Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1515510
E C C E O S O L E A O K C O D A T E K E L S H E M C M X V T R I D E N T I N E L E V E R A G E M A R O O N E W E F E T A T E R E S A C O N C L A V E O V E R T C L O T H L A P W A R N P E A L S R O U E E D U P A L M S E C O L E R E M N A N T S D R A F T S O N E S G U M C A R M E L O R N A M E N T I D E A L I S T I C A L O E D A D A N O I S E R A R E M O M G U S T S K L M N m o c . s c i l o h t a c r o f s e m a g d r o w . w w w Catholic preschools take Colorado to court over universal pre-k funding A Catholic family and t wo Catholic pre- schools were in Denver federal court for a three-day trial in January chal- lenging the State of Colorado's decision to bar them from participating in the state's Univer- sal Preschool (UPK) Program because of their religious beliefs. St. Mary's and St. Bernadette's are Catholic parishes in Colorado that operate high-quality, licensed preschool programs serving Den- ver-area families. For decades, these parish pre- schools have assisted parents with the religious and educational upbringing of their children. "Universal should mean universal. Instead of keeping its promise of free preschool for all children, Colorado is turning its back on certain tax-paying families because of their religious beliefs," said Nick Reaves, counsel at Becket. "Colorado cannot deny parents the opportunit y to provide their children with a free, high-qualit y preschool education just because they've chosen a school that ref lects their faith. "We've asked the Court to stop Colorado's attack on these Catholic preschools and the many families they wish to serve. We are confi- dent that Colorado won't be able to leave reli- gious preschools and the families they serve out in the cold because of their beliefs." Centro San Juan Diego's citizenship program honors new citizens at inaugural celebration O n Saturday, Dec. 2, Centro San Juan Diego held its inaugural citizenship celebration for new U.S. citizens who made the marked achievement of completing and obtaining their U.S. citizenship through Centro's citizenship program. "Nobody dreams of becoming an immigrant: as children we may have dreamt of being an astronaut, maybe a singer or rockstar or maybe a famous movie star, but the reality of life took over and many of us fled our country and came to this land of dreams," said Alfonso Lara, Direc- tor of Centro San Juan Diego, in his welcome speech. "We may have left with dreams crushed, in the middle of the night or in the middle of war, violence etc. We left behind dreams, family, community, culture, and more than we could ever imagine." During the event, the students were recog- nized for their effort and dedication in attend- ing classes at Centro and preparing for the citi- zenship test they took at USCIS. "It was a very exciting challenge to take the citizenship test and finish the course here at Centro San Juan Diego," said María Dolores Eugenia Gutiérrez, one of the new U.S. citizens who took the program at Centro. "When I started the application, the immigration attor- ney told me, 'You know you can give it your all,' and now here I am." LOCAL N E WS 56 FEB-MAR 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC