March 8, 1996

Page 1

Catholic

& Herald

i NJtiWS Serving Catholics in

Western North Carolina

Volume 5 Number 24 • March

in the Diocese of Charlotte

1996

8,

Friends Gather To Honor The 'Mother Of Charity' By JO ANN

KEANE

Associate Editor

BELMONT

Over the years, Mother Mary Benignus Hoban served a myriad of roles

to her sisters in faith.

The

Sister of Mercy has held titles from novice mistress to superior general of

her order. But most aptly, she

known

is

Mother to hundeds of children Holy Angels. as

at

On Feb. 27, friends and family filled the parish hall of Queen of the Apostles

The Dominguez refugees

who

MAYBACH

brothers, Obdulio, 38, Alfredo, 35 and Yojanis, 21 are Cuban in the U.S. Dec. 28. With the help of the Charlotte Refugee

arrived

found employment Cuba.

Office, the brothers their family leave

at

a

textile mill

and hope

to help the rest of

By ELIZABETH

MAYBACH

CHARLOTTE

On Aug.

18,

Dominguez brothers boarded small wooden raft and set to sea,

1994, the a

seeking freedom for themselves; and eventually for their families left behind.

Seventeen months later, the three men reached their destination. Obdulio Dominguez, 38, and his brothers, Alfredo, 35, and Yojanis, 21, are Cuban refugees now living in Charlotte thanks to Catholic Social Services' Diocesan Refugee Office. In the summer of 1994, the Dominguez brothers were

among

the

more than

32,300 Cuban rafters picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard in the Florida Straits and taken to Guantanamo Bay Naval

Base

Cuba. Cira Ponce, director of the Refugee Office, said government policy at the time dictated that Cubans be picked up and detained at Guantanamo Bay indefinitely. "The United States government soon realized that they were rescuing thousands of Cubans from the in

sea, far too

many

Guantanamo

for the facility at

to

accommodate

comfortably," Ponce said. "The current administration changed its policy and

began resettling unaccompanied minors, the elderly and the infirm." Obdulio Dominguez said there were initially "no conditions" at the Guantanamo Bay internment camp.

Refugees

crowded

every camp was

into

conceivable place, and the

not equipped to handle such a large

On May

To Mother Benignus,

the bishop

came

all

to share her special day.

Pauline Clifford,

regional president of the Sisters of Mercy

of America. Sister Pauline pointed out

The policy change meant that the Guantanamo Bay had to be

ago.

the focal point in the foundation of

1995, Attorney General

be allowed to come to the United States but from then on, all rafters would be returned immediately to Cuba.

first

but what you have done here is certainly

Reno announced a change in policy for Cuban refugees: the 2 1 ,000 refugees still detained at Guantanamo Bay would

2,

Angels was the

pastoral visit of Bishop Curlin two years

It was a compilation of love: from her community of Mercy, the Mayor of Belmont, friends collected over the years, family from her native Ireland, and the bishop of the diocese all

gift to us," said Sister

Janet

No wonder Holy

Sisters

United States.

Later, he said,

Angels," said Bishop William G. Curlin.

birthday.

returned to Cuba or were resettled in the

number of people.

conditions improved as refugees either

Staff Writer

"You built the foundation of Christ with the wonderful children of Holy

said: "I love everything in this diocese,

Master of Ceremonies Ty Boyd called those in attendance merely a smattering of what could have been. "We could fill a football stadium with people that Mother Benignus has touched," said Boyd. Tea cups tipped to toast the honoree, with testimonials of love and respect pouring from those who stepped forward to praise the beloved Mother. "Your personal impact; that's your

Diocesan Office Helps To Resettle Cuban Refugees

and favorite place to be. We knew that was number one on her list, no matter what other ministries we did."

honor of Mother's 90th

for high tea in

Photo by ELIZABETH

Mother Benignus, "We've all known that Holy Angels was her most special

that in her

40-year association with

the outreach in service to others.

all

What

you have done has spread in many ways. You are the Mother of great charity for of us."

Mother Benignus joined the

Sisters

of Mercy in 1926, completing a journey of faith from her homeland: County

Mayo,

Ireland. In

70 years of Mercy

service, she administered as president

of Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, St. Joseph Hospital in Asheville, and Sacred Heart College in Belmont, in addition to

numerous

teaching

assignments

throughout North Carolina.

A

fountain designed in her honor

was presented by the Holy Angels staff. With water trickling over the copper

See Mother, page 12

Going Out Of Her Way

Sister Serves Southern

refugees at

and the resettlement had to happen quickly The United States government wanted all of the refugees resettled by the end of January 1996. The Miami office of the United States Catholic Conference contacted Ponce in November, and 1 2 refugees arrived in Charlotte on Dec. 28. The Dominguez brothers were

resettled in the U.S.

.

among the last to leave the Guantanamo Bay facility. Ponce said there are two categories reunifications

refugees, family and free cases. Because

for

family reunifications are usually given

and the Dominguez brothers were free cases, they were resettled last. Amy Woolam, a Refugee Office caseworker, arranged for housing and medical appointments for the men. "It' a very quick process. There' s very short notice when a refugee is coming, sometimes we have less than a week to

priority

plan.

"Our main objective

is

See Refugee, page 12

to

make

Highlands For 25 Years By PAUL

FREDETTE

HAYESVILLE woman

solid

She

and a talented,

tall,

tireless

nurse. For 25 years, Sister of Charity

Loretta John

Meehan

(Sister John) has

been

serving the largely rural communities of Clay and Cherokee counties as an LPN through the Good Shepherd Home Health and Hospice Agency in Hayesville. She brings her gentle care wrapped in a lilting New

York

Irish accent into countless

you that having her worth more than any high tech thing a nurse can do and just people will

a

is

homes

highlands with a firm step, a sure stride, and a spontaneous

in these southern

smile.

come

tell

for a visit

is

having her around is more of a comfort than any number of medications That' her real strong point, a natural caring .

which enables her to go out of her way do anything for anybody." And go out of her way she has. Sister John first came to the Appalachian highlands from New York in 1971. Nursing was far different then, and she to

misses the broad range of experiences afforded her in those early days. "Today we're more restricted in what we can

John's

do. There are social workers, physical

supervisor for the last year and a half,

therapists, occupational therapists,

Cathy

Diehl,

Sister

says the effects of Sister John's

home

"She's been in the area so long. Her biggest gift is her personal interaction with patients." Deihl's admiration is unabashed as she assesses Sister John's skills: "Most visits are astonishing,

speech therapists, available then.

etc. None of that was The nurse was the

plumber, the social worker, the cook, sometimes even the undertaker." She

See Sister,

next page


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March 8, 1996 by Catholic News Herald - Issuu