Vol.2, No. 27, Wednesday July 24, 2019

Vol. 2, No. 27
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Update: Transforming a juvenile facility
On Monday (July 22), the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3 - 2 in favor of allowing Catholic Community Services to move asylum-seekers temporarily housed at the former Benedictine Monastery in Tucson to vacant sections of a Pima County Juvenile facility.

The Board listened to many members of the public prior to the vote. Some people spoke in favor of using the facility, others were not pleased with the idea. Views expressed to the supervisors covered a wide gambit of ideas, considerations and hopes.
What was clear on Monday, and is still clear today is that this community needs a facility that can provide temporary shelter for people awaiting the conclusion of their asylum cases that offers safety, climate control, bathrooms, showers and dignity.

Peg Harmon, chief executive officer of Catholic Community Services in our diocese, along with Operations Manager Teresa Cavendish and scores of volunteers from all areas, backgrounds and faiths of our community now are in the process of readying the facility for the asylum-seekers. This work includes minimizing, as much as possible, the facilities municipal look in favor of a more welcoming and comfortable setting. Pima County agreed to cover existing security cameras and to remove locking doors from the facility. Volunteers are working to install bright murals and other touches such as rugs, curtains instead of steel doors in the doorways, and furnishings that will surely warm the setting.

A change in shelter location is needed because the lease between CCS and the owner of the monastery building has expired. The owner of the building, Russ Rulney, had extended the lease until Aug. 6, and I read recently that he graciously is willing to give CCS more time for the move to take place. Still, a facility equipped to deal with 200-300 people is what is needed at this time.

As I reported in Update on July 10, we had reached a tentative agreement with Pima County for the juvenile facility on Ajo Way.  Between that date and Monday of this week, there were concerns raised by members of the community and some officials about using a detention facility for people whose time in the United States already had included stays in unpleasant settings near the border.

Fortunately, hard work by CCS and my own efforts, we remained in conversation with the county and those who were concerned about using the facility. I appreciate the difficulty of the Board members’ vote. But now, we can concentrate on the fact that the asylum-seekers will have a clean and safe environment to stay in until they move elsewhere in the country awaiting decision on their legal status.

I should mention that the areas of the facility to be used are apart from any detention areas currently used by the county.

Again, my thanks to Pima County, the Board of Supervisors and the many people who have assisted in this effort.
 
Welcome home Father Agbir, VC
I will join with the diocesan members of the Via Christi Society as they host a celebratory meal for the society’s and our newest priest, Father Justin Agbir. You may remember that Father Agbir was ordained in Nigeria on June 8.
 
He now is back in our diocese and I hope all will join me in congratulating him praying for a long, successful ministry for Father Agbir. He begins his priesthood as parochial vicar at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Tucson.
 
Seminarian Convocation
It is tradition for our diocese to hold its annual Seminarian Convocation just before the next semester of studies begin at the three seminaries training our future priests.
 
Our 9 seminarians will be at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Marana between July 30 and Aug. 1 for a bit of training, interviews with our Vocations staff and me and some camaraderie.
 
After that, it’s back to study at St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California; Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon,  and Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois.