Denver Catholic

6 I LOCAL NEWS JANUARY 8, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER Obama to Little Sisters: It's just a piece of paper elderly across the country, and one in Canada, which are characterized by hospitality and a dependence on Divine Providence. The mission of the Little Sisters began in 1839 when their foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, invited a blind, paralyzed old woman into her home, and cared for her. From that day onward, the Little Sisters have offered "the neediest elderly of every race and religion a home where they will be welcomed as Christ, cared for as family, and accompanied with dignity until God calls them to himself." Following in the footsteps of Jugan, two Little Sisters go begging daily for basic necessities on behalf of the elderly. This was a practice that Jugan began in the early years of the congregation, thus saving the residents the indignity of having to beg for themselves. In an interview last fall with Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online, Sister Constance Veit, communications director for the Little Sisters of the Poor, stated quite clearly that the sisters simply want "to take care of the elderly poor without being forced to violate the faith that animates our work." For more than 100 years, the Little Sisters have been able to do just that here in the United States. The contraceptive mandate, however, puts the ability of the Little Sisters to continue their mission and work in jeopardy. "All of this is sad and unnecessary," said Rienzi. "Our federal government is massive and powerful. It can obviously find ways to distribute contraceptives and abortion pills without forcing nuns to be involved." Preliminary injunctions had been awarded in 18 of the 20 similar cases in which relief had been requested. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is the justice assigned for emergency applications from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, gave the Little Sisters a temporary injunction Dec. 31, and gave the federal government until Jan. 3 to respond. After the Obama administration's request that the injunction be lifted, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty urged Sotomayor to keep the injunction in place as it protects "religious exercise." Currently, there are 91 lawsuits challenging the HHS mandate. The Becket Fund represents: Hobby Lobby, Little Sisters of the Poor, Guidestone, Wheaton College, East Texas Baptist University, Houston Baptist University, Colorado Christian University, the Eternal Word Television Network, Ave Maria University, and Belmont Abbey College. where we had to go. It was a great relief and joy for us, as we are Catholics. For me, it was a sign," said Efraín. Angélica added: "Knowing that the Church had a service in this area gave me so much confidence. After our first appointment, we left very happy and knew that we were in the right place, and that our case was in good hands with Catholic Charities." Catholic Charities has been able to ramp up the services it provides to immigrants through a two-year grant the agency received in early 2013 from the SC Ministry Foundation Catholic Charities A large part of what Catho- created by the Sisters of Charity lic Charities' immigration ser- of Cincinnati in 1996. vices does in Colorado is family visa processing, according to Dignity and immigration reform Martinez-Gloria. This helps keep Advocating for meaningful, families together by obtaining a comprehensive immigration revisa for a spouse, parent or child. form legislation, currently pend"It is not necessarily an easy ing in Congress, is another exprocess," she added. ample of how the Church works Efraín and Angélica Acos- for migrants and their families. ta-Hernández can attest to that. Other areas where Migration and "The police stopped my hus- Refugee Services is involved inband because his headlight was clude: educating people "in the broken, and when they realized pews" on immigration reform, he didn't have papers, they ar- coordinating a grassroots' Justice rested him," Angélica said. While for Immigrants campaign, proin jail, he was offered several op- tecting and reuniting unaccomtions for legal services. panied migrant children sepa"When we saw among the op- rated from their families, liberattions the help of Catholic Chari- ing victims of human trafficking ties, we knew immediately that's forced into hard labor or sexual slavery, and resettling refugees. "We're the largest non-governmental refugee resettlement agency in the United States, and really, the world." Scribner said. "It's a very important aspect of our work." Locally, 1,464 refugees were resettled in Denver in 2012 from countries including Bhutan (Nepal), Burma, Iraq, Somalia and Democratic Republic of Congo. The work of the bishops' conference couldn't happen without the coordination of many agencies, Scribner said, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. and Catholic Charities, both national and local agencies. Northern Colorado's immigrants are also served by Centro San Juan Diego, the Hispanic Institute for Family and Pastoral Care for the archdiocese. "We recognize the multidimensional aspects of what it is a person needs and address them in their entirety," Scribner said, which can include material, pastoral, legal, psychological, community, or