Catholic Social Teaching and Serving the Immigrant Church

1. Catholic Social Teaching and Serving the Immigrant Church

3. The Church Founded to continue Christ�s compassionate, unconditional love to humankind Also to challenge humanity �Christian, remember thy dignity� Pope St. Leo (4th Century)

4. Nature of the Church To engage societies�cultures�embrace them�use them to promote the Good News (Gospel) Various forms of teaching: scriptures, teaching of bishops, popes (magisterium) Lived witness of holy men and women--saints

5. The Christian and Society Called to be engaged �In the world but not of it� Seeing Christ in every person�caring for him in the weak, needy, poor, marginalized Matthew 25: �I was hungry and you fed me��

6. Catholicism�s Efforts Cradle to Grave�care for the whole human person Gives rise to networks of social agencies: hospitals, orphanages, feeding centers, shelters Schools�one of the most common forms of care

7. Concern for the �Alien and the Stranger� Hearkens back to biblical times�Hebrew Scriptures draws on hospitality ethic of Semitic culture�insists on respect for the alien and the widow �for you were once aliens� Long tradition of welcoming the stranger�providing for their spiritual and material needs carries over into Christianity

8. Catholic Social Teaching Articulated by many sources�but in recent times primarily by popes and bishops Address specific issues that rise up: labor, just wages, war, the economy, bioethics, public policies Some times meets a very negative reaction

9. Key Principles of Catholic Social Teaching Dignity of the Human Person/Universal Human Rights Each human person created in image of God�carries inherent dignity

10. Social Nature of the Human Person Human beings are not isolated units�but only reach their full potential in relationship with others

11. The Common Good The right of individuals to seek their own advantage has to be balanced against the common welfare of all

12. Solidarity Concern for the welfare of others that goes beyond what strict justice requires

13. The Option for the Poor Concern for the most vulnerable in society

14. Subsidiarity Lower levels of society must do the work of social justice (parish, school, home)�if they cannot, then higher levels of authority step in

15. The Immigrant Church The Catholic Church in the United States has throughout its history has used Catholic social teaching to under gird its mission

16. Provided a range of spiritual and social services to its own people and to others who are not Catholic: parishes, hospitals, child care, various forms of social provision and schools.

17. Catholic Immigration Early US Catholics�mostly English and Irish After 1815�large numbers of Irish and German speakers

18. New comers found a mixed reception in America�foreign identity and Catholic religion sometimes provoked strong reaction Anti-Catholicism/Nativism went hand in hand

19. How did Church Respond? Ethnic parishes and ethnic schools

20. Irish Come in successive waves during 19th century�4.3 million (1820-1920) Form new parishes�less inclined to start schools�but Catholic church accepts and ministers to them

21. German Speakers Come from German-speaking areas of Europe (5.5 million, 1820-1920) Many of them had money�settled in cities�Midwest (St. Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee: The German Triangle)

22. Germans Set up ethnic parishes�elaborate churches, organizational practices Set up schools�where German language spoke� �Language Preserves Faith� Bi-lingual education a common feature of German parish schools

23. Religious orders of women and men recruited to serve immigrant population In Milwaukee: School Sisters of Notre Dame, School Sisters of St. Francis, Racine Dominicans Each order ran schools for children of immigrants

24. Second Wave of Immigration Stats: 1820-1920: 33.6 million 1865-1880: 10 million 1890-1914: 15 million

25. Changing Demographics Mid-1880s: character of immigrants changes More Italians, Poles, Eastern Europeans

26. Ethnic Parish After 1820 parish life changes thanks to influx of immigrants By 1850 there are 1.6 million Catholics in US�single largest denomination 3.1 million by 1860

27. Immigrants settle into American life and culture gradually Parish is place where ethnic identity persists and where transition to American Catholic identity is slowly evolved

28. Church Response: The Ethnic Parish The parish or local church was the focal point of ministry to Catholic immigrants Early churches�small enterprises formed by laity and clergy�the role of lay trustees was significant

29. Territorial versus Ethnic parishes Traditionally parishes were organized territorially�Catholicism not congregational but territorial Everyone living in a parish boundary belonged to parish regardless of ethnicity

30. Common Organizational Problem Often when new Catholic immigrant groups appeared they were directed toward local territorial churches or toward ethnic churches that seemed to fit E.g. Italians were sent to Irish parishes; Poles sent to German parishes This becomes uncomfortable

31. Large influx of immigrants brought language problems: sermons, confessions, devotions (Mass was in Latin) Also different spiritual cultures: types of devotions, prayers, ritual celebrations, feast days, holidays

32. Schools Germans and Poles strong for separate schools

33. Clergy and Religious Foreign-born clergy came to minister�religious and diocesan Congregations of women specialized in certain ethnic groups

34. American Hierarchy Split develops between German and English speaking bishops over future of Church in America

35. Americanizers Insist that the church should adapt to American culture: language, political customs�stress national loyalty Optimistically believe that heavily Protestant Americans can be converted to Catholicism

36. Conservatives/Germanizers Some in hierarchy insist that church should maintain its distance from American society�too hostile to Catholic interests and values German-speaking bishops insist on retention of German language, parochial schools, and separate status

37. Dispute Rages Settled by Rome in favor of conservatives Condemnation of �Americanism� in 1899 by Pope Leo XIII

38. Vatican Concern for American Immigrants Concerns of �leakage� Heavy proselytization by evangelicals�Methodists and Baptists Falling away from religion altogether--indifference

39. Special Vatican concern for Italian immigrants� Apostolic Delegate visits dioceses to make sure that ethnic Catholics are being tended properly Allowing of ethnic churches

40. Immigration Restriction Two major laws passed in 1920s 1921 1924 Both severely restrict the total number of people coming into US�virtually cutting off southern and eastern European immigration�totally excluding Japanese Door is opened for Mexicans

41. Mexicans Had been in US for many years Southwestern US experienced a surge of immigration from Mexico Southwest had been part of Mexico�under Spain and independent Mexico US conquered this area during Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

42. Where did they settle Border states, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Southern California Areas where they had lived before conquest Continued as a presence in these areas

43. Mexican Catholicism Revolutionary and political turmoil in Mexico 1910-1930s�sends many Mexicans across the border to the US Heavy growth of Mexican Catholic population in border states Increasing number of parishes and catechetical programs sponsored by dioceses

44. Mexican Parishes Earlier history of existing American mission parishes�some fallen into disuse and ruin American administration of new western dioceses attempt to revive missions and create worship centers for Spanish-speaking Catholics

45. For many years, without clergy, Mexican Catholics improvised their own religious expressions Baptisms, burials and marriages without clergy Popular devotion to Mary and to saints Confraternities a key element of sustaining religious life.

46. About 80,000 people of Mexican heritage were incorporated into United States Migration back and forth across Mexican border took place�seasonal labor of migrant laborers Size not properly counted�1916 religious census noted that 522,244 people belong to Spanish-speaking parishes�most of these were Mexican

47. Spanish speaking�come in large numbers in 1920s�settle in southwest�agricultural laborers Some repatriated in 1930s Church concern for Spanish speaking grows�dioceses in southwest minister to them�ethnic parishes

48. Bracero Program 1942�to make up for labor shortages, US permits Mexican workers to enter the country legally�work in seasonal labor and return home. Program goes until 1964

49. Ministry to Migrant Laborers Priests, nuns, seminarians undertake ministry to Spanish-speaking Catholics in fields Southwestern cities�especially Los Angeles and San Antonio create specific ministries to Spanish speaking-ethnic parish model

50. Church Response Continued care for Spanish speaking�Bishop�s Conference at urging of Bp. Robert Lucey forms a committee for Spanish Speaking Recruits priests (sometimes from Spain) to work with Spanish speaking in various dioceses

51. Pope John XXIII calls for sharing of clergy with Latin America American priests go to various Latin American countries�diocesan missions Lay groups�Papal Volunteers also send men and women to minister�learn Spanish and cultural sensitivity

52. 1960s Immigrants become �ethnics� Greater appreciation of cultural pluralism takes hold of American society in 1960s�greater desire of church to accommodate various ethnic groups, especially Spanish speaking, Pacific Islanders (Filipinos), and Asians (Vietnamese and Koreans) Formation of parishes

53. Ethnic Representation in Hierarchy Archbishop Patricio Flores�San Antonio�other Spanish speaking bishops follow Creation of seminary formation programs, Assumption Seminary, Mexican American Cultural Center, immersion programs for Hispanic ministry (Cuernavaca)

54. Immigration Reform Hart-Cellar Act of 1965�replaces quota system of 1920s�families welcomed Large influx of foreign nationals from a variety of countries Spanish speaking continue to come�from Mexico�but also South, Central America and Caribbean nations

55. Immigration Issues Growth in immigrant populations Steady growth of Hispanic population causes significant growth in US church Not only in southwest but in Midwest, South

56. Conclusion Immigrant needs met by church primarily through ethnic parish� Sacred space which contains elements of former culture�language, devotions, art, schedule Church struggled with appropriate levels of cultural sensitivity�English or Bilingualism�more of an issue after vernacular takes off in liturgy

57. Resurgence of controversy surrounding immigration in 1990s Border control issues Fears of terrorism, crime, violence, disease Job loss Some nativism Church stakes out a position in favor of immigrant dignity�appealing to papal teaching, respect for migrants and dislocated, human dignity of all.