We all swapped stories about Hurricane Sandy recently, memories both of the haunting destruction, and the heroic rescue and resilience.
Here’s one that moved a lot of us:
We’ve all seen them on street corners throughout the community. I’m talking about groups of immigrants, mostly Latino, eager for work, waiting for people to come by and engage them in repair, landscaping and other chores around the house or workplace.
Catholic Charities knows them well, since we go around to meet them, offering a cup of coffee, a sandwich, advice about citizenship and other counsel about employment, proper documentation, English classes and other assistance.
In those desperate days a year ago, though, our vans went around and invited these men to join in the clean-up effort. And they responded enthusiastically. They went for days, for weeks, becoming a valued part of the massive but miraculous repair, renewal and rebuilding.
A week ago Sunday, when over a thousand families, rescue workers, victims of the storm, and community leaders gathered for a Mass of Remembrance at Our Lady, Star of the Sea Parish on Staten Island, these workers showed up, proud of what they were able to give back to a community they long to call home.
The applause, hugs, tears and words of thanks that greeted them were proof of the affection those who suffered had for these new friends.
God can bring good out of evil. We’ve seen so much solidarity and resilience that has come from the horror of the hurricane.
Is it too much to hope that immigration reform, now sadly “on hold” in a Congress unable to accomplish much, could be yet another good to come about?
Is it too much to expect that these hardworking men will no longer have to huddle with heads down on corners looking for honest work, yearning to be citizens of a country they already love?
That grateful crowd on Staten Island sure hopes they no longer have to stay “in the shadows” but can now become one of us.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan is the Catholic archbishop of New York.