The Dialog

By Gary Morton

Special to The Dialog

Marie had a job at a poultry plant in Sussex County but needed short-term assistance paying her bills when she went out on a medical leave, so she turned to Catholic Charities. As case worker Danielle Deputy worked with Marie (not her real name), her needs and desires went further than temporary assistance.

Marie wanted to change her life, starting with her job.

Diane Giovannozzi, a case manager for Catholic Charities’ Basic Needs Program meets with client. The Dialog/wwwDonBlakePhotography.com

Fortunately for Marie, Catholic Charities had just added a financial coaching service to its Basic Needs program in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties of Delaware; previously the program offered only emergency one-time assistance to people who get behind on their rent, mortgages, or other bills. The goal of the financial coaching, according to Basic Needs program director Crystal Conley, is to provide tools that people on the edge of financial disaster can use, such as seeing where they spend their money and setting up a family budget, and to help as much as possible if the person wants to seek a better job.

The expanded service allowed Deputy to work with Marie on several occasions to polish her resume and to groom her job-interview skills.  But what Marie needed most to find a job in marketing was confidence. “It was pretty much just encouraging her,” Deputy said. Their work paid off. Marie now is a sales agent for a supplemental medical insurance company.

Success stories such as Marie’s led Catholic Charities  to expand the case management aspect of the Basic Needs program starting in April, when Deputy will work full time on case management. The basic program, assisting people in overcoming financial crises, will continue at the same level, with no additional cost, through a realignment of duties among the staff.

The Annual Catholic Appeal helps support the Basic Needs and other programs of Catholic Charities, as well as more than 30 other ministries offered by the Diocese of Wilmington. The goal for this year’s appeal, with the theme “Do You Love Me? Feed My Sheep” (taken from John 21:15-19), is $4,347,000.

Commitment Weekend, when Catholics in the pew will be asked to pledge to the 2013 campaign, will be April 13-14.

Conley, who began as Basic Needs director slightly more than a year ago, said requests for assistance have grown sharply in recent years. In the past case workers met with people seeking assistance to help pay rent or mortgage, food, and energy costs; if it was determined to provide assistance, Catholic Charities would make a payment to the vendor on behalf of the client. Usually only one meeting was necessary.

“It helps people who for whatever reason find themselves in need of utility or rent assistance,” she said. For those who live from paycheck to paycheck, “if somebody’s car broke down, they have to fix it but then can’t make the rent payment.”

Last year the Basic Needs program began requiring two meetings, one to go over the emergency funding request and the other to delve into the financial coaching aspect. Not everyone wanted the expanded service, Deputy said, so some would come in for their Basic Needs appointment, make a second appointment to meet program guidelines, but skip the follow-up session. That led to the tweaking of the program so that Deputy will coach full-time in Dover and Kent counties for those who want and need the service, which both Deputy and Conley believe will be popular.

An example of how the financial coaching works was seen in a woman who had trouble making ends meet even though it looked like she made enough to cover her expenses, including food, Conley said. As they went over the list another time, the woman realized she did not include cigarettes among her expenses, Conley said. She smoked about a pack a day, which at a price of about $5 a pack totals about $150 a month – blowing her budget.

“We were able to offer her some options,” Conley said, such as stop smoking; cut expenses elsewhere, or get a better job or a supplemental job. The choice is up to the client.

The same applies to helping someone find a better job. “They have to want to empower themselves. I can’t do it for them; my job is to guide them,” Deputy said.

She looks forward to more success stories but realizes not every client will succeed as well as Marie did.

“You can’t save everybody,” Deputy said, “but that one person I can make a difference with makes it all worthwhile.”

By Chaz Muth

Terri Kelly, CEO and president of W. L. Gore & Associates, will receive the Msgr. Thomas J. Reese Award at Catholic Charities Annual Tribute Dinner on April 10.

Bishop Malooly will present the award to Kelly, a parishioner at St. Mary Magdalen in Wilmington, at the event to be held at the Chase Center on the Riverfront.

