The Valley Catholic March 19, 2019 | Page 11

tvc.dsj.org | March 19, 2019 IN THE CHURCH 11 Catholic Charities CEO Urges All to ‘Shatter Stereotypes’ About Immigrants By Jacob Comello, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON -- Dominican Sister Donna Markham, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, challenged the group of students, professors and clergy in her audience March 12 at Georgetown University’s Dahlgren Chapel to a thought experiment. Making them visualize the story of the good Samaritan, she asked them to graft it onto their own lives, imploring, “Who is lying by the side of the road?” and later, “Am I one of the priests or Levites who passed by?” It is this ref lection that Sister Markham wants Catholics, and indeed all people around the country to keep in mind when thinking about the plight of immigrants and refugees worldwide. “Tending to the suffering ... is not easy work” she said, adding that we must all “confront (our) biases” if we are to truly do the work of Christ. Sister Mark ham admitted that her sheltered suburban upbringing initially prevented her, as it may pre- For Lent, Irish Catholics Urged to Abandon ‘Weapons of Mass Distraction’ DUBLIN (CNS) -- Alcohol, smoking and chocolates are some of the most well-known vices that people tradi- tionally give up during Lent. But now Massgoers in Ireland are being urged to make what might be an even harder sacrifice throughout the penitential six-week period -- switching off their mobile phones. Parishioners in Navan, County Meath, are being urged to “reconnect with their families” in the weeks leading up to Easter by talking to one another rather than texting and browsing online. The “Invitation for Lent 2019” urges churchgoers to “re- duce screen time in order to increase family time.” Father Robert McCabe of St. Mary’s Church, Navan, said he hopes parishioners will make a per- manent lifestyle change, rather than just putting down their devices dur- ing Lent. “Everybody can benefit from spending less time on their phones and laptops and using that time to com- municate instead with their families,” he said. “Even members of the clergy are guilty of being on their phones too much, and Pope Francis himself has highlighted this point when he chastised priests and bishops who take pictures with their mobiles dur- ing Masses, saying they should lift up their hearts rather than their mobiles.” vent many in the United States, from recognizing the struggles of the most desperate. “I come from a homogenous subur- ban background. ... I never had contact with people who had to run for their lives,” said Sister Markham. But her experience, and her heart, changed when she and her convent took in a young Romanian couple in the ‘90s that was fleeing persecution in their homeland. Both the man and the woman were bursting with potential, the man an engineer and the woman a concert pianist. And both had suffered unspeakable torture at the hands of their govern- ment. When Sister Markham’s convent welcomed them at Christmastime and she slowly discovered the humanity of the couple, she was forced to re-evalu- ate what she thought about refugees up to that point. “I had harbored a bias,” Sister Markham related, “that refugees had come for ... a handout.” She now real- ized that she was lucky to have met people whose stories of suffering were so similar to those of Christ: “I am privileged to hear the stories of those ... who have lost everything.” And this encounter energized her for the rest of her life. She continued to help immigrants throughout her career, and now presides over Catholic Charities USA, which, with its network of local affiliates, is one of the primary providers of care and housing to asy- lum-seekers in the United States and runs programs for them at over 4,000 sites, including important ports of en- try, like McAllen, Texas, and Nogales, Arizona. She lamented that the United States has recently been making the window of opportunity for asylum-seekers increasingly narrow, as the rules for who can apply for asylum constantly fluctuate and asylee ceilings continue to drop. She revealed that Catholic Charities would be “lucky” if 5,000 are admitted this year. But, amid the uncertainty, she main- tains faith in the humanity of people across the globe. She finished by sharing a story of “transcontinental human goodness,” a story that she counted herself fortunate to have taken part in. Two brothers from Honduras, Car- los and Edwin, were on the run from their home country when gangs sought to do them harm. Carlos, who had been shot in the back three times, was paralyzed and was pushed in a chair by his brother throughout the entire 2,000- mile journey to the southern border of the U.S. The journey took one year. When they arrived at Nogales, Sister Markham conveyed that “they were terrified” of being returned to Hon- duras, and every month they waited in detention the clock was ticking down to their deportation. But Catholic Charities was able to place them with Dominican friars in Chicago, who with Sister Markham’s help were eventually able to find them a place in Canada. Referring to the love of the brothers and the love of all across the U.S. and Canada who had made their trip a success, Sister Markham commented, “This is what our life is about ... we have to welcome the stranger. ... I would say these are the faces of the Christ.” Georgetown University Troubled by Coach’s Involvement in College Scam WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Officials at Georgetown University were “deeply troubled” to learn that the school’s former tennis coach, Gordon Ernst, is alleged to be part of a widespread col- lege admissions scandal. He is one of at least nine athletic coaches and 33 par- ents, including celebrity moms, charged March 12 in the scandal that involved bribing college coaches and others to secure coveted spots at selected colleges and universities around the country. Ernst, head coach for the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Georgetown from 2006 to 2017, resigned last year from the school and is currently the tennis coach at the University of Rhode Island. He was charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering March 12 and accused of accepting $2.7 million in bribes. He was released on a $200,000 bond later that day. Ernst, who resides in Maryland, had to surrender his passport and can only travel within the state. A letter sent the same day to members of the Georgetown University community by school officials said: “Earlier today, we were deeply troubled to learn that former tennis coach, Gordon Ernst, is alleged to have committed criminal acts against the university that constitute an unprecedented breach of trust. Ernst’s alleged actions are shocking, highly antithetical to our values and violate numerous university policies and ethi- cal standards,” the letter said.