| Vol. 4 No. 11 May 28, 2009 Archives |
2009 Production Schedule We also accept Online-Only Ads at discounted rates! *********** Subscription Information: The Capital City Hues 612 Christianson Ave., Madison, WI 53714-1533 ($45 a year) Contact Number: (608) 241-2000 Advertising: Claire G. Mendoza sales@capitalcityhues.com |
| EDITORIAL STAFF Jonathan Gramling Publisher & Editor Heidi Manabat Managing Editor Clarita G. Mendoza Sales Manager Contributing Writers Paul Barrows, Alfonso Zepeda Capistran, Fabu, Andrew Gramling, Lang Kenneth Haynes, Heidi Pascual, Jessica Pharm, Laura Salinger, Martinez White |
Engineering Excellence A Salute to Graduation with the Hues Row of Excellence |
| I have always thought of the Catholic Multicultural Center and its predecessor the St. Martin House to be a vital part of life in South Madison. When I lived on Beld Street in the early 1980s, St. Martin House hosted a food pantry and a free meal program. The United Farm Workers and many other community causes, especially those dealing with Latin America, held dinners and meetings there. Some of the earliest members of Madison’s Latino community were helped in getting a foothold in Madison through the St. Martin House. That tradition continued with the new Catholic Multicultural Center when it was built on the land that had once housed the St. Martin House. Centro Guadalupe provided services to countless Latino families and the spirit of the St. Martin House lived on with the free meals that were offered and the countless community meetings that were held there. It has been one of the few places in Madison that has been truly multicultural since its inception. Latinos, African Americans and many others equally felt at home in the center. I hadn’t heard that the Catholic Multicultural Center was on the chopping block or was in trouble because it was used by so many groups and individuals in the community of South Madison and beyond. In my view, it was a fully- functioning center with a lot of foot traffic. So it came as a complete shock just this past Wednesday when I learned from the LaSup listserve that the Catholic Church was closing the Catholic Multicultural Center effective last Friday. There was a two-day period between notice and closure. The reasons that were cited were economic. Perhaps the Catholic Church’s investments are down or maybe Sunday offerings aren’t like they used to be. It appeared that the decision to close the center was an economic one and that the church felt it wasn’t a diocese-wide service that was open to all of the faithful. Now I can understand the need to make hard economic choices in today’s troubled economy. The Capital City Hues is facing difficult economic pressures and I can appreciate the need for the church to retrench and consolidate. It makes perfect business sense. But the Church is more than a business concern. I can’t argue the choices that the Church has made, especially since I am not privy to their financial records. But it is the way that this has been done which concerns me. There are hundreds — if not thousands — of people who depend upon the services that are applied at the Catholic Multicultural Center. Many of these people are poor with meager resources. It will be devastating to some of these individuals if these resources are suddenly closed off to them. The Church has a responsibility here. The way the closing of the Catholic Multicultural Center has been handled reminds me of the way that many layoffs and plant closings are conducted. The business announces the layoff and escorts the laid-off employees off the premises after they have collected their belongings. While this may make business sense, the Catholic Church is a spiritual organization with a responsibility to its flock. It should have warned the community about the possibility that the center would close and give the community time to come up with an alternative plan for the services and the people who need those services if a method of funding could not be found to keep the Catholic Multicultural Center operating under the auspices of the Catholic Church. They had a responsibility to this part of their flock. While the closing of the center may make perfect business sense and a two-day closing notice may be the best and easiest way to make the transition — no muss, no fuss — I can’t help but feel that it was the most un-Christian way to do the closing. It may have made it easier for the church hierarchy and decision-makers, but it created an unneeded hardship for a voiceless portion of the church’s flock. And one thing I have a hard time understanding is why the church did this in this way. The Latino community is the fastest-growing segment of the Catholic Church. The children of those who use Centro Guadalupe now will be the leaders and workers of tomorrow. Some day, they will make up one of the potentially largest revenue streams for the Catholic Church. Is the Church looking at a short-term gain at the expense of creating a long-term liability? The Catholic Multicultural Center and Centro Guadalupe should remain open for 30 days so that community leaders and activists can explore possibilities of keeping the center open and/or transitioning the families and individuals to alternative services. That would be the Christian thing to do. |
| Reflections/Jonathan Gramling Centro Guadalupe |