Terri Kelly, a parishioner of St. Mary Magdalen in Wilmington, is CEO and president of W.L. Gore. (Courtesy Catholic Charities)

The award was created in 1989 in memory of Msgr. Thomas J. Reese, community activist and longtime director of Catholic Social Services, the forerunner of Catholic Charities. It recognizes exemplary individuals who have demonstrated a deep commitment to promoting and restoring the well-being of people – Catholic Charities’ mission.

“We are thrilled to recognize Terri Kelly for her commitment to community service,” said Richelle A. Vible, Catholic Charities’ executive director. “She has devoted her time and attention to others in need, mirroring Msgr. Reese’s commitment to the most vulnerable.  We applaud her for her dedication to society.”

Kelly has been president and CEO of Gore since 2005. She joined Gore in 1983 after graduating summa cum laude from the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

At W.L. Gore, she gained experience in process engineering, product development and as a product specialist with the military fabrics business.

In 1998, Kelly became part of the leadership team for the global Fabrics Division, responsible for growing the protective apparel market including the Gore-Tex brand. In this role, she helped establish a fabrics manufacturing plant in Shenzhen, China, Gore’s first fabrics plant in Asia. She also served on the Enterprise Operations Committee working closely with the CEO and other leaders to help guide the strategic direction of the company.

In addition to her role at Gore, Kelly is a member of the Management Executives’ Society, G100 and the International Women’s Forum. She is also on the board of directors for the Nemours Foundation, as well as a trustee for the University of Delaware.

Kelly and her husband live in Delaware with their four children.

To learn more about Catholic Charities Annual Tribute Dinner or to support the Tribute Dinner through sponsorships or ticket purchases, visit the Catholic Charities webpage for the dinner at http://www.cdow.org/tribute.html.

By Francis X Rocca

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — New rules issued by Pope Benedict XVI for the governance of Catholic charities will not prevent such charities from accepting government funding, so long as the funding does not entail conditions that conflict with church teaching, said the second-highest official of the Vatican office in charge of applying the new legislation.

Msgr. Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, spoke to Catholic News Service about the pope’s apostolic letter on the “service of charity,” issued “motu proprio” (on the pope’s “own initiative”) Nov. 11, and released by the Vatican Dec. 1.

The document, which has the status of canon law, emphasizes that Catholic charitable activity must not become “just another form of organized social assistance,” and directs bishops to ensure that charitable agencies under their authority conform to church teaching.

One section of the letter forbids Catholic charities to “receive financial support from groups or institutions that pursue ends contrary to the church’s teaching.”

Commenting on this, Msgr. Dal Toso said that the rule would not necessarily prevent such agencies from taking money from national or local governments that fund, promote or permit practices condemned by the church, such as abortion or contraception.

Nevertheless, he added, “if there is a program that goes against the church’s teaching, for example, programs promoting abortion, then we cannot accept funds for such a program or even accept funds with certain conditions that are contrary to the church’s doctrine.”

The secretary said that the new papal document instructs bishops to ensure that Catholic charities “exercise proper discernment in their relationship with financial entities,” such as private foundations, whose “institutional ends,” their primary goals or core mission as defined in their statutes, “do not conform to the church’s teaching.” In those cases, he said, “such financing is not acceptable.”

The document also states that staff members of Catholic charities must “share, or at least respect, the Catholic identity of their agencies,” and that they should exemplify “Christian life” and “witness to a formation of heart which testifies to a faith working through charity.”

That requirement, Msgr. Dal Toso said, does not mean that non-Catholics may not work for Catholic charities, but it means that such employees “should be aware of the fact that (they) are working in a Catholic organization.”

He said that the “theological and pastoral formation” that the motu proprio mandates for the staff of Catholic charities should ensure knowledge not only of relevant church teachings, but also of the distinctive approach and “anthropology” that the church brings to its charitable mission.

The secretary named two U.S. agencies, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA, that he said offer such instruction to their non-Catholic staff members.

