In a statement, Archbishop Thomas Wenski decried the U.S. government’s decision to cut aid to Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami and end the more than 60-year relationship with the charity.
Archbishop Wenski recalled that the partnership began with “Operation Pedro Pan,” which had begun under the direction of Irish priest Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh, who helped resettle some 14,000 Cuban children sent alone to the United States by desperate parents seeking to protect them from communist indoctrination.
Archbishop Wenski noted that from 1960 to today, the archdiocese has worked closely with the Office of Refugee Resettlement to provide shelter and other services to thousands of unaccompanied minor children of all nationalities.
“The positive impact of this cooperation between the federal government and Catholic Charities,” he emphasized, “can be readily seen in the lives of former Pedro Pan children who, through this intervention, grew up to be successful members of our communities.”
The archbishop acknowledged that the number of unaccompanied minors entering the country has decreased, and called it understandable that some programs may be scaled back or even eliminated.
“But given the history and reputation of the Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children’s Village,” he stated, “it is baffling that the U.S. government would shut down a program that it would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence and excellence that Catholic Charities has achieved if and when future waves of unaccompanied minors reach our shores.”
Archbishop Wenski concluded his statement noting that the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, includes in its mission the promotion of the health, well-being and stability of unaccompanied alien children.