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By Bishop John, October 2, 2012 4:51 am

thedailygreen.com

That story begins in about 1804 up in New England when a group of leather workers had the temerity to discuss among themselves whether they could ask the owners for a slight increase in their pay. THEY WERE LOCKED UP FOR THAT CRIME! Thanks be to God, we have come a long way from that situation, but there are still tremendous obstacles for working people to improve their lot in a way that would enable them to get their share of the economic pie, a pie that is for the most part actually physically produced by them.

With 10% unemployment and union membership down to a small fraction of what it was 30 years ago, things give the appearance of being quite peaceful. However, there is a lot of anger, frustration and disappointment in the lives of people who are struggling to put food on the table. They hear about the infamous 1% while they lose their homes. They see their jobs disappear and if they can get another one, it is at a much lower level of pay. They see much that they have achieved between 1935 and 1980 being swept away and that includes health insurance, retirement, vacation, etc., etc.

Things were tough in the ‘30’s, ‘40’s, and ‘50’s but you know what was a great source of encouragement for blue-collar working people? Time after time in this or that economic struggle, they would see the Roman Catholic priests standing with them in their struggles. They also knew that behind that priest was their bishop. The Church was with them. It made a tremendous difference. It gave the people the courage to struggle on and struggle on they did.

It is a different world. There is a whole new set of problems, extraordinarily difficult obstacles, not the least of which is the mindset of the American public that has come to see the union movement as something to be disdained. In the middle of all that, I was thrilled to see in the newspaper a few weeks ago that a group of 35 priests met in Chicago to review the situation for the difficult conditions that are besetting our workers and to see if they could reinvigorate a movement that was so successful 50 years ago.

This is really encouraging to me personally. I had the honor of serving for several years as the assistant to Monsignor George Higgins who was the informal national chaplain of the union movement. Pray for these priests who are struggling to reinvigorate this movement that they can count on God’s help, St. Joseph the Worker and Monsignor George Higgins.

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By Bishop John, August 5, 2011 4:00 am

Not a day goes by when one newspaper article or another does not refer to the fact that 9.2% of the workforce of the United States does not have a job. At times, it is rounded off with a nice easy figure of 15 million. If we are ever to solve this problem, we need to be conscious of the fact that these two figures are not just simply yet another “economic indicator.”

We should try and visualize what goes on in the mind of the person who is responsible for maintaining a family but has been unable to secure a real job for a considerable period of time. Upon waking up, one of the first thoughts to come to such a person’s mind is “I don’t have a job.” They have tried everything that they can to stretch their limited resources. Unemployment benefits at least allays the threat of starvation but it does little or nothing in terms of human pride and dignity. Employment is the mainstay of the economic organization of every family. When it is removed due to no fault of the person so unemployed it is devastating.

In the mid 1930’s, the percentage of unemployment was much higher than it is today but the country got itself together and attacked the issue aggressively. Today, just as in the mid-1930’s, we need our national leaders to pool their brains, experience, intelligence, vision and courage together and cooperate in leading us out of the situation that is keeping millions of Americans agonizing insecurity today and possibly real hunger in the future. That is what we need but that is not what we are getting from the national government.

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By Bishop John, June 30, 2011 5:38 am

Last week, I mentioned that I wanted to talk about some of the extraordinary women that I have had the opportunity to meet and work with over the last half century. Although there have been hundreds, I want to especially stress a few who have almost singlehandedly developed extraordinary ministries in order to lighten the burdens of the poor, the ill and the vulnerable. I have already made reference to Jennifer Long and Patti McCabe. Today, I want to talk about Sister Mary Rose McGeady.

Sister Mary Rose is simply extraordinary. A Daughter of Charity who successfully led Catholic Charities in the Brooklyn Diocese from 1973 to 1990, she was called/challenged to come in and attempt to save Covenant House, an excellent national program with facilities in 21 cities aimed at providing food, shelter, counseling and new beginnings to teenagers who had taken to the street. Covenant House had been a great success but its founder, Father Bruce Ritter, was accused of impropriety in some of his actions and chose to resign. Covenant House income dropped dramatically and Sister Mary Rose stepped in faced with a $38 million debt.

This remarkable woman didn’t know how to use the word impossible.

Today, Covenant House is financially sound and even more prosperous than before. When Sister Mary Rose arrived, the agency was in 12 cities. Today, that number has increased to 21 with 15 facilities in the United States, two in Canada and one each in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Thank you and may God bless you, Sister Mary Rose. You are a wonderful example that the great work of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise continue to be made real and concrete in this battered world.

May God bless the Daughters of Charity.

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By Bishop John, December 28, 2010 4:36 am

As we move into January, designated by the National Catholic Campaign for Human Development as National Poverty Awareness Month, we have been touching on people who are making a difference in the lives of the poor and the vulnerable. A person and a ministry that I want to mention today is maybe one of the smallest but most symbolic and meaningful.  I am referring to Austin’s Mary House Catholic Worker.  This is just a private residence owned by an extraordinary minister to the homeless.  Her name is Lynn Goodman-Strauss, a convert from Judaism and a dedicated apostle of Dorothy Day where the poor, the sick, and the homeless are always welcomed.   The “guests” come in unexpectedly, arriving from the street and unable to deal with a multitude of chronic illnesses, emotional problems and hunger.  No one is turned away.

Do you want to see the Church working at its best?  Go by the Catholic Worker House of Hospitability and see if you can help.  The address is 711-B King Edward Place in South Central Austin, (512) 447-0963, http://maryhouseaustin.wordpress.com/2010/08/

The Catholic Worker House will be celebrating its 20^th anniversary with Mass at
St. Ignatius Martyr Church at 1:00 p.m. on January 15^th.  I’ll be there.  I hope that you can too!

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By Bishop John, November 23, 2010 1:48 am

A person in my position is approached endlessly for donations to this cause or that cause.  I try to respond as generously as possible but even wealthy people, much less Catholic clergy, have the resources to respond in proportion to the need.  You have to choose!

I try to assist programs that provide emergency food, clothing and shelter and try to assist in scholarship programs but my favorite concern is St. Louise House in South Central Austin.

St. Louise House is a miracle (second class) that documents how hardworking, well-intentioned, visionaries with empathy for the poor can produce wonders.  About ten years ago, a group of parishioners from St. Austin’s Church in Austin saw a pressing need on the streets, namely homeless women with children.  Can you imagine a worse situation?  They went to work and today the organization called St. Louise House has no less than 48 apartments in which women from the street have landed with their children and are beginning to put their lives back together comfortably and safely.

I don’t think you could be involved in more meaningful work in assisting those around us than helping St. Louise House or comparable programs to grow stronger and expand.  St. Louise House can be contacted at 2026 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas 78705, (512) 302-0027, www.saintlouise-house.org.

There is so much more I could tell you about the program, but let me encourage you to go directly to their website, http://www.saintlouisehouse.org/ where you can learn more and get involved TODAY!

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By Bishop John, November 12, 2010 3:33 am

St. David’s Episcopal Church is situated in the heart of downtown Austin.  It is a beautiful and historical church being founded shortly after the Civil War.  It is only three blocks from St. Mary’s, the Catholic Cathedral, which is about the same age.

While both are old by American standards, they happily  both remain youthful and vigorous.

St. David’s recently had an excellent program using its facilities to sponsor artwork from street people.  Regretfully, our society wrongly rash judges people who find themselves in difficult financial straits and may possibly even find themselves out on the streets.  While such straits are frequently associated with problems, such as alcohol and dementia, the fact is that these people frequently have great sensitivity and talent.  St. David’s is lending them a hand and in the process benefiting its own congregation.  The parish recently had an art festival featuring the work of street people.  It was a great success.

Look at a beautiful work of art and know that it has been created by a homeless man.  It gives you new insights to the reality that the absence of money does not mean the absence of talent. Urban churches, such as St. David’s and St. Mary’s, have a special mission to street people in the area and this particular program provides dignity and a small amount of income that is so sorely needed.  It is a case of a church going to the street and the street coming to the church.

May God continue to bless St. David’s.

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