Sagrada Familia Parish on Cleveland?s West Side hosted a training session for about 50 people from parishes across the Diocese of Cleveland on March 24. The Parish Companion Program training session grew from the diocesan Welcoming the Stranger initiative, which is aimed at assisting refugees, migrants and immigrants.
Father Rob Reidy, Sagrada Familia pastor, said the program morphed from a challenge issued by Bishop Nelson Perez during a conversation about deportation problems.
?He said, ?What are you going to do about it??? Father Reidy said, ?and this program evolved.? It took about 90 days to plan and implement the session, he added.
According to Sister Rita Mary Harwood, SND who heads the diocesan Parish Life and Development Office, the purpose of the companion program is to accompany parishioners who are in the Board of Immigration Appeals process or who have received a final order of deportation. The training session was designed to prepare ?companions? for the different scenarios they could encounter and offer an opportunity to meet people from other church communities who care about similar immigration issues and the reality facing undocumented people.
Sister also provided background about diocesan immigration initiatives.
Kelly Davis, who heads the Catholic Commission of Lake and Geauga counties, presented an overview of the Church?s teaching on immigration.
?It?s in the Gospels,? she said. ?We?re all from somewhere,? she added, noting that even Mary, Joseph and Jesus were migrants/immigrants, travelling from their hometown to escape persecution.
Camille Gill, managing attorney for Catholic Charities? Migration and Refugee Services, shared information in the situation from a legal perspective. Jeff Stewart, director of the Canton-based Immigrant Worker Project and the organization?s immigrant service and deportation coordinator, discussed detention and bail issues.
Bishop Perez joined the group during lunch and offered some thoughts on the program. He spoke in both Spanish and English and thanked attendees for sacrificing their Saturday ?to learn how to walk as companions. We can?t always change the law, but that doesn?t mean we can?t do something to help. It?s always been my way to say that if you think something needs to be done, knock yourself out and do it. You took the challenge and now this exists. It wasn?t here six months ago.?
Father Reidy shared the story of a couple Sagrada Familia who were deported to a dangerous area of Mexico recently. He said their situation has improved and they are in a more stable area now. The woman is working and their three children, two of whom are in the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program, also called DACA, remain here with parishioners and others assisting them. One child has special needs.
?You need to put faces on this,? he said, stressing it?s important to understand why people are coming across the border and seeking opportunities in the U.S.
The training included role playing with attendees taking the part of a family with multiple problems due to their immigration status. The father and mother are both undocumented but have been in the U.S. for several years. Recently, the father was arrested after a traffic stop because he had no driver?s license. Two of the teenage children in the DACA program; the third child is a U.S. citizen.
Program attendees quizzed the family members to glean more information about their situation and then offered plans to help them.
Among the most important advice was to get all their papers and documents in order and to contact an attorney. Learning English was another recommendation.
Father Reidy suggested that people should be more aware of those who might have immigration problems and not be judgmental, but be willing to help
