Response from the heart City priest ministers to poor in Honduras

from South Coast Today

By LINDA ANDRADE RODRIGUES
Standard-Times staff writer

SouthCoast residents witnessed faith in action this week as Catholic Social Services, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at St. James Church and people of good will responded in the aftermath of the immigration raid, reaching out to help with legal assistance, care for minor children, counseling, food and clothing.

Bishop George W. Coleman met and prayed with the families affected by the raid and called for a response from the heart.

"I pray that all of us might deepen our understanding of this reality as we work together both to find short-term solutions to this crisis and long-term solutions to the socioeconomic conditions which have made our brothers and sisters feel compelled to come to New Bedford," Bishop Coleman said.

The Rev. John M. Sullivan, pastor of St. Lawrence Martyr Church, addressed the plight of undocumented workers in his sermon last week.

"How can we help prevent illegal immigration? We can improve the economic conditions in Honduras," he told his congregation.

Hondurans have always held a special place in the local priest's heart.

While in seminary, Father John became friends with Byron, a fellow classmate from Jamaica. Assigned to a diocese in Honduras, Father Byron sought assistance to build homes for the poor of his parish. Consequently, Father John held his first fundraiser for Honduras in 1999 while serving at St. Joseph's Church in Attleboro.

Under his leadership, the congregation at St. Lawrence Martyr also has embraced the people of the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. During Lent, parishioners place quarters in a folder, and the donations are collected and sent to Guiamaca, the mission in Honduras sponsored by the Diocese of Fall River. In years past, they have helped to build a chapel. This year they are raising money to purchase sewing machines.

"I want them to understand what the money is going for," Father John said. "Most of our projects are geared toward the internado."

A boarding house, the internado houses about 50 girls from the surrounding villages so that they can live in Guaimaca while they study. They return to their homes for the weekend every Friday afternoon.

"Education is the key to conquering poverty," Father John said.

Last January, Father John boarded a plane to Honduras, along with Sister Faye Medina, OP, and the Marie Poussepin Young Missionaries — about 20 college students from UMass Dartmouth and Bristol Community College. He also was accompanied by his nephew, Tim Thomson, a sophomore at the University of Rhode Island.

Father John and Tim filled suitcases with hygiene items and medical supplies for the Hondurans, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, Ibuprophen and vitamins, which they checked in baggage. They packed very lightly for themselves, items that fit in one carry-on bag. Father John would return home with just the clothes on his back; the rest he left behind.

The 10-hour flight, with a stopover in Miami, landed in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

"We barely touched the rooftops landing on one of the two runways," Father John said. "You could see the poverty."

The parish had hired an old secondhand school bus bought from the U.S. to take the missionaries on the two-hour trip along the unpaved clay roads to Guaimaca.

"It was a tiring ride," he said.

The only priest among the missionary group, Father John lamented the fact that there is a lack of priests in the country.

"The people have strong faith, and I think there are less than 1,000 priests in all of Honduras," he said. "We need to encourage more local vocations."

Father John celebrated daily Mass throughout his weeklong stay. The priests in the diocese served the provincial towns of Guaicama and Orica.

Outlying villagers might see a priest about once a month. "Delagados," or lay ministers, who receive some theological training, assist the priests and often conduct prayer services.

Father John helped at health clinics, which were conducted by nursing instructors and students in the missionary group. They screened the people for heart disease and high blood pressure, and the children were treated for parasites.

"I gave them each a bag of hygiene products," he said.

The missionaries also worked at a farm owned by the Dominican Sisters. Their job was to fill in an irrigation trench.

"There's a complete lack of heavy equipment," Father John said. "Human labor is so plentiful and cheap."

Traveling to a neighboring diocese, Father John visited his former classmate Father Byron. It was the beginning of the wet season, but there was a beautiful blue sky overhead, low humidity and the temperature was in the upper 70s.

"Back in New England, this is a rare day in June," Father John told his friend.

"Welcome to winter," Father Byron replied.

Father John also visited the beautiful campus of Catholic University in Tegucigalpa.

The experience at the university was such a contrast and a sign of great hope," Father John said.

Contact Linda Andrade Rodrigues at lrodrigues@s-t.com