Thirteen students from Gloucester Catholic High School visited Catholic Charities of South Jersey’s offices in Camden on Dec. 15 to learn about the organization’s work with immigrants.
“These people trust the Catholic Church and what we can do for them. They don’t want handouts; they want to take care of their families,” said Jose A. Sánchez, director of Immigration, Refugee and Migrants Services for Catholic Charities of South Jersey.
Sánchez explained that in the last four months, his office has helped 450 individuals and families from countries such as Cuba, Haiti and Honduras make a life for themselves in South Jersey.
The students, all from the school’s Honors Service Learning Religion class, were accompanied by Alaina Silber, who teaches religion at the school and is director of Campus Ministry. In addition to hearing about the struggles immigrants face, they learned more on the tenets of Catholic social teaching.
“We have the right to guard our borders; we also have the right to see the dignity in everyone,” Sánchez said.
As well, the students met with Dr. Maria Elena Hallion, Catholic Charities of South Jersey’s executive director, and Sharon McHugh, its community development coordinator. They also briefly sat in on an English as a Second Language class being taught to young immigrants by Dr. Vincent Mancuso, coordinator of the organization’s English Learning Center.
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