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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 18:37 pm (CNA).
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The Diocese of Pittsburgh’s Gismondi Job Training Program helps those in need. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 17:40 pm (CNA).
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is expanding its social services offered to people who are homeless and those in poverty with a newly created “Compassion Corner” opening in August.
The nonprofit charity group is renovating a former office building located in downtown Pittsburgh to provide health care services, mental health services, job training programs, a place for the homeless population to eat, and a variety of other resources. The nearly 45,000-square-foot building is located at 111 Boulevard of the Allies, next to The Red Door (run by the Catholic Divine Mercy Parish), which provides services such as food for people who are homeless.
“I believe this is all divinely led,” Christopher Scoletti, a board member of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and previous president of the board, said during an official launch last week.
“I believe God is working and channeling the love that we all have for our communities, for our neighbors, for one another,” Scoletti added. “I believe God is channeling the pride that we have for the City of Pittsburgh to enforce a powerful change for a better future.”
Susan Rauscher, who serves as the charity’s executive director, told CNA that the new building will allow Catholic Charities to provide more medical and dental care, which it offers to those in poverty for free. She said this expansion will allow for more dental chairs and more medical services, among other things.
“[We’re] really excited about the increase in the number of people who can get health care services,” Rauscher said.
According to Rauscher, the added space will allow the nonprofit to provide mental wellness services, which will include anger management and therapy. The group will also provide job training services, which will include a free 12-week telecommunications course, and connect them with employers with whom the charity has existing relationships. The job programs will include training for five certifications.
“Moving into the new building gives us some additional space to move into new areas that help us bring holistic solutions to our clients,” Rauscher added.
Because of the Compassion Corner’s proximity to The Red Door, Catholic Charities will create a spot for people who are homeless to eat inside. Rauscher noted that those people will also receive access to these services.
“[Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is] pushing toward not only providing that emergency assistance and those basic needs but also incorporating case management and that long-term stability,” Rauscher said.
More than 100 elected officials, community leaders, and business leaders attended the official launch of the Compassion Corner, according to the diocesan Catholic Charities. This included Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who praised the work of the nonprofit and said Christians “can’t just read the Bible and teach the Bible” but need to show their faith in Christ through the “works and deeds that we do.”
“That falls on all of us to do,” Gainey said during a speech at the launch. “It doesn’t just fall on government [and] nonprofit [organizations]. It falls on us.”
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has raised about $12 million in donations for its Campaign for Compassion Corner to provide these services, which is more than 70% of its goal of $17 million. The group is trying to raise $13 million for Catholic Charities and $4 million for its partner, Gift of Mary, an emergency women’s shelter.
Rauscher told CNA that 100% of the staff at the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has personally contributed to the fundraising effort. She praised the work of the staff, saying: “They can squeeze every penny out of every dollar that’s entrusted to us and turn it into solutions for the people they serve.”
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh serves about 20,000 people annually, according to Rauscher. She said the nonprofit served about 23,000 people last year.
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Pro-lifers march in Colombia on May 4, 2024, in the country’s capital, Bogotá, and other cities and towns throughout the country. / Credit: Eduardo Berdejo/ACI Prensa
ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).
Under the theme “Colombia, With Life There Is Hope,” tens of thousands of Colombians took to the streets May 4 in more than 110 cities and towns during the South American country’s 18th National March for Life, according to the United for Life platform, which organized the event.
The marchers called on Colombia’s Constitutional Court to annul its rulings that decriminalized and subsequently liberalized abortion.
United for Life was also joined by multiple pro-life organizations, including 40 Days for Life, the Men’s Rosary, and Rachel’s Vineyard, as well as dioceses, nuns, priests, families, and numerous laypeople.
The simultaneous pro-life demonstrations took place in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cúcuta, Montería, Pereira, Cumaral, and scores of other cities.
In Bogotá, the marchers departed from the National Park and went down 7th Street until reaching Plaza Bolívar in the center of the Colombian capital.
In front of the thousands of people holding light blue flags and wearing blue neckerchiefs — the color of the pro-life movement — the president of United for Life, Jesús Magaña, read a manifesto in which he decried the “close to 20,000 abortions that have taken place in the city of Bogotá alone,” which amounts to “20 times more than other causes of violent deaths.”
Magaña also warned that the Constitutional Court intends to “say that abortion is a fundamental right, against the entire letter and spirit of our constitution, the feelings of the Colombian people, and signed international treaties.”
“We are unwilling to remain silent and stand by in the face of the largest massacre in the country,” he declared.
“Which is why,” he said, “as citizens of Colombia who love, respect, and defend life, we have mobilized in 114 cities throughout the country to fill the streets and squares and proclaim firmly, loudly, and clearly that life is sacred, that it must be respected and cared for from the moment of fertilization until natural death.”
La Marcha Nacional por la Vida ya recorre Bogotá por el derecho a vivir de los no nacidos, amenazados por el aborto. #convidahayesperanza #marchaporlavida4m @aciprensa pic.twitter.com/2Pvgw6r9z9
— Eduardo Berdejo (@eberdejor) May 4, 2024
In addition to abortion, the pro-life leader pointed out that Colombia’s survival is in danger from “euthanasia, suicide, and structural conditions that deny life.”
The United for Life manifesto demanded that the Constitutional Court annul its pro-abortion rulings C-355 of 2006 and C-055 of 2022, “which are producing a terrible holocaust.” In addition, the organization urged the Legislature to shelve “euthanasia bills” and pass “laws that protect life,” pregnancy, motherhood, and the family.
The manifesto also demanded the Legislature “defeat bill 270 of 2024 that prohibits parents from choosing the best psychological treatment for their children according to their convictions, values, and principles.”
The text also called for forceful action against child sexual exploitation and support for “women with crisis or unexpected pregnancies through well-funded public policies.”
Among those who addressed the participants was Father Laureano Barón, a priest of the Archdiocese of Bogotá who emphasized that “the only lord of life is God, from natural conception to natural death.”
“Let everyone know that Colombia is a pro-life country,” he said, encouraging prayers for the conversion of “all those who try to implement and carry forward projects that cause the death of the innocent.”
“We wish evil on no one. We ask that God touch their hearts,” Barón said.
United for Life noted that in 2023 alone, “according to figures, 52,000 elective abortions occurred in Colombia.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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