#ccbq

[locustheologicus]

Brooklyn Charity: A Diocesan/Vincentian Partnership

There was Catholic Charity in Brooklyn before it was a diocese, before it was a city, and long before the day that Father William J. White was named the first diocesan supervisor of Catholic Charities.

This is the opening line to the "History of Catholic Charities: Diocese of Brooklyn." Monsignor William White would eventually be given the task to coordinate the various charitable activities of Brooklyn on April 1st, 1899 but records show that the earliest Catholic institution to promote charity in Brooklyn took place on October 1829. Responding to the needs of orphans The Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum Society was formed in Brooklyn and an instrumental partner in the housing of these "foundlings" was Elizabeth Ann Seton's Sisters of Charity, a religious community of women who adapted the Vincentian rule.

Of course it must be recognized that the care of orphans, besides being one of the oldest biblical works of mercy along with the care of widows and foreigners, was the earliest charitable program of St. Vincent DePaul's himself. in 1638 St. Vincent, alongside St. Louise de Marillac and her sisters, would organize safe lodging for the orphabed children of Paris. St. Vincent would establish a rule for the daughters of charity based on this charitable mission.

They will reflect that their ministry is to serve the Infant Jesus in the person of each baby they are raising, and in this they have the honor of doing what the Blessed Virgin did to her dear Son, since He affirms that the service rendered to the least of His people is rendered to Himself. In accordance with that, they will do their utmost to raise these poor children with as much attention and respect as if it were to the very person of Our Lord.” (Vincent DePaul, n.d., 13b: 209)

Eventually the diocese would take shape in 1853 when Bishop John Loughlin was installed. Loughlin established an enduring legacy for the role that charity would have in this diocese. In some ways he was a maverick who prioritized charitable programs over the development of its own Cathedral which remained fairly humble. It appears that he was a thorn of the side to Archbishop Michael Corrigan (who was portrayed having issues with another champion of charity, Mother Cabrini in the recent movie "Cabrini") for Loughlin's unwavering support of charity and social justice when Corrigan wanted to play nice with the powers that be. Throughout this entire time the Vincentians were a perfect partner in crime. In 1855 Loughlin supported the foundation of a St. Vincent DePaul conference. At that time the society had only existed for 20 years. Bishop Loughlin was no stranger to the spirituality and gifts of this community. As a young priest in New York he sponsored the first conference into the city. With charity as a central focus of the Brooklyn Catholic community (at that time engulfing all of Long Island) the the relationship between the developing diocese and the Vincentian community was an obvious one.

The tie that binds our two Catholic institutions is our commitment to institutional charity. The field of social work originates from this orientation. While charity is a core value for all Catholics, it was the works of Sts. Vincent and Louise and the community that followed which took seriously the institutionalization of our social ministries. The Vincentian charism challenges us to see Christ in the face of those in need and what this means for our social ministries. Bl. Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the St. Vincent DePaul Societies, continued developing the social ministry framework that is crucial for us today.

Almsgiving alone, alms that are not accompanied by words and love, is a humiliation for the one who receives it. Do we need to remember that man does not live by bread alone, that the Savior himself does not only ask to be clothed and fed in the person of the poor, but also visited and consoled? Will we have to expose everything that the masters of charity up to St. Vincent de Paul have taught us about the delicate behavior that takes into account the legitimate susceptibility of the poor?

St. Vincent DePaul and the diocese of Brooklyn may have started with addressing the needs of the orphans but it did not end there. Sts. Vincent and Louise organized centers of care and hospitality for refugees. They provided assistance to many who were displaced. They organized food distribution and soup kitchens. They also provided for education and job training. Today the Vincentian community is a worlwide phenomenon established in the service industries, of social work, health care, and education. They continue to be recognized for their ongoing prison and parish social ministries. They are now leaders in the field of promoting systemic change with creative microlending projects like St. John's G.L.O.B.E initiative.

As already mentioned, in 1899 Bishop McDonnell re-organized the charitable ministries in the Brooklyn Diocese and institutionalized our Catholic Charities agency. By 1913 when Brooklyn Catholic Charities had its second director, Fr. Francis O'Hara, Catholic Charities had nearly fifty charitable institutions. Today, under the leadership of the 8th Bishop of Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan and CCBQ's present CEO Monsignor Alfred LoPinto, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn runs 160 programs including food distributions, case management, migrant assistance, ESL, workforce development, behavioral health, early childhood programs, housing for seniors and the disabled.

But as we celebrate our 125th anniversary we dare not forget that all this effort began through an essential partnership with our Vincentian brothers and sisters. There is an amazing convergence between the mission of our two organizations. As we celebrate this milestone we do it stretching our hand to our dear friends in order to make sure that we continue to serve this legacy together.

[sigvicious]

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[pawatruecrime]

NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force Investigating Vandalism Incident at CCBQ Headquarters 

[close-encuentro]

The Apostolic Mission of Charity

Soon the Catholic community will be celebrating the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. With this event the mission flows from Jesus to the disciples that are tasked with continuing his mission through the Church. When Bishop Brennan began his leadership ministry in the diocese of Brooklyn/Queens he raised a book by Msgr. James Shea titled “From Christendom to Apostolic Mission.” I looked over this book with great interest. Its guiding thesis is that we need to shift the way we organize our ministry and go back to the emphasis that our apostolic community had in organizing themselves in a secular environment.

In an apostolic time, institutions need to become more self-conscious about their mission, their aims, and their inner spirit. Those who lead and inhabit them need to know with greater clarity what they are doing, why they are doing it, what the likely consequences of taking certain kinds of decisions will be, and how the inner culture of the institution is best maintained against the tide. (Shea, pg. 44)

This insight speaks of the need for the Church to prioritize the mission and Catholic formation of its various ministries. We should not equate our ministerial activities with the best practices of our secular society but tweak all that we do (our worship, education, healthcare and our charitable ministries as well) within the guiding vision of our faith. This means that our presence will have a distinct cultural vision based on our faith and the people in turn will experience us differently than they would any of our social counterparts.

Organizations like Catholic Charities should be able are intently looking at our various programs and services from the lens of our apostolic mission and how that informs our social presence. If you visit our Catholic Charities Brooklyn/Queens (CCBQ) website, you will find our mission statement in the about us section of the site.

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens translates the Gospel of Jesus Christ into action by affirming the dignity and value of every person, especially the most vulnerable members of our diverse society. Catholic Charities develops effective responses to human need and joins with all people of good will in advocating for a social order that promotes justice and embraces human development.

This is a well-developed statement that considered the purpose for what we do in light of what we believe in. In many ways it is an aspect of our statement of faith that reflects on the ministries of CCBQ. It is a beautiful statement but one that we need to unpack from time to time least it become a lost aspect of our corporate identity whose sole purpose becomes our own legal existence. For that reason, that staff of CCBQ is exploring this mission further. Guiding our own internal reflection is the concept that Pope Francis suggest, that we build a “culture of encounter.” There is a challenge in how Pope Francis defines this concept that allows us to enter into a deeper reflection on our own mission statement.

To speak of a “culture of encounter” means that we, as a people, should be passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone. This becomes an aspiration and a style of life. The subject of this culture is the people, not simply one part of society that would pacify the rest with the help of professional and media resources.

There may be a temptation for any institution to see itself as a social system that serves the community, but we become more beholden to the funders and donors rather than the people we serve. Sadly, our “effective responses to human needs” could come from this other direction. By developing a “culture of encounter” we are reminded to shift our attention back to the people we serve.

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[locustheologicus]

I love working for Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens. It is a great organization that serves the community in need through programs and services based on the principles of Catholic social teaching.

I designed this prezi to let people know the good work that we do through Catholic Charities in Brooklyn and Queens (CCBQ). I hope this presentation will be a helpful resource to parish and community members who want to go deeper in understanding what CCBQ is and what we do for the community.

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[masaharudayo]

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[ccbq-om]

The 2021 World Day of the Migrant and Refugee is titled “Towards an Ever Wider We.” As you can see from this Rome Reports video it is critical of extreme nationalism and individualism, two views that tend to defensively look upon migrants as foreigners and outsiders.

What we would like to highlight here are two things. First, as a Catholic community Pope Francis reminds us that such defensive positions and policy decisions are antithetical to the very idea of being “Catholic” (that is to say universal).  As Pope Francis reminds us “In encountering the diversity of foreigners, migrants and refugees, and in the intercultural dialogue that can emerge from this encounter, we have an opportunity to grow as Church and to enrich one another.” Our faith tradition in its very identity and even name compels us to embrace those on the margins including those that are deemed foreigners. Pope Francis elaborates on how encounter should be seen as a blessing to our own community that allows us to grow in diversity as we blend with the richness of other cultures.

This is a unique aspect of our own Catholic culture and identity which in a time like this we may need to ponder as we consider the “Catholic” response to how we engage the migrant and refugee community here in our city and nation. 

But there is a second point worth highlighting in this message which offers a deep challenge for those of us engaged in social ministries. To be ever more mindful of how we can be intentional in our engagement with diverse communities of migrants and refugees. This is a message that we at Catholic Charities continue to reflect on as we see and evaluate our own service and encounter with this community.

In our day, the Church is called to go out into the streets of every existential periphery in order to heal wounds and to seek out the straying, without prejudice or fear, without proselytising, but ready to widen her tent to embrace everyone. Among those dwelling in those existential peripheries, we find many migrants and refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking, to whom the Lord wants his love to be manifested and his salvation preached. “The current influx of migrants can be seen as a new “frontier” for mission, a privileged opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ and the Gospel message at home, and to bear concrete witness to the Christian faith in a spirit of charity and profound esteem for other religious communities. The encounter with migrants and refugees of other denominations and religions represents a fertile ground for the growth of open and enriching ecumenical and interreligious dialogue” (Address to the National Directors of Pastoral Care for Migrants, 22 September 2017).  

Our CCBQ Moving Forward program allows us to have this specific encounter. The Moving Forward program's goal is to improve the lives of immigrants and their families living in Brooklyn and Queens by connecting them to a variety of services that will help them have healthy and productive lives. The program empowers individuals and families already afraid to self-identify, get critical services through a singular point of contact, the Moving Forward's program supervisor. Additionally, this program is aimed at preparing immigrants should they be deported or separated from family. The staff help them understand their rights, know what to expect in a deportation scenario, and ensure that a strong safety net has been established for any family members left behind.  The referrals vary on a case-by-case basis, but it can range from English proficiency classes, physical health, mental, health, social, legal to countering housing risk or other services.

[christianpherrarell]

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