THE TABLET
Feb. 23, 2008

Mortgage Crisis

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Over the last several months we have all read of the mortgage crisis that has wrought havoc on our national economy and imperiled so many families.  According to the New York Times, “one out of 40 homes with a mortgage in New York City had a foreclosure filing as of the end of September 2007.”   The Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens make up almost 20 percent of the foreclosure actions in our state.

But what has this mortgage crisis to do with the Church? Our Lord’s great commission to the apostles was to go out to all the nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Indeed, the Church exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth so that all people might be saved.

The charitable work of the Church manifests the proclamation of the Gospel in a way that is accessible to both believers and those who do not yet know Christ. Thus, from her earliest foundations and up until our own time, the Church is solicitous of those who find themselves in distress.  This outreach is rooted in the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ, found in the 25th chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew.  In separating the sheep from the goats our Lord reminds the righteous “Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; Naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.”

The Gospel mandates that the Church provide a helping hand.  How many families will be impacted as a result of more than 14,000 homes in the city entering the foreclosure process this year?   The vast majority of these foreclosures occurred in Brooklyn and Queens.  Most often, these foreclosure actions occur in areas of our Diocese that have only recently begun to recover from 40 years of devastating urban blight. 

Those impacted by this crisis are not simply the homeowners.  They include unwitting tenants that find themselves evicted as a result of a foreclosure and  neighbors who suffer from steep declines in the value of homes.  Indeed, our city is expected to lose as much as $10 billion from employment, taxes, spending and property values.

Because the Church teaches that housing is a basic human right, I have asked that Catholic Charities take the lead in assisting the many families in our community in jeopardy of foreclosure.  Under the direction of Msgr. Alfred LoPinto, Charities has arranged for community organizations to cooperate with the parishes in communities most affected by this crisis. The first step to preventing foreclosure is education.  We need to help our neighbors understand the terms of their mortgage before a crisis arises.  The fact is that many families with a sub-prime mortgage actually qualify for a regular bank mortgage.  In these situations we want to help these families refinance their homes with more favorable terms.

The second step is overcoming a great obstacle to success – shame!  If you face the prospect of foreclosure, you are not alone. The Church is here to help walk with you on this journey and, I hope, direct you to those people who can provide the help you need.  Moreover, thanks in large part to the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, we also want to help those having difficulty meeting their current mortgage obligations.

The third step is advocacy for those in need.  Recently, I visited with Senator Charles Schumer and Assemblyman Vito Lopez to see how we can work together on behalf of those in crisis.   Together we will sponsor a series of seminars and conferences to raise awareness of this pressing crisis.  I am pleased that we will hold the first conference at St. John’s University Vincentian Center on Feb. 29.  We will hold simultaneous sessions at St. Catherine of Sienna in the St. Albans section of Queens and St. Fortunata in the East New York section of Brooklyn on Feb. 24.

Together, we must be vigilant that our activity on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised is not simply meeting basic needs.  Our activity is grounded in our belief that our encounter with a man or woman in need is an encounter with Christ---an encounter upon which we will ultimately be judged.  As we “put out into the deep,” we pray that the Holy Spirit may open our eyes to see Christ in the poor and disenfranchised.

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Jennifer Lee. “Subprime Crisis Festers in New York.” New York Times. Feb. 11, 2008

Tom Fredrickson. “Nonprofit CEO Leads Foreclosure Fight.” Crain’s New York Business.com. Dec. 13, 2007

Jennifer Lee. “Subprime Crisis Festers in New York.” New York Times. Feb. 11, 2008