Accepting refugee family in Indiana gains support

But Catholic leaders in Terre Haute are applauding the decision of Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin and his announcement on Tuesday that a family of four Syrian refugees arrived safely in Indianapolis on Monday night.

“This is what the church is supposed to do. This screams the gospel,” said the Rev. Richard Ginther, emphasizing the Christian mandate to care for the poor and homeless in their time of need.

Indianapolis archdiocese spokesman Greg Otolski said the federal government had sought to settle the family in Indianapolis because it already has family living in the area.

On Tuesday morning, following the archbishop’s announcement, Pence’s office released a statement that said the state will continue to suspend its involvement in the resettlement “until the federal government takes action to address the concerns raised about this program.”

Nonprofit organizations actually handle such resettlements, supported in part by federal funds given to the state for employment training, English language classes and case management.

Catholic Charities still plans to apply for state benefits on behalf of the family, Otolski said, but other financial support has also been pledged for the resettlement.

Ginther, who is priest for both St. Patrick and St. Margaret Mary parishes, noted that Tuesday was the beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy — a special holy year established by Pope Francis that calls on Catholics to reflect on the theme of mercy for the next 12 months.

The last jubilee was in 2000, under St. John Paul II. The jubilee is usually marked every 25 years, but the pope has the power to call an “extraordinary” jubilee. The jubilee is when Catholics can obtain special “indulgences” and ask for forgiveness of sins if they fulfill certain conditions.

“Mercy is not just God’s forgiveness. It’s compassion,” Ginther explained, saying that compassion is what people show to refugees who seek safety in a new land. He said he understands Pence’s concern, but said this family was already in the immigration pipeline before Pence announced the halt after recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

“I’m fully in support of what the archbishop did today,” Ginther told the Tribune-Star. “This family has been in the wings for three years, getting ready. I think due diligence has been done.

“With the number of refugees we’re looking at, there’s always the risk,” he said. “But the needs of so many refugees should not be overshadowed by the risks. This was one family.”

John Etling, director of Catholic Charities of Terre Haute, said that many Hoosiers have known the comfort of living safely in this community, and maybe that has hardened some to the plight of those who come from a country in chaos and war.

“I think that to turn our backs on some vulnerable families in the current climate is a misunderstanding of the situation,” Etling said of the Syrian refugee issue.

“We’ve got to get back to people truly putting themselves in someone else’s shoes, and feeling what they feel,” Etling said. “A good way to do that is to volunteer in a shelter or a soup kitchen, and look those people in the eye. If you don’t become uncomfortable, it’s hard to relate to what they go through.”

Sisters of Providence at St. Mary-of-the-Woods have experience helping refugees. In the early 1970s, they sponsored a Vietnamese family displaced by war from their Southeast Asian home. The sisters offered housing, assistance with schools and other care to get the family established locally.

Sister Denise Wilkinson added her support to the archbishop’s decision to bring the Syrian refugee family to Indiana.

“I think we all recognize what a difficult decision it is — and complicated,” she said. “But we have a habit of coming to the side of people who need our assistance. I think the church is following the message of Jesus.”

For a perspective on how refugees are welcomed into the Terre Haute community, the associate director of the Center for Global Engagement at Indiana State University suggested that it is the general population — not the politicians or policy makers — who make resettlement of refugees either a success or a failure.

There is a difference between assimilation and integration into a society,” said Zachariah Mathew, who came to ISU as a student from India, and chose to return to Terre Haute after graduation and a career at the State University of New York.

“I came back to give back,” said Mathew, who now works with international students.

He noted that ISU has more than 650 students from the Middle East, but not all of them are Muslim. About 750 students are, but many refugees wanting to come to America are Syrian Orthodox Christians.

“Just because they are from Syria does not mean they are Muslim,” Mathew said.

He noted that Terre Haute has a vibrant Syrian Orthodox Christian community dating back several decades. Many of those families have attorneys, educators and business people who have become essential contributors to the city’s economic and social fabric. If those families would move away tomorrow, their loss would be felt in many areas, he said.

Ironically, he said, America has more domestic terrorism — such as active shooters in schools, military bases and abortion clinics — from native born people than it has had from foreigners, and many of those domestic terrorists have family roots in the Christian tradition, not Islam.

Mathew said that he feels he and many others in the Terre Haute community would be open to Syrian refugees wanting to relocate to the Wabash Valley.

“I would open up both my arms and my home,” he said. “They have nothing. They are the victims. I would open my heart, arms and home to them.”

But he did acknowledge that his opinion might not reflect the broader opinion of the community. Some people buy into fearful statements being made by political candidates and others, he said.

“Common people who struggle to make ends meet might have different attitudes,” he said. “They may worry about jobs, use of taxpayer money or other things.”