CT -Faithful citizenship: Rights and responsibilities

It’s only fitting that Sister of Notre Dame Maria Francine Stacey works out of a former school building, because education is part of her mission.

As director of the archdiocesan Dayton Hispanic Ministry, Sister Maria wants to change the perception some people have of immigrants while acknowledging a need for immigration regulation.

"We need to see it as a global issue," she said. "People are suffering because of greater issues than what we can see sometimes."

Despite some opinions, immigrants do pay taxes, want to assimilate into American culture, want to learn English and aren’t a drain on our medical system, Sister Maria said.

At the same time, immigrants experience heartache in leaving their family behind to seek a better working opportunities across the border.

"They are doing it for their children," Sister Maria said. "The separation of the family is very difficult for them."

In the northern areas of the archdiocese, immigrants come to work on the farms and in a tomato processing plant. There are dozens of immigrant families in some of the northern counties. Immigrant workers are also found in poultry and other plants across the archdiocese.

American immigration reform should accommodate immigrant workers, who are a key part of our country’s future, Sister Maria said.

"We can’t keep defending a law that is broken and ignoring the person that is suffering because of it," she said. "When we really look at it, that person is vital to the economy of our country."

From a large office and workspace at Holy Family parish in Dayton, Sister Maria and her volunteers minister to Hispanics, doing everything from providing sacramental preparation to assisting with employment.

Providing Spanish Masses and traditional Hispanic services — such as a Three Kings Celebration in January and acting out the Passion during Lent — help keep immigrants connected to their faith in this country.

"The faith is overwhelming for these people," Sister Maria said. "We try to worship with them in a way that is traditional for them. (We) do things that were part of their faith experience in their country."

Spanish Masses are also offered each weekend in the northern areas of the archdiocese.

"If they pray in Spanish, that’s how they talk to God," said Nelda Schwab, a volunteer with the Dayton Hispanic Ministry. "It’s a foreign language if they have to speak in English."

Other services of Hispanic ministry include English as a second language classes, health issues, integration into schools.

On a recent day in her office, Sister Maria spoke with a Hispanic immigrant in rapid-fire Spanish, and then turned her attention to an English-speaking visitor.

"She does a fantastic job," Schwab said. "She is tireless in it. She is so present to the people and so caring."

In Cincinnati, Margaret Singer of Su Casa has developed a play on immigration that illustrated how immigrants come to our country. A number of parishes, including St. Bartholomew’s, St. James in White Oak and St. James in Wyoming, St. Mary in Oxford and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Anderson, have hosted events to educate parishioners about immigration issues. For more information on these parishes and programs, contact the archdiocesan Catholic Social Action Office at 513-421-3131.

Next: Option for the poor and vulnerable

One parish’s immigration lesson

WASHINGTON — Father Cathal Gallagher is bringing his parishioners in rural South Dakota an unwelcome lesson in the fine details of U.S. immigration law.

Father Gallagher, 58, a Columban missionary, went to the state a decade ago at the invitation of Bishop Robert J. Carlson, then-head of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, S.D. The Irish priest currently is pastor of parishes in three prairie towns. After spending 22 years working in Japan, Father Gallagher was surprised by how taken he was with South Dakota. As soon as he was eligible, he applied for permanent U.S. residency. Five years ago he was told that his "green card" was approved and would arrive within two weeks, only to learn much later that his application was actually denied.

Now, unless the Department of Homeland Security office of Citizenship and Immigration Services can be persuaded to reverse its denial of his application, Father Gallagher will have to head back to Ireland by July 1.

He’s had a seven-year adventure in the U.S. immigration system, with help throughout the process from the Sioux Falls Diocese and a Washington-based attorney with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, known as CLINIC.

Anne Marie Gibbons, director of CLINIC’s program for religious worker visas, said it’s common for someone’s visa that authorizes him to live and work in the U.S. to expire while he’s waiting to hear the results of an application for another visa or for permanent residency.

Gibbons said religious workers are especially prone to out-of-status problems because, unlike other categories of workers or family-visa holders, they are not permitted to submit simultaneous applications that might protect them from a lapse in coverage.

Patti Ward, a St. Thomas Aquinas parishioner, says Father Gallagher’s immigration problems have been eye-opening for the community.

"None of us has ever been involved in immigration problems," Ward said. "Some people don’t want to understand. They’re just mad."

Not only are they angry that their beloved pastor may have to leave, but some see the Latino immigrant workers at nearby dairy farms and factories and make comparisons, said Ward.

"They don’t understand how (the Latinos) can be in the U.S. and Father can’t," she said.
Father Gallagher, however, said that "here in the Dakotas’ people’s eyes have been opened that No. 1, you don’t have to have a Hispanic face or speak Spanish to have immigration problems, and No. 2, the government system isn’t working as it should." — CNS