From the Bishops Help needed in journey between conception and natural death

Apr 17, 2009

Catholicanchor.org

 

The average human life span in the United States is 77.8 years. As Catholics we are called upon to cherish human life from conception through natural death — this deep respect for the sanctity of human life is often the focus of our passion and activism.

 

Efforts to protect life at the beginning and the end should be applauded, but let’s not forget the years in-between — the journey.   

 

One of best known tenets of our faith is “Life and Dignity of the Human Person.”

 

The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the fundamental principle of our social teaching. We believe that every person is precious. We believe that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.

 

How is this key pillar of our faith lived out in the Archdiocese of Anchorage?

 

I am deeply grateful that state and federal agencies in partnership with non-profit organizations throughout our diocese are trying to meet the variety of needs that individuals face through bus tokens, food pantries, legal aid clinics and homeless shelters. I am also deeply grateful for the work of the Office of Children’s Services, the police departments, Adult Protective Services, Social Security Administration, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and the Veterans Administration to name just a few.

 

As Catholics we should be especially proud of one of the largest social service agencies in the state — Catholic Social Services (CSS). Catholic Social Services provides critically needed services in a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor. Our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.

 

In 2008, Alaska had 2,116 children living in foster homes. That is 2,116 children who experienced trauma so severe that they had to be removed from their parents and guardians. Please remember these children in your prayers, and prayerfully consider if God is calling you to open your home to one of these children.

 

The state has a chronic shortage of foster homes. CSS operates two foster homes — McAuley Manor for girls and Charlie Elder House for boys. Five teenagers are served in each of these homes, which are staffed with residential coaching parents who provide structure, stability and warmth to these youths.

 

Another way that Catholic Social Services is addressing the foster care issue is by conducting home-studies, required by the state for people who are seeking to adopt foster children under the Special Needs Adoption program. CSS holds the contract for home-studies for Anchorage, Southcentral and Southeast Alaska. Each year, approximately 500 kids move from temporary foster placements to permanent homes through adoption because of the home-study work performed by CSS.

 

All people are created in God’s image with wide variations of individual abilities. As Catholics it is imperative that we practice the principle of inclusion when engaging people who have physical and developmental disabilities.  Catholic Social Services provides care for individuals who experience physical and developmental disabilities and offers a support system for their families. Trained providers care for clients in their homes and out in the community.

 

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Many of our parishes have reached out to support the work of the CSS Refugee Assistance & Immigration Services. This work is of critical importance.

 

Pope John Paul II said “The Church hears the suffering cry of all who are uprooted from their own land, of families forcefully separated, of those who, in the rapid changes of our day, are unable to find a stable home anywhere. She senses the anguish of those without rights, without any security, at the mercy of every kind of exploitation, and she supports them in their unhappiness.”

 

Catholic Social Services provides a bridge for refugees from their former life experiences to the new skills required for success in the United States, and it assists clients in obtaining a lifestyle that has sustainable financial support, and in which the family’s basic needs are fully met on a long-term basis.

 

Catholic Social Services serves more than 16,000 people a year and is best known for fighting hunger and homelessness. In fact, 12 percent of the population of Anchorage visits the food pantry at St. Francis House, and we anticipated this number only rising during these strained economic times.

 

Our social service ministry through Catholic Social Services will remain active and strong with your passion, activism and support. Continue to help the individual along the journey from conception to natural death.

 

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