Updates on archdiocesan plans, proposals

    Can you give an update on the status of the new northshore offices for the archdiocese? Have you leased a building?

    We have.  It’s in Covington near U.S. 90 and I-12 close to Hood Northlake Chevrolet. We are doing renovations to the building right now. We’ve taken out a three-year lease. We purposely didn’t buy anything right now because we want to experiment and see how this works and find out exactly what type of building we will need before entering into a purchase. The renovations should be completed by the end of September, and we’ll have a blessing in October. Catholic Charities will be there full time, as well as other agencies of the archdiocese. We don’t have that final plan in place. We’ll also use the facility for meetings and seminars so that we would be able to have programs there as well as in other areas of the archdiocese.
   You’ve hired Deacon Steve Ferran as vice president of Catholic Identity and Mission at Catholic Charities. What are his attributes?
   I’m delighted that Deacon Steve accepted the responsibility. The diaconate is theologically and pastorally a ministry of charity, and I think it’s a huge advantage to have a deacon on the staff of Catholic Charities. I believe wholeheartedly that Catholic Charities does an incredible amount of good in the name of the church. It does make Christ present to other people. We also know that we live in complex times regarding ethical and religious directives for health care and many other social justice issues regarding charity. It’s important to have someone who is able to oversee this with us and for us so that what we do is indeed humanitarian but also clearly aligned to the teachings of Gospel and the Catholic Church. I believe Catholic Charities is doing that, but this is a way of ascertaining that we continue to do that with strength and vitality.
   There have been a number of states that have forced Catholic Charities into making the decision to drop adoption services by requiring same-sex couples to be included as prospective adoptive parents. Is that a possibility in Louisiana?
   As far as we can tell, no, but that’s today. There were several bills that were proposed to the Legislature this session that we were very concerned about. Just because something is not in law today doesn’t mean it’s not going to be in law in the next legislative session. As I followed the legislative session closely this year, sometimes the proposal is an inch thick, but buried in there is a sentence that could take away some of our rights to act as a people of faith.
   Some archdiocesan property damaged by Katrina has been sold recently, including the former St. Monica Church and School. How is that process going?
   Whenever we do that we go through a consultation process with parishioners and the pastoral council. I’m sesitive to and appreciative of the pain people go through whenever we have to sell these properties because they have so many sacred memories. The other side is that continuing to maintain them costs money, and we would not be good stewards to keep maintaining damaged buildings for which we have no plans. My objectives are twofold: to do whatever I can to heal the wounds of disappointment but also, when possible, to find another good use for the property. The use should be for our use first, and if not for our use, then for something that would benefit the larger community. If neither of those are possible and the building is in bad shape, then we need to demolish it because to keep an irreparable building going is not good stewardship for the church.
   You will be going on retreat and taking a vacation month?
   I will take several days to spend alone in prayer. It’s not only a time of invigorating my relationship with God and spending quality time with the Lord. It’s also a time to go back and examine the decisions I have made and to see the strengths and weaknesses that I bring to ministry. It’s a time of soul-searching. I will be spending a week away with friends out of town because I think that’s important. Then I’ll be back for another week just for some R and R and to enjoy the presence of my dog Maggie. She may be the only one I will see during that time!
  Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected]