July 14, 2019 - "Decent, Safe & Affordable Housing"

Our beloved Fr. Ralph Kuehner was a tireless advocate for affordable housing for vulnerable populations.  He advocated for this in the various Maryland counties in which the Archdiocese of Washington is located as well as before the DC government and in Annapolis whenever the need for this arose.   I think that he would heartily endorse statements by two Bishops on a proposed rule that would lead to family separation and housing instability.
 
Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration and Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of Venice, FL, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, offered statements on July 3, 2019, a day after the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, and the Catholic Hospital Association wrote a joint letter to the Regulations Division, Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  These organizations all expressed grave concern regarding a proposed rule that they believed was contrary to law and in tension with the dignity of the person, the sanctity of the family, and the common good that we are called to support.  For those of you who wish to read this joint letter, here is a web address that can be copied and pasted into your favorite browser:  https://tinyurl.com/yy3qjgj5.  Here are the statements each of the Bishops made.
 
“The proposed rule would have terrible consequences for thousands of mixed-status families,” said Bishop Vásquez.  “It would force these families to make a heartbreaking choice—endure family separation so that eligible members can continue to receive critical housing assistance or stay together and forfeit any such assistance.  This choice between unity and stability is one is no family should have to make.  We urge HUD to withdraw this deeply concerning proposed rule.”
 
“The right to decent, safe, and affordable housing is rooted in the fundamental dignity of every person,” said Bishop Dewane.  “By proposing this rule, HUD acknowledged the need for more housing assistance so that people in need won’t have to endure long waits for programs that are overwhelmed by demand.  More must be done to address housing needs in this country, but it must not be done at the expense of mixed-status families.”
 
Mixed-status families are those families whose members include people with different citizenship or immigration statuses.  An example of a mixed-status family is one in which the parents are undocumented and the children are U.S.-born citizens.

Those who have more recently come to St. Francis parish may not have had the opportunity to meet Fr. Ralph, who was in residence here for over twenty-five years.  He began Victory Housing (named for Our Lady of Victory) after an elderly parishioner there was forced out of her apartment owing to its conversion into a condominium.  In the midst of that turbulent situation, the elderly woman died of a heart attack.  Fr. Ralph said at that time that we needed to do more for the elderly who were in need of affordable housing.  Later he helped found the Welcome Home reentry program now operated by Catholic Charities, in which mentors from local parishes help formerly incarcerated people build new lives and Rosaria Communities, which helps develop housing for people with developmental disabilities.  He was a tireless advocate on behalf of all those in need of affordable housing.
 
If he were with us today, he would certainly applaud the opposition to this proposed rule that would lead to family separation and housing instability.
 
Until next week,
Fr. John