Vitillo is an outstanding priest whose entire ministry has been characterized by devotion to the poor and the downtrodden," said USCCB General Secretary Msgr. William P. Fay. "He has had a tremendous impact on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, guiding it to attain even greater recognition and visibility than before. Our consolation in losing his services is only in knowing that his many talents will be at the service of the wider Church."

Robert J. Vitillo is a priest of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., and holds a master's degree in social work from Rutgers University, where he also pursued doctoral studies in the same field. He completed his undergraduate studies at Marquette University, Milwaukee, and theological studies at the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. He became Executive Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development in January, 1997.

The Campaign was founded in 1970 by the nation's Catholic bishops. It is the largest private funding source for organizations that empower the poor and work to eliminate poverty and injustice in the United States.

From 1982 to 1986 Father Vitillo was Executive Secretary, Secretariat for Social Ministries, in the Diocese of Paterson. In that capacity he served as primary liaison with various advocacy and social services agencies.

Since 1987, Father Vitillo has also been engaged in education of church leaders and development of church-based programs in response to the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. He has served as consultant to UNICEF in Eastern and Central Europe on the development of family-centered programs to benefit children in need.

Father Vitillo is president of the National Catholic AIDS Network board of directors, serves as co-convenor of the Strategy Group on HIV and AIDS for the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (based at the World Council of Churches), and as a member of the Boards of Directors of the National Council for Adoption, the Global Community Service Foundation, and Medicines for Humanity.

Father Vitillo's working languages include Italian, Spanish, and French.

The Passing of Bishop Edwin Conway, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago

The National Catholic AIDS Network joins the Archdiocese of Chicago in mourning the death of Bishop Edwin Conway. Read the announcement from the Catholic New World, newspaper for the Archdiocese of Chicago. (PDF format; 44 kb).

Only a few weeks ago Bishop Conway was named the 2004 Lumina Award recipient. See below.

Bishop Ed Conway, named 2004 Lumina Award recipient

The Board of Directors of the National Catholic AIDS Network is pleased to announce Bishop Edwin Conway as the recipient of the 2004 Lumina Award. Bishop Edwin M. Conway is the Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Chicago. In that capacity, he assists the archbishop, Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I., as the chief executive officer and functions in the Cardinal's stead during his absence.

Prior to this assignment, Bishop Conway served as episcopal vicar for Vicariate II since his elevation to the episcopacy in 1995. Vicariate II, one of six geographic areas that comprise the Archdiocese of Chicago, includes north suburban Cook County and the north side of the City of Chicago. Bishop Conway was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 3, 1960. Following ordination, he was assigned as associate pastor at St. Bonaventure and St. Mary of the Lake Parishes.

For more than thirty years, Bishop Conway served in various capacities at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, most recently as administrator, from 1983 to 1996. As administrator, Conway oversaw the largest private multi-service social services agency in the Midwest. During fiscal year 1993, Catholic Charities served more than 565,000 people annually through more than 200 programs at more than 100 locations. Bishop Conway has acted as chairman, president, director, and member of the board of directors for more than twenty organizations that include residences for the elderly, homeless, youth, and handicapped.

A recipient of numerous honors, Bishop Conway is also the author of several publications. He holds a Masters in Social Work from Loyola University, Chicago, and a Masters in Theology from Mundelein Seminary of the University of St. Mary of the Lake. Bishop Conway has attended each of the Annual National Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry Conferences held at Loyola University Chicago and was instrumental in helping the Network in relocating to Chicago.

Bishop Conway will receive the award at the Lumina dinner held on Saturday, July 17, 2004 at Loyola University Chicago- Lakeshore Campus. The Lumina dinner is part of the 17th Annual National Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry Conference held from July 17 - 19, 2004.

Remembering Vera Rodriguez

Please keep the family and loved ones of Vera in your prayers. Vera was a very special person. The Gospel reading was the story of the death and raising of Lazarus. I am reminded of the story which Megan McKenna shared at the conference about Lazarus after bring raised from the dead. In many ways, for Vera, discovering that she was HIV+ was her call from death into new life. Read the Chicago Tribune article on Vera (PDF format, 36 kb).

