St. Leo the Great Parish October Newsletter 2018 Blessing, Dedicaon and Open House at the St. Leo Food Pantry and Community Service Building Sunday, September 9, 2018 Because of You . Pastor’s Ponderings . St. Leo’s struggle and its gi is its poverty. In order to connue and expand its mission and ministry to the “As a naon, we are in a crical moment of defining community and our immigrant and refugee parishioners who we want to be moving forward and the Catholic we need to reach out to others to help us through prayer, community has an important responsibility in helping to finances, and service. Through God’s grace it becomes speak out for jusce.” This is the message that I brought mutual blessing. home with me when I visited the border in El Paso, Texas and I celebrated an interfaith prayer service with some immigrants, priests and religious leaders of all faiths and And so we thank you … denominaons with the Catholic Bishop of El Paso. I was invited to come and meet Jesus at the border and there is no doubt in my mind and heart that Jesus is who I met. I met the Lord in stories of more than 500 immigrant “They who have compassion on the poor lend to the Lord children who were ripped from their parents’ arms and are and he will repay them for their good deed.” sll separated, including 23 under the age of five. I hear the Proverbs 19:17 Lord in the tears of the parents of a toddler who died aer St. Leo Food Pantry in conjuncon with being released from a government detenon facility in Texas. Catholic Charies of Southwestern Ohio I see the Lord in the stories I heard about psychologically wounded children being returned to their families, in appreciaon for the multude of benefactors, donors and volunteers frightened to be hugged and lovingly united with their that contributed their me, talent and resources parents. This is the same Lord that I meet each me I hear to the remodeling of the food pantry facility, including: about ICE performing raids on communies and workplaces Air Condioning Contractors of Greater Cincinna throughout our country including Covington, Kentucky. Anderson Automac Parents are suddenly not returning home from Corcoran & Harnist HVAC work. This cloud of fear and darkness hangs low over Corken Steel immigrant families in Cincinna and throughout Ohio as real Schmidt Heang & Air Condioning possibilies to be the next targets. With the zero‐tolerance Anastacio Remodeling policy in effect, immigrants are being dehumanized, Catholic Charies Southwestern Ohio criminalized, and demonized. But in it all, the Lord remains Connental Building Products ever so present asking us, “As a naon, is this who we want Cornee/Violea Architects to be?” Soly I hear, and I am reminded that “whatever we Gerke Electric do to the least of our brothers and sisters, we do to Him.” HGC Construcon Juan the Handyman, LLC Also, I met the Lord, at the border, in the universal Kroger Company church that is impelled and empowered to speak out against Loth Furniture the injusces to and the inhumane treatment of immigrant M & M Drywall families. The church’s voice is the Lord’s voice for the voice Naonal Associaon of Remodelers Industry of the immigrant who has been silenced and denied. The Boh Construcon immigrant has no voice if it is not for the universal church, all Cincinna Floor & Wall Covering faith‐based communies and faith‐filled people speaking out Kessler Construcon for them, caring for them, and treang them with the human dignity and respect that they deserve. V‐Collecon Wynn’s Services There are places such as Annunciaon House and La Nisbet Brower Casa del Inmigrante who receive immigrants who have been Our Lady of Visitaon Parish released from detenon camps to be joined with their PDT Architects families or who have been deported to Mexico. When PNC Bank deported to Mexico, caregivers help them find jobs and give ReRoof America Contractors them a safe place to stay. At Annunciaon House, caregivers Schulhoff Tool Rental provide legal resources and medical help and try to create a SC Ministry Foundaon more humane environment and healthy family atmosphere Sherwin Williams Store 1129 unl they are deported as a family. Here, I met the Lord Saint Ignaus Loyola Parish loving beyond condions with compassion, and solidarity, Uni‐Strut and trying to forgive, heal, redeem and renew. Here, I heard the Lord ask again, “As a naon, is this who we want to be?” “Let us love not in word or speech and I heard, as church this is who we must be.” Again, I am but in deed and truth.” 