By Dennis Kellogg
Director of Communications
The executive director of Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska (CSS) recently attended a national social ministry conference in Washington, D.C.
Katie Patrick of CSS was joined by John McDonald, CSS’s regional director in Hastings. The two also met with most of Nebraska’s congressional delegation.
The theme of the 2023 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering was “Blessed are the Peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). The conference was organized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development.
Patrick said the conference was a great example of the diversity of the Church in the United States.
“The Church really is at the forefront of so many issues in our country and doing her best to meet the needs of the people in front of her,” Patrick said. “There were conversations about food insecurity, about rural communities, about migration of the southern border, refugee resettlement and all of the changes that are being made and happening in D.C. and how that transfers out to all the different local resettlement agencies like CSS.”
Patrick said sustainability was one issue discussed that resonated with her and the work being done at Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska.
“Over the past couple of months, we’ve been having conversations internally at CSS about our recycling program in our thrift stores. And we’re going to be launching an e-commerce site pretty soon. We really want to take the teachings of the Church and the message of Pope Francis and Laudato si' and what he has asked us to do in caring for our environment,” Patrick said.
Patrick said that can be as simple as making sure we’re extending the lifecycle of our clothing.
“If we have something in the closet that we’re not wearing anymore, we want to make sure that gets donated and when it gets donated, it either gets resold or recycled. If it gets recycled, it can be used as insulation. It can be de-threaded. It can be bailed and shipped to developing countries. Just a lot of things I’m excited about and my team at CSS is excited for about what we’re going to be doing to expand our recycling program across the diocese.”
Patrick and McDonald also met with members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation while they were in Washington, D.C. They had conversations with Senator Deb Fischer, Congressmen Mike Flood and Adrian Smith, and met with Congressman Don Bacon’s legislative director. Senator Pete Ricketts was not in town during their visit.
Patrick said those conversations focused on two main topics: the Afghan Adjustment Act and the child tax credit. She said they prepared client testimonies and facts about those two issues, so when they met with the representatives they were able to share photos and stories about real people and how they are being affected.
She said the Afghan Adjustment Act is crucial to the daily life of the Afghan community in Nebraska and elsewhere.
“There’s just so much uncertainty and anxiety about them not having a pathway toward permanent residency that it’s really affecting their ability to work, their attitude, their morale, their kids in school, just because there seems to be no plan from the government about how to get them out of parolee status and temporary status and into permanent residency and then ultimately citizenship,” Patrick said.
Patrick noted Ukrainians coming to this country to escape the fighting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict are facing a similar roadblock to permanent residency and naturalization.
