Catholic Charities USA to Open Annual Gathering in Cincinnati Thursday; Poverty and Race Top Agenda

Cincinnati—Catholic Charities USA’s 2007 Annual Gathering kicks off in Cincinnati today where hundreds of Catholic Charities leaders and staff are meeting September 13-16 to examine critical issues that affect the low-income people they serve. Catholic Charities USA’s members—1,700 local agencies and institutions nationwide—provide help and create hope for more than 7.8 million people a year regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds.

The meeting is co-hosted by Catholic Social Services of Southwestern Ohio, Catholic Social Services of Miami Valley, and Catholic Social Services of Northern Kentucky. Poverty issues—including the impact of race on poverty—will be discussed in-depth by speakers and in workshops at the four-day meeting, which is being held at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel.
In a special session on Saturday, September 15, members will gather to discuss a draft of Catholic Charities USA’s thought-provoking 2007 issue brief, “Poverty and Racism: Overlapping Threats to the Common Good,” which examines racism’s economic effects and how they intersect with poverty.

“This draft document is intended to start, enrich, and inform a conversation within our Catholic Charities network and throughout our country, compelling each of us to serve, educate, and advocate for programs and policies that will foster unity in our communities, eliminate racism, and significantly reduce poverty in our lifetime,” said Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA.

Catholic Charities USA 2007 Annual Gathering Highlights

Poverty and Racism: Overlapping Threats to the Common Good Discussion (Saturday, September 15, 9 a.m.) Kicking off the network’s in-depth discussion of Catholic Charities USA’s issue brief, Poverty and Racism: Overlapping Threats to the Common Good,” will be a conversation about race and faith with Rev. Bryan Massingale, author of the paper and the Most Rev. Ricardo Ramirez, bishop of Las Cruces, NM. Afterward, a panel will examine the real-world experiences of living in a culture where race matters. Meeting attendees will then discuss the paper in smaller breakout sessions.

Eucharistic Liturgy at St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption (Saturday, September 15, 6 p.m.) Saturday evening, meeting participants will attend Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption just across the river in Covington. The Eucharistic Liturgy, which will celebrated by Most Rev. Roger J. Foys, Bishop of Covington, and Most Rev. Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati, will reflect a rich blending of African American Roman Catholic liturgical traditions and the cathedral’s magnificent pipe organ that, with the congregation, will exuberantly proclaim the glory of God.

Candlelight March across the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. (Saturday, September 15, 7:30 p.m.) Following Mass, hundreds of Catholic Charities leaders from 38 states will participate in a candlelight march across the entire Roebling Bridge from the Kentucky side toward the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to demonstrate their commitment to eradicating racism and helping the many faces of the poor.

Keynote Speaker (Sunday, September 16, 10 a.m.) The four-day meeting will conclude on Sunday, September 16 with presentation from Dr. Robert Franklin, Jr., who is the president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. Dr. Franklin is an acclaimed author and educator and his most recent book, Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope to African American Communities, provides keen insights on the devastating effect of generational poverty on African-American communities. Dr. Franklin will help attendees examine the role institutions like Catholic Charities can and must play in breaking the cycle of generational poverty. At the same time, he will challenge Catholic Charities to develop new ways to engage their communities and provide services that are truly empowering.

Hearing on Legislative Proposals (Thursday, September 13, 2 p.m.) Catholic Charities USA will hold its annual legislative hearing during which local Catholic Charities agencies will present formal testimony linking the problems facing their programs and clients with recommendations for federal government policy changes. Witnesses will present testimony and answer questions on policy issues from Catholic Charities USA’s Social Policy Committee, simulating a Congressional hearing. Testimony will include race and poverty, health care, hunger, housing, family economic security, immigration, human trafficking, and emergency services.

Vision Award (Thursday, September 13, 12 p.m.) In honor of his dramatic leadership in helping New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Norman C. Francis, president of Xavier University of Louisiana will receive that Catholic Charities USA 2007 Vision Award.. The annual Vision Award recognizes an individual who, through his or her life and work, personifies Catholic Charities USA’s vision for a moral, just, and compassionate society. Past recipients of the Vision Award include Sr. Helen Prejean, Rashey Moten, Rev. Fred Kammer, SJ, Msgr. Charles J. Fahey, Sr. Serena Branson, DC, former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, and Msgr. Edward J. Ryle.

2007 National Volunteer of the Year Award (Saturday, September 15, 1 p.m.). Catholic Charities USA will honor a Tucson, AZ, family of three generations of dentists with its 2007 National Volunteers of the Year. Sam Marascalco, DDS, his son-in-law Phil Mooberry, DDS, and grandson Nick Mooberry, DDS, volunteer at Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona’s St. Elizabeth’s Clinic. The clinic provides thousands of uninsured adults and children with low-cost dental care. These three generations of dentists treat between 12 and 15 patients each month at the clinic. They also treat some of the more complex patients in their own offices. All patients of St. E’s are accepted on a sliding fee scale or scholarship for dental care. Dr. Sam, Dr. Phil, and Dr. Nick’s volunteer care helps keep the cost of care affordable and increases the clinic’s ability to provide scholarships for the truly indigent.

2007 Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Award (Thursday, September 13, 7 p.m.) In recognition of a lifetime of helping children, Russ and Rita Hoffman of Moorhead, MN, who have been foster parents to more than 400 children over a 44 year span, will be honored with Catholic Charities USA’s 2007 Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Award. The Hoffmans began adopting and fostering children in 1962 when they visited a local social services agency with the hope of adopting a child. Instead, they adopted triplets and began their long career caring for needy children. They fostered their first foster child in 1966, and over the years they have fostered infants to women in their early 20s. They have cared for children who were autistic, had hearing impairments, had developmental disabilities, and who were sexually or physically abused.

Family Strengthening Awards (Saturday, September 15, 1 p.m.) The third annual Catholic Charities USA Family Strengthening Awards will be presented to four outstanding Catholic Charities programs that take a holistic approach to providing services by supporting healthy family relationships, working to improve a family’s overall financial situation, and enhancing the community where the families live. These innovative programs— El Programa Hispano of Catholic Charities of Oregon; the Thorpe Family Residence of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York; and the Southside Family Center of Catholic Charities of Hartford, CT, and The Office of Economic Opportunity/Catholic Social Services of Charlotte, NC—each program will be presented with $25,000 in recognition of its pioneering efforts.

Workshops. Over the four-day gathering, more than 50 workshops and panels facilitated by and featuring experts in their respective fields will be held. These workshops allow professionals from across the Catholic Charities network to learn from one another on how best to serve people in need, to inspire each other to be advocates for social justice, to network with colleagues, and to laugh, pray, and reaffirm their commitment to serving God’s people.

Conference program details are available at http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/gathering/.

Catholic Charities USA’s members—more than 1,700 local agencies and institutions nationwide—provide help and create hope for more than 7.8 million people of all faiths and social and economic backgrounds. For more than 280 years, local Catholic Charities agencies have been providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from day care and counseling to food and housing. For more information, visit www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.