Interview with Keith Hackett of Catholic Relief Services

Michelle Martin conducts another fine interview for The Catholic New World. Read it here.

NCAN Appoints Daniel Lunney New Executive Director

The Board of Directors of the National Catholic AIDS Network is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Daniel T. Lunney as Executive Director of the Network. Read more...

Rev. Robert Vitello, NCAN President, at the United Nations

Rev. Robert Vitillo, President of NCAN Board to participate in World AIDS Day event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Read the Press Release.

Commitment Fund Exceeds Goal!

Fr. Bob Vitillo, NCAN Board President, announced in a letter to Commitment Fund donors that the total gifts and pledges reached $111,000 - eleven percent beyond the original goal. Thank you to the many generous donors. A special thanks to Fr. Rodney DeMartini, Kathleen Kahlau (NCAN Development Consultant) and the members of the Board of Directors who provided the leadership necessary to make the Commitment Fund such a success. Fr. Bob Vitillo states, "Over the past fifteen months, we have received support from many sources: from events and receptions sponsored to benefit the Fund, from the special ministry funds of a number of religious communities, from Catholic foundations, from individual bishops and dioceses, from AIDS agencies and organizations, from parishes who held special collections, and from dozens of individual members and donors. Each gift allows us to continue our commitment 'for as long as it take.'

NCAN Receives Tree of Life Award

The AIDS Pastoral Care Network (APCN) of Chicago is honoring the National Catholic AIDS Network with the "Tree of Life Award" for 2003. The Tree of Life Award is the highest honor that APCN bestows in its annual Tree of Life Gathering. The AIDS Pastoral Care Network and the National Catholic AIDS Network have enjoyed a great working relationship throughout the years and look to continue to build upon this relationship as NCAN makes Chicago its national headquarters. Each year APCN's involvement in the National Catholic AIDS Ministry Conference is an invaluable resource. The honor recognizes the unique and valuable resource that NCAN provides to APCN and so many other organizations with whom we partner. The Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Clement Parish of Chicago and Gwen Currin (a previous Lumina Award Winner) each previously have been honored by APCN. NCAN will receive the Tree of Life Award on Friday, December 5.

Fr. Rodney DeMartini Honored for Years of Service

At the July 20 Farewell Reception at the 2003 Annual Conference.

2003 Lumina Award Bestowed on Frederick Kasl

At the 2003 Annual Conference.

Search for New NCAN Executive Director Re-opened

The Board of Directors of the National Catholic AIDS Network announces the re-opening of its search to fill the position of Executive Director which will become vacant on August 31, 2003.

The NCAN Board gave careful consideration to all the applications that were received during the first phase of the search process. The Board members were impressed with the range of professional and experiential backgrounds among the applicants. However, the Board decided that no candidate was able to demonstrate the unique set of talents, experience, and skills necessary to manage a national organization, as well as the familiarity with work within Catholic Church-related structures, that is required of a successful Executive Director at this particular time in the history of the Network.

For this reason, the search for an Executive Director has been extended until September 8, 2003. See the job description and application information.

The Board has engaged an interim director through December 2003. The new permanent headquarters of the National Catholic AIDS Network on Loyola University’s Lakeshore Campus will open, as previously scheduled, in August 2003.

NCAN President Announces Search for a New Executive Director

A letter from Rev. Robert J. Vitillo
President, Board of Directors

Dear Members and Friends of the National Catholic AIDS Network,

I suspect that all of you, as my colleagues on the NCAN Board of Directors and I, were filled with many strong emotions upon hearing the news that Fr. Rodney DeMartini will be moving on from his position as Executive Director for the Network. We are greatly indebted to Rodney’s profound dedication to NCAN’s mission, his selfless and constant hard work to build our structure and programs, and his sensitive, caring, and pastoral approach to all who sought guidance and help from the Network.

We must appreciate, however, Rodney’s response in his letter to God’s message that “for everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." We also must join our prayers and hopes with Rodney that he will find deep fulfillment and renewed energy and grace in whatever future ministry to which God calls him.