The pope’s apostolic letter is primarily concerned with laying out the responsibility of each bishop to oversee charitable agencies in his diocese, in order to reinforce such agencies’ Catholic identity, Msgr. Dal Toso said.

“Catholic charity is an ecclesial activity, not merely a social activity, and that means the role of the bishop is important,” he said, noting that Pope Benedict expressed this idea in his 2005 encyclical “Deus Caritas Est,” and finally gave it legal force in the motu proprio.

The responsibility for agencies that do not fall under the jurisdiction of a single bishop is determined by canon law cited in the papal document, he said. National bishops’ conferences oversee charitable agencies established under their authority, and the Vatican oversees international agencies established with its approval.

By Francis X Rocca

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Warning that Catholic charitable activity must not become “just another form of organized social assistance,” Pope Benedict XVI issued new rules to strengthen the religious identity of Catholic charities and ensure that their activities conform to church teaching.

The pope’s apostolic letter on the “service of charity,” issued “motu proprio” (on his own initiative), directs bishops in overseeing charitable works in their dioceses. The document, dated Nov. 11, was released by the Vatican Dec. 1.

Charities approved by the church or supported by church funds “are required to follow Catholic principles in their activity and they may not accept commitments which could in any way affect the observance of those principles,” the pope wrote.

The staff members of such charities must therefore “share, or at least respect, the Catholic identity” of their agencies, and exemplify Christian life and faith. Bishops are to provide these employees with “theological and pastoral formation” through special courses and “suitable aids to the spiritual life.”

Catholic charities are forbidden to “receive financial support from groups or institutions that pursue ends contrary to the church’s teaching,” or to “accept contributions for initiatives whose ends, or the means used to pursue them, are not in conformity with the church’s teaching.”

To ensure that the church’s charitable agencies reflect “Christian simplicity of life,” each bishop is to set their salaries and expenses at levels “in due proportion to analogous expenses of his diocesan curia.”

When “the activity of a particular charitable agency is no longer being carried out in conformity with the church’s teaching,” Pope Benedict wrote, the responsible bishop must inform his flock and “prohibit that agency from using the name ‘Catholic.’”

The document is the Vatican’s latest measure aimed at reinforcing the religious identity of Catholic institutions. In May 2012, the Vatican issued rules strengthening its control over Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of 164 Catholic relief, development and social service agencies around the world, including Catholic Relief Services in the United States.

In the apostolic letter, the pope praised Caritas for its “generous and consistent witness of faith and its concrete ability to respond to the needs of the poor.”

He also instructed bishops to foster the establishment of a “local Caritas service or a similar body” in every parish under their authority, not to only to provide aid to the needy but to educate the community in a “spirit of sharing and authentic charity.”

Pope Benedict specified that the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican office in charge of coordinating and promoting charitable giving, would be primarily responsible for “promoting the application of this legislation and ensuring that it is applied at all levels.”

By TheDialog

WILMINGTON – Catholic Charities has announced that it will provide assistance to clients who qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) mandate recently issued by President Barack Obama.

Deferred action is a temporary immigration status granted by the federal government based on a variety of factors for those who typically lack other means of obtaining the right to remain in the United States, Charities said. Those granted DACA receive two years of protection against removal or the initiation of removal proceedings, along with two years of employment authorization. Spouses and children do not qualify for benefits unless they independently satisfy the eligibility requirements.

There are five requirements for DACA. A person must have arrived in the U.S. when they were under the age of 16; lived continuously in the United States since June 15, 2007, and were physically in the country on June 12, 2012; be currently in school, have graduated from school, or have obtained a GED; have no criminal record; and be between the ages of 15 and 30.

For more information, contact Catholic Charities at (302) 655-9624 or the Seton Center at (410) 651-9608.

By TheDialog

WILMINGTON – Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Wilmington is encouraging local businesses and individuals to help meet the needs of the needy of the area by considering holding a drive to collect some basic items for the agency.

Some ideas for drives include diapers, baby food, socks, underwear, shoes, coats, clothing, purses, hygiene items, household goods, blankets, towels, cleaning materials, unneeded office furniture, working appliances, computers and supplies, and nonperishable foods.

