March 14, 2021 - "House Bill 58"

Our late and beloved Msgr. Ralph Kuehner (Fr. Ralph) was a tireless advocate for affordable housing in the District of Columbia and in the five Maryland counties in the Archdiocese of Washington.  He also was a frequent champion for affordable housing in Annapolis.  One thing of which he would wholeheartedly approve were he still here among us would be House Bill 58, which establishes the Workgroup on Minority Homeownership, Neighborhood Revitalization, and Household Wealth Equity.  If the bill becomes law, it would require this Workgroup to study and make recommendations to promote homeownership and create wealth-building opportunities for minority households and promote community revitalization through targeted investments in homeownership.  The Workgroup would be asked to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1, 2021.
 
The Maryland Catholic Conference supports this bill.  Housing is a universal and inviolable right of all persons because it is necessary to live a genuinely human life.  This right must be available to all people.  The Bishops of the United States have long expressed concern about acts that undermine fair housing, such as redlining, disinvestment from communities, discriminatory practices in the sale or rental of housing, racial and economic segregation, and other harmful practices that do not respect the inherent dignity of all people.
 
In their recent pastoral statement, Open Wide Our Hearts, the U.S. Bishops call attention to the fact that these policies continue to harm communities of color today.  “The poverty experienced by many of these communities has its roots in racist policies that continue to impede the ability of people to find affordable housing, meaningful work, adequate education, and social mobility.”
 
This bill will work to find ways to increase minority homeownership and identify programs and resource available to minority communities to achieve greater minority homeownership.
 
The Maryland Catholic Conference hopes for a favorable report on House Bill 58 as well as eventual passage of this legislation.  I can think of no better way for us to carry on Fr. Ralph’s legacy than to contact our Delegates, Senators, and Governor and urge them to act favorably upon this piece of legislation.
 
Until next week
Fr. John