1-John 3:18 reminded that “whatever we do to the least of my brothers and sisters, we do to Him.” Connued . When I visited families of parishioner families in Urge Administraon to Guatemala this past June, the parents and grandparents of our keep families out of parishioners implored us to keep working for comprehensive long‐term detenon immigraon reform and they wanted all of us to know that their facilies. children are not criminals. I heard this at the same me the first Aer cancelling group of detainee children were torn from their families at the its child border. I had no response but to promise them that we will keep separaon trying to care for their children as if they were our own and in the pracces, the way that they would love them. I’ve been to the border and I Administraon’s believe that as a naon we are in a defining moment of who we “zero tolerance policy” want to be and the Catholic community with the universal church, is now resulng in costly, has an important responsibility in helping to speak out for jusce, long‐term detenons for enre families. To do this, the to declare that families belong together, that immigraon Administraon is proposing new rules that would make it detenon is not a soluon to family separaon, and to connue to possible to detain children longer than the current 20‐day limit care for the immigrant in the way of Christ. (established by the “Flores Selement). Encourage the What you can do to promote greater solidarity with migrants! Administraon to not pursue this by subming your comments Provided by the Archdiocese of Cincinna to the proposed rule by Nov. 6. hps:// Catholic Social Acon Office www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/07/2018‐ 19052/apprehension‐processing‐care‐and‐custody‐of‐alien‐ Support development efforts in other countries. minors‐and‐unaccompanied‐alien‐children Parish twinning, Catholic Relief Services and other ministries organized by your local church are great opportunies to help Urge Administraon to set refugee levels at 75,000/year. poor and vulnerable populaons in other countries find By September 30, the Administraon will seek Congressional opportunies in their homeland, so they won’t need to migrate input concerning its maximum number of refugee admiances, to secure their lives and dignies. To learn more, contact: a process called the Presidenal Determinaon. The Your own parish and find out what ministries it already has and Administraon will seek input from the Senate Judiciary how you can get involved; Commiee. Please contact your Senators, and urge them to raise our annual limit for refugees back up to 75,000. Archdiocesan Mission Office about parish twinning: hp:// www.catholiccincinna.org/ministries‐offices/mission‐office/ Catholic Charies of Southwestern Ohio parish‐twinning/ – Immigrant‐related services Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Catholic bishops’ overseas Catholic Charies of Southwestern Ohio (CCSWO) provides humanitarian and development organizaon: www.crs.org. social, emoonal, and legal support to immigrants and Help migrants integrate into our parishes and communies. refugees from all over the world. Consider supporng CCSWO The Church calls us to embrace migrants as our own efforts by volunteering with the Immigraon Legal Services countrymen and women. The Archdiocesan Hispanic Ministry Department, Refugee Reselement, and/or Su Casa Hispanic Office can help: [email protected] Center. More informaon on the website: www.ccswoh.org/ volunteer. If volunteering me is not an opon, we also Urge Congress to pass comprehensive immigraon reform. welcome spiritual and financial support! Call your elected representaves and encourage them to fix out broken immigraon system. Ask them for a reform that: Support Maribel Trujillo and other separated families • Provides a path to cizenship for undocumented persons in – Immigrant Accompaniment Campaign the country; Locally, the Archdiocese and Catholic Charies have supported • Preserves family unity as a corner‐stone of our immigraon many immigrants and the families from whom they’ve been system; separated. Consider wring to a detained migrant to let them • Provides legal paths for low‐skilled immigrant workers to know that he or she is in your prayers. Occasionally, when a come and work in the United States; local deportaon case has risen to the level of a clear injusce, • Restores due process protecons to our immigraon we have organized protests and requests to cancel enforcement policies and does not detain immigrant deportaon. Stay tuned for such acons, especially in the families, especially those with children, in substandard upcoming retrial of Maribel Trujillo from St. Julie Billiart Parish. detenon facilies; • Addresses the root causes (push factors) of migraon, such “Migrants are children, women, and men as persecuon and economic disparity. who leave or are forced to leave their homes Contacts U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown: (202) 224‐2315 for various reasons, who share U.S. Senator Rob Portman: (202) 224‐3353 a legitimate desire for knowing U.S. Rep.