Pre-owned goods should be clean and in good repair or working order. New items could come from dollar stores, according to Charities.

Donations may be broad to any of the following Catholic Charities locations:

• Main office, 2601 W. Fourth St., Wilmington, 655-9624

• Bayard House, 300 Bayard Ave., Wilmington, 654-1184

• Thrift Store, 1320 E. 23^rd St., Wilmington, 764-2717

• Marydale Retirement Village, 135 Jeandell Drive, Newark, 368-2784

• Kent County office, 2099 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, 674-1600

• Sussex County office, 406 S. Bedford Ave., Suite 9, Georgetown, 856-9578

• Casa San Francisco, 127 Broad St., Milton, 684-8694

• Seton Center, 30632 Hampden Ave., Princess Anne, Md., (410) 651-9608

Catholic Charities can pick up large donations of goods. To make arrangements, call the Thrift Store at 764-2717. Tax receipts will be given for all donations.

Online gifts may be made at www.cdow.org/ccdonation.html.

By Catholic News Service

Ted and Arlene Capeci, residents of New York’s Breezy Point neighborhood for 42 years, eat a donated Thanksgiving meal atop cardboard boxes in Breezy Point Nov. 21. Charities and government agencies continued to assist the battered neighborhood nearly a month after superstorm Sandy hit. (CNS photo/Shannon Stapleton, Reuters)

WASHINGTON — As victims continue to recover from Hurricane Sandy, several dioceses and Catholic charities are still asking for support for the affected areas.

Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Relief Services are the two main charities dioceses were using to distribute these donations. Catholic Charities is working mainly in New York and New Jersey, while CRS is mostly in the Caribbean.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which has branches throughout the country, also has been asking for continued support for hurricane victims.

With the memory of Hurricane Rita that hit the region hard in 2005, the Diocese of Lake Charles, La., took a second collection at Masses Nov. 24-25 as well.

“All of us here can relate to those who are recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy with its torrential rains and winds,” said a statement from Father Wayne LeBleu, secretary for the diocese’s Ministry of Pastoral Services. “We also remember the benefits of those who assisted us in our time of need and we would like to offer our prayerful support and gifts to assist those in need at this time.”

A planeload of nonperishable food items, about 8,500 pounds, left Miami Nov. 19 for the hard-hit Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba to help the Catholic Church there feed people affected by the ravages of Sandy.

“This is an initial response to the devastation wrought by the hurricane in Cuba,” said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami at a news conference at Miami International Airport an hour before the flight took off. “This will allow the church in Cuba to minister to the people that were most severely affected by the storm.”

The food — cans of tuna, Vienna sausages, Parmalat milk, rice, beans and other nonperishable staples — was collected by various groups in south Florida, including the Friends of Caritas Cuba; the LaSallistas, alumni of schools run by the De LaSalle Brothers in Cuba; the Municipios de Santiago en el Exilio, an exile group of former residents of the various towns in the province of Santiago de Cuba; and the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who have convents throughout the island.

The archdiocese also took up a collection over two weekends in November at all of its parishes to raise funds to aid those hit by Sandy in Cuba, Haiti up the East Coast.

“We purchased the remaining food products so we could have the plane take off at capacity,” Archbishop Wenski said.

Miami Air Cargo loaned the airplane and the pilots donated their time, he noted. Santiago Archbishop Dionisio Garcia Ibanez and representatives of Caritas Cuba were among those who received the shipment in Santiago.

Within the Archdiocese of Santiago, 100,000 dwellings were destroyed, along with 13 church buildings.

The Knights of Columbus tallied more than $500,000 in donations for Sandy’s victims. The amount was announced Nov. 15 by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson in Dallas at an annual meeting of Texas state leaders.

In addition to more than $450,000 being distributed by the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut with the help of local Knights in the affected area, the organization also sent two truckloads of supplies, one to New York and one to New Jersey.