spiritual needs. "Everything we do is rooted in the notion of human dignity, which is rooted in the idea that we're made in the image of God." For more information on National Migration Week, visit www.usccb.org/about/ migration-and-refugee-services/national-migration-week. BY KARNA SWANSON When the Obama administration refuted on Jan. 3 the temporary injunction granted to the Little Sisters of the Poor protecting them from the controversial Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate, the sisters couldn't be reached for comment. They were at Mass, praying with the elderly residents of their home in Denver. Within hours, dozens of news stories appeared online that put the sisters at the center of a contentious national debate on what constitutes strong-arming a religious congregation to provide contraceptives and other abortion-inducing drugs to its employees. The sticking point for both sides is a waiver/authorization form that the Little Sisters must fill out to take advantage of a so-called accommodation for nonprofit ministries. The form, however, has a dual purpose—it signals opposition to the mandate, but also authorizes a third-party to provide the services it finds morally objectionable. "The Little Sisters and other applicants cannot execute the form because they cannot deputize a third party to sin on their behalf," stated the Becket Fund, which represents the Little Sisters, in a brief responding to Immigration From Page 1 "Rarely does someone want to pick up and leave their family, leave their friends, and leave their communities for a new country," said Todd Scribner, Ph.D., education outreach coordinator for the U.S. bishops' Migration and Refugee Services in Washington, D.C. "Most people don't want to do that, but they feel forced to." Living in the shadows National Migration Week, launched by the bishops more than a quarter century ago, will be observed in dioceses around the country, including the Archdiocese of Denver, Jan. 5-11. Themed "Out of the Darkness," the initiative aims to raise awareness about populations living in figurative darkness—undocumented immigrants, children, refugees and victims of human trafficking—when the ability to live their lives is severely restricted. "When people are living in the shadows, they're functioning on the margins of society," Scribner said. "So they can't fully participate in the life of the community, which destabilizes communities. We want to make sure communities are as strong as they can be." DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER FILE PHOTO BY JAMES BACA A LITTLE Sister of the Poor arranges flowers with residents of the order's Mullen Home for the Aged in Denver in this Denver Catholic Register file photo. the Obama administration. The the courts don't uphold the ingroup added that the admin- junction, they could be subject istration is "simply blind to the to devastating IRS penalties that could add up to millions of dolreligious exercise at issue." The Obama administration lars a year. After checking back later with minimalized the importance of the form, enticing the Little the sisters, who run Mullen Sisters to "secure for themselves Home for the Aged in Denver, the relief they seek" …"with the Mother Patricia Mary stated, "At this point we are not saying stroke of their own pen." Mark Rienzi, senior counsel anything. We are just kind of for the Becket Fund who filed waiting … and continuing to the lawsuit on behalf of the work with the elderly." The Little Sisters of the Poor nuns, said in a statement Jan. 3 that the administration was have served the elderly poor in "trying to bully nuns into violat- Colorado since 1917, and the congregation has been in the ing their religious beliefs." If the sisters don't sign the United States since 1868. They waiver/authorization form, or if currently run 30 homes for the NATIONAL MIGRATION WEEK JAN. 5-11 How to get involved: • Contact your representatives and urge them to pass just and compassionate immigration reform. For Colorado information, visit www.cocatholic conference.org or call the Colorado Catholic Conference at 303-894-8808. • Consider becoming a foster parent to help a migrant child in need. To learn more, call the USCCB at 202-541-3347 or Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver at 303-742-0828. • Learn about the bishops' Justice for Immigrants Campaign at www.JusticeforImmigrants. org, and the fight against slavery at www.usccb.org/about/ anti-trafficking-program. In Colorado, the immigrant population increased about 34 percent from 2000 to 2011, according to the Migration Policy Institute. That number equates to nearly 10 percent of the overall population of 5.1 million. The largest share of Colorado's immigrants, nearly 56 percent, came from Latin America, followed by Asia at 22 percent. The remainder are from: Europe 14 percent; Africa, 6 percent; Northern America (including Canada, Bermuda and Greenland), 2 percent; and less than 1 percent from the Pacific islands of Oceania. "The majority of immigrants in the area are Spanish-speaking," Martinez-Gloria said, mostly from Mexico but some from Central and South America. "In accordance with Catholic social teaching, recognizing that we are all made in God's image ... those who are suffering must be received, welcomed and supported."

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