Catholic Charities for Muslim Refugees?

Maybe it’s due to Trump’s sizable Hispanic base in New Mexico, or maybe it’s due to the fact that Mexican immigrants are overwhelmingly favored there, or maybe both; any way, it’s clearly not the Franciscan Way!

Like post-election Hillary Clinton, I’m living with a combined sense of sadness, bitterness, and confusion these days after being terminated as a volunteer by Albuquerque Catholic Charities without due process or just cause. Retired, I had been volunteering there for ten months teaching ESL and mentoring young ESL teachers at the ESL Program; and providing support to a struggling Afghan refugee family in their home.

While my pink slip referred to my “performing activities outside of the realm of Catholic Charities” as the reason for my dismissal, I can’t help but feel that I may be in the middle of a political storm within my faith community that possibly involves one of the many forces destroying our country’s soul these days since the last Presidential election -- Islamophobia.

Background

• While ESL classroom programs at Catholic Charities in Albuquerque serve almost entirely Hispanic immigrants, its Center for Refugee Support serves moistly Afghan, Iraqi, Somalia, and Syrian refugees.
• 29% of New Mexicans identify themselves as Catholic (as I do); and 0.20% as Muslim.
• About half of New Mexicans identify themselves as Hispanic (I’m Anglo).
• Trump-led anti-immigrant sentiment is driven by concerns about immigrants making Americans less safe.
• In states like New Mexico and California, donor and governmental financial support for non-European and non-Latin American immigrants compete with support for Mexican and Central Americans needing help.
• In his 1500-word Pastoral Letter on his support of US Immigration Reform, Santa Fe Archdiocese Archbishop John C. Wester includes the words immigrants and immigration 22 times and refugees once.

Personal Disclosures

• I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1969-1971; altogether, my wife Sabina and I taught ESL for 16 years in the Middle East.
• I have taught English as a Second/Foreign Language to Hispanics, Indochinese, and Middle Easterners, including immigrants and refugees, for more than 25 years
• After having been a “fallen away” Catholic for many years, I reconnected with the faith in Albuquerque after finding my spiritual guru, Franciscan Father Richard Rohr, who is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher of Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) and whose take on Catholicism has changed me and hopefully the Church.

Chronology of My Termination

This email from the Catholic Charities Volunteer Coordinator appeared in my Inbox last spring:

It has been brought to my attention that you have been preforming activities outside of the realm of Catholic Charities by attempting to assist a refugee family without out the proper introduction, training or assignment by a Catholic Charities staff. Due to the nature of difficult and sensitive issues that these families face it is imperative that a volunteer maintain their boundaries and preform all duties under the direction of the Program Director.

This is why a volunteer signs the Statement of Understanding form which clearly states that:

1. A volunteer agrees to stay within boundaries of the volunteer job description. (In our zeal to help, a volunteer inadvertently crosses these boundaries which undermines the work of the agency and may place the agency in a liable situation.)

2. A volunteer also must not enter into any contract on behalf of the agency or undertake projects or activities not authorized or approved by Catholic Charities.

It seems you have written articles and been a guest on a television program in which you mentioned Catholic Charities. Any article or media relations which makes reference to Catholic Charities in any way must be approved by the Executive Director. Policy can be found in the Employee Handbook 2.05 and Volunteer Handbook Policy 3.05 and 3.07.

Unfortunately, it has become necessary that I remove you from our volunteer registry and you can no longer volunteer at Catholic Charities in any capacity.

Shocked, surprised, and sensing what this was probably about, I replied:

I am saddened and upset at your decision to remove me from the Catholic Charities Volunteer Registry and do not understand your reasoning in making this decision. In my defense, I wish to say:

1. RE Media Relations: Yes, I agreed to do a television interview (Man helps refugee families to settle in) to support Catholic Charities and its efforts to reach its goals and to gain public support for the refugees that it serves. I had no other ulterior motives and certainly did no harm to Catholic Charities or its mission.

2. RE Writing Articles: Yes, I have written about my activities, including Help Wanted for the Muslim Diaspora, in which I put out a call to help refugees resettle to fellow-ex-Peace Corps volunteers and West-side Story: Love (and Hate) are Both Alive and Well in Albuquerque, which stirred a great deal of discussion about the plight of refugees and immigrants.