The Archdiocese of New York is distributing nearly $1 million raised through parish collections to those in the archdiocese hardest hit by Sandy. Catholic Charities’ Sandy Relief Fund will forward the money to pastors in hard-hit communities so that they can provide immediate help to about 1,000 families and individuals in need.

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation donated money to Catholic Charities’ Sandy Relief Fund, to the parishes that were damaged by the storm, and to other agencies, while the Cardinal’s Appeal has dedicated $500,000 for relief efforts. A committee of pastors was to meet after Thanksgiving to begin to assess long-term needs.

St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, N.Y., donated about 2,500 early Thanksgiving dinners Nov. 17 to affected residents at Long Beach Regional Catholic School in Long Beach, one area in the Diocese of Rockville Centre hit badly by Sandy. Among those dining were needy residents, senior citizens and first responders. Nurses from the hospital’s community health department gave flu shots and blood pressure screenings at the dinner.

In the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y., which encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, all 200 parishes throughout the diocese were collecting nonperishable food items and supplies for relief efforts, and also took up a second collection to assist those in distress.

In addition, through Catholic Charities USA, a shipment of 480 boxes of food — each box feeding a family of four for one week — is being delivered to diocesan distribution centers, along with cleaning supplies.

The Diocese of Metuchen, N.J., has established telephone and email help lines for those either needing help or wanting to give help at (732) 387-1222 (732) 387-1222 or helpline@ccdom.org.

In addition to a central donation and distribution center, the diocese has set up a dozen parish-based satellite distribution centers. “All donated items are welcome,” said a message on the diocesan website. “Through its help line, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen is doing its best to match needs with available resources.”

Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Camden, N.J., shut down its disaster relief operations and has switched to disaster recovery mode. According to an announcement on the diocesan website, it “will soon be coordinating clean-up crews to assist those inside and outside of our diocese. We will also continue to make special deliveries of relief supplies to parishes and communities.”

The four-county Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., which took special collections at Masses the last three weekends of November, “will distribute all donations equally at the recommendation of the four regional bishops of the archdiocese to help fund parish-based initiatives in their own counties to aid people affected by the storm, in areas such as food pantries, warming/charging centers, local shelters and clothing distributions,” said a message on the archdiocesan website.”

The National Catholic Educational Association has set up a fund with Catholic Charities USA to help members of the Catholic educational community who were displaced or affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Karen Ristau, NCEA president, said students and teachers in Catholic schools and catechetical programs across the country have been asking how they can help. The NCEA decided the best approach would be to “align our efforts” with Catholic Charities agencies that “actively involved in restoration efforts.”

The Hurricane Sandy Catholic Education Fund has been established at Catholic Charities and all gifts to that fund will be used to restore Catholic educational activities, Ristau said.

Gifts may be made by check or credit card only. Checks should be made payable to Catholic Charities USA and mailed to 2050 Ballenger Ave, Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314. Donors should note on the check that the gift is for the “2012 Hurricane Sandy Catholic Education Fund.”

Contributing to this story was Mark Pattison in Washington and Ana Rodriguez-Soto in Miami.

By The Dialog

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Seton Center, a Catholic Charities facility in Princess Anne, Md., will host JustAdvice, a program that provides low-cost legal advice on a broad range of issues. The program will be on Tuesday, July 24, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at Seton Center, 30632 Hampden Ave.

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By The Dialog

Catholic Charities Inc. of the Diocese of Wilmington, again asks all its communities to “Stock the Pantry” this month by contributing nonperishable food goods so the agency can meet the continued high demand for emergency food distributions.

The food drive will continue throughout June. Donors can drop off food and grocery store gift cards at Catholic Charities locations during regular business hours, or at designated diocesan churches.

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By Joseph Ryan

Dialog Editor

A few weeks after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Katrina Eichler landed her first job out of college at Catholic Social Services in Dover for the Diocese of Wilmington.

Eichler, who retired in February as Southern Region Director for Catholic Charities, recalled that her mother found her the job that would become her career.

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