I am sure that you share, with me and the other members of the NCAN Board of Directors, many serious concerns about the future of our vital ministry to the Church in the United States and, most especially, to those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. It will be most difficult to face the future without Rodney’s daily and untiring leadership. During the “State of the Network” session at the 2002 National Catholic AIDS Ministry Conference, however, many of you appealed to the Board of Directors to assure that the Network’s work would continue “for as long as it takes," until we see the end of the painful and tragic impact of HIV/AIDS in our local communities and throughout the world. For that reason, the Board has renewed its commitment to assure a successful transition in leadership within the Network.

You can read additional details about the Board's search for a new Executive Director and discern either your own capacity, or that of colleagues or acquaintances known to you, to serve the Network in this most important post.

The NCAN Board of Directors is in the final stages of dialogue with Loyola University-Lakeshore Campus, Chicago, to arrange the re-location of the Network headquarters to that venue that is so well known to those of you who attend our annual conference and that, in a certain sense, already feels like “home” to us.

The Board of Directors, with the ongoing collaboration of Fr. De Martini and consultant, Kathleen Kahlau, is trying to secure the Network’s financial ability to continue present operations and to face future leadership transition, re-location, and other challenges. We cannot be successful in these latter efforts without the active support of all our membership. Fr. Rodney will soon address a letter to all the membership of the Network in order to advise you of the serious financial challenges we currently face. Please consider seriously your own ability to share additional financial resources with the Network or to identify additional members and other funding sources (religious communities, foundations, private donors, special events, etc.).

The challenges before the Network are many and complex but perhaps those of us engaged in HIV/AIDS ministry know better than any others in the Church and the world today that we must rely on God’s providence and grace and then work as hard as we can to help build up God’s Reign of compassionate, non-judgmental care and all-encompassing justice in our global village. We can never adequately thank Rodney De Martini for his unique and tireless contribution to the National Catholic AIDS Network. Only our continuing commitment to promote and implement NCAN’s mission and program can begin to approximate a beginning tribute to Rodney for all that he has shared with us over these many years.

May God bless all of you and may God grant the National Catholic AIDS Network all the grace and resources that it needs to accompany those affected by HIV/AIDS “for as long as it takes.”

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day

April: This month, the National Catholic AIDS Network will support efforts made by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to promote HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18th. It is a day specifically dedicated to educating Americans about vaccines to prevent HIV infection and creating a supportive environment for HIV vaccine research. It is also a day to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of the thousands of scientists, health professionals and study volunteers involved in vaccine research. Your support is critical.

For more information on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, please visit www.aidsinfo.nih.gov.

NCAN Awarded Bishops' Committee Grant

The Bishops' Committee on the Home Missions of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently awarded the National Catholic AIDS Network a grant of $10,000 in support of the following pastoral programs: Financial AID for the 16th National Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry Conference for Persons from Home Mission Dioceses.

The Bishops’ Committee of the Home Missions allocated a record $11 million in grants to more than 100 dioceses, organizations, and religious institutions this year. This is more than twice the amount disbursed five years ago, one year after the U.S. Bishops established the first Catholic Home Missions Appeal in 1997. These grants will be disbursed beginning July 1, 2003.

The Committee on the Home Missions' grants are made possible by generous Catholics who donate to the annual Catholic Home Missions Appeal, taken up on the Iast Sunday in April. This year, the Catholic Home Missions Appeal will be on April 27, 2003.

Besides assisting some 85 dioceses with grants for evangelization, religious education, training for ministry and support of parishes, the Committee funds a variety of organizations and religious communities engaged in mission work. "It's a great example of the Church taking care of its own here at home," said Bishop Paul A. Zipfel, chairman.

World Day of the Sick

When he instituted the first World Day for the Sick in 1992, Pope John Paul II sought to recognize the solidarity of suffering among all people. In his message for the 2002 observance, Pope John Paul wrote "In its depth and in its many forms illness needs to be considered from a perspective which transcends the merely physical."

The World Day of the Sick honors those who are ill or have experienced serious illness as well as those who devote their lives to caring for the sick.

Read the Pope’s entire message.

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