January 28, 2014

Weber ’04 reports on poverty in Rwanda with Catholic Relief Services’ fellowship

Kerry Weber ’04, second from left, visited with women in the village of Nyamugali, Rwanda.
Kerry Weber ’04, second from left, visited with women in the village of Nyamugali, Rwanda.

America magazine managing editor Kerry Weber ’04 traveled to Rwanda in October through Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) Egan Journalism Fellowship. The award recognizes excellence in Catholic journalism and promotes coverage of international poverty and development issues.

Weber and three other fellows spent a week examining the reconciliation process in the 20 years since the 1994 genocide and learning about CRS’ role in peace-building.

She was amazed by the resilience of survivors and perpetrators, who still live side by side.

“People in Rwanda are living daily with the effects of these atrocities,” Weber said.

“Survivors and perpetrators of the genocide would stand together and tell their story and embrace,” she said. “It’s a radical forgiveness that is virtually incomprehensible. It’s facilitated by Catholic Relief Services and the Church, but it’s not done without the grace of God.”

Weber, the author of Keeping the Faith: Prayers for College Students(Twenty-Third Publications, 2009),just wrote Mercy in the City (Loyola Press, 2013), about her personal challenge to practice the corporal works of mercy. It hit bookstores February 1.