3. RE Projects and Activities: I did visit Del Norte High School to meet with the school counselor in order to assist my Afghan refugee family. (A teen-aged family member was suffering from PTSD from the violence in his country that killed his father, uncle, and others in his Kabul family.)

4. RE My Work: I have been able to help the immigrants, teachers, and staff at the ESL Program at CCASFM on a weekly basis without any incidents that go outside of my volunteer guidelines.

5. In addition, I was very active in recruiting several other volunteers, including my fellow ex-Peace Corps volunteers, to Catholic Charities.

Perhaps the most painful element of my termination was the loss of two new friends I had made at the Catholic Charities English Program:

• One was a fellow ex-Peace Corps Volunteer who also taught ESL in a Muslim country and with whom I had built a satisfying friendship. After my termination, I asked him by email to meet me for coffee, as we had done regularly before. “Sorry,” he replied. “I cannot get in the middle of you and Catholic Charities.”
• The other was an ESL supervisor, who ghosted me outright when I emailed him requesting a Professional Recommendation Letter to use as I seek future employment and/or volunteer positions in TESL, curriculum development, and/or teacher training.

On the other hand, my refugee support team-mate, also an ex-Peace Corps volunteer (in Latin America!) was extremely supportive and understanding in my time of need during this ordeal, as well as my two Center for Refugee Support supervisors at Catholic Charities, who reacted in a totally supportive manner:

• When they heard about my termination, they wrote “I hope that you are able to find answers and resolution in speaking with [higher ups]. We wish you the very best, George.”
• After they read my piece about the mixed (loving and hatful) reactions in my neighborhood about my helping Muslim refugees, “Thanks for sharing, George! And thanks for always supporting our refugee community!
• After informing them that I had gone to the refugee boy’s high school to discuss my concerns about his erratic behavior at home with his aunt and grandmother, they responded, “Thank you for bringing these recent issues to my attention. I know that he is having a lot of problems… I know this can be a very stressful and disconcerting situation for our volunteers; thank you all for your dedication to helping this family. They are an intense case for volunteers, but truly need and benefit from your help.”

Just what an elderly volunteer who is trying to help others is happy to hear from his supervisors who are following the Franciscan Way as taught by Albuquerque Catholic spiritual leader and my true guide Father Richard Rohr.

The Facts

• There are about 60 million refugees in the world today: 1 in every 122 humans has been forced to flee their homes, and half are children.
• In 1999, the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, became the first US “sanctuary city.” The city will not target or discriminate against residents whose only crime is non-compliance with federal immigration laws.
• President Trump's temporary ban on the admission of refugees is not going over well with the churches and religious organizations that handle most refugee resettlements in the United States.
• Of the nine agencies that resettle refugees in the United States, six are faith-based groups.
• For Jewish and Christian groups, the commitment to help refugees reflects their understanding of God's commandments. Throughout the Hebrew Bible — the Old Testament to Christians — the Israelites are reminded that they were themselves aliens once, in the land of Egypt.
• Stereotypes about immigrants from Middle Eastern or Latin American countries being more dangerous aren’t rooted in reality.

Seedpods to Carry About

• “We are, all of us, connected. When you stand up for the care of this world that we’re so incredibly lucky to share, stand firm. Your action for creation is an action for all of us – Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and all of creation.” (Father Richard Rohr, Albuquerque Center for Action and Contemplation)
• "The alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself." (The book of Leviticus)
• "I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing." (Jesus Christ in the New Testament’s book of Matthew)
• “I would like to ask you all to see a ray of hope as well in the eyes and hearts of refugees and of those who have been forcibly displaced. A hope that is expressed in expectations for the future, in the desire for friendship, in the wish to participate in the host society also through learning the language, access to employment and the education of children.” (Pope Francis, Address to Participants in the Plenary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People)
• “In light of recent Executive Actions by President Trump, I am deeply concerned for many of our people in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and beyond who feel afraid and isolated. Indeed, during these unsettled times, there are quite a few of us who can easily give into the feeling that we are not safe and that we are in imminent danger from terrorists and other extremists. As a pastor, I believe that it is important to recognize and distinguish between real threats that should concern us and unreal threats that provoke fear because of rhetoric designed to play upon our anxieties as a society. Jesus offers us an alternative: to act out of love and not out of fear.” (Archbishop John C. Wester’s Statement on the Executive Orders Relating to Immigrants and Refugees)

#refugees #Islamophobia #religiousintolerance #PopeFrancis #FranciscanWay #RichardRohr