What Peace Demands – Letter from Our Executive Director

Dear Members, Partners, and Friends,

Back in 2014, while marking the centenary of World War I, Pope Francis lamented that, here in the 21st Century, yet a third global war seems to be taking place. This war, he argued, is being waged “piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction.” It is a sentiment he would repeat throughout his papacy, and one which his successor, Leo XIV, has echoed more than once during his first year as pope.

The US Catholic Mission Association was itself born in the aftermath of international warfare. The Mission Secretariat of the US Bishops, our earliest iteration, was established in 1949 to coordinate mission activity in the post-World War II era, particularly amid the increasingly complex landscape of governments, NGOs and the newly formed United Nations, each responding to staggering humanitarian needs. Today, our members face different challenges. While mission-minded communities and organizations regularly coordinate with secular institutions to respond to the suffering Christ in our world, it is increasingly difficult to connect with the everyday faithful from whom we draw our vocations, staff, volunteers and supporters. Many have grown increasingly disconnected, disenchanted and disaffiliated with and from the Church itself, while others find themselves mired in political and social attitudes which contradict the Gospel of love and life.

This is the challenge that we, the USCMA, are called to address today. We are developing formal pathways for our members to form and inspire everyday people in the mission of Jesus, while also learning from and with them, becoming more synodal, inclusive, responsive and collaborative. These efforts, we believe, will not only revitalize our mission institutions, but help to cultivate a new generation of missionary disciples capable of sowing peace in our world. As Christians and missioners, we understand that peace as rooted in the call to recognize Christ in our neighbor, particularly in the stranger, the suffering and our would-be enemies. Today, more than ever, we need to renew our efforts to invite all the faithful on that journey of encounter with the Incarnate Word.

In this month’s newsletter, you will find important dates and opportunities to engage more deeply in this season of renewal for mission and the USCMA. We hope that you will walk with us on this journey. Through your distinct charisms, ministries and spiritual and community practices, you, our USCMA members, provide the witness our world, and Church, need today.

In mission and solidarity,

Kevin Foy
Executive Director

Other Encounter Updates from May 2026:

SAVE THE DATES – 2026 Members Meeting and 2027 Conference
Language & Cultural Formation for Missionaries to the US
Help Send Missionaries to Rome
Missionaries of Hope – Summit Lectures Now Online!
Bringing Catholic Social Teaching to Life
World Mission News