Berkley Center

Rosemary Welsh: I think seeing Francis actually close, Pope Francis close enough and to see his face of peace in all the turmoil, and that he's trying to help encourage the church to be bigger than we really are. And then I get sad when things that...it really hit me, the elections is that the Catholic Church voted for Mr. Trump—that just did me in. And that the big issue was abortion. I'm not for abortion. I never have been for abortion. But I think the whole life cycle...and that to me has been a challenge and is going to continue to be a challenge. And where is the church and what is our role to continue to challenge people around us or else not challenge, be a different witness to that? Because that to me was just a blow in how...because of the people that we see daily, the immigration issue is going to be huge. It is huge. I talked to a lady at the shelter the other day and I just wanted to weep. She has no chance to ever be here.

Maria Luisa Vera: Properly.

Rosemary Welsh: None. Never to be in this country with the...and she's been here 10 years, has four kids, three US citizens and the oldest boy. So, I think our church...thank God Pope Francis came along when he did, but I hope that we respond and that we move beyond just the abortion issue, that we do pro-life from the womb to the tomb. But sometimes you can't move on as fast as people want you to.

Maria Luisa Vera: Yeah. It takes time. I think for me, some of the things that continue to sadden me is the fact that the Catholic social teaching is still the best kept secret.

Rosemary Welsh: Kept secret.

Maria Luisa Vera: We don't hear it from the pulpit or we don't hear people really delving into the meaning of those teachings, and it's basically, it comes out of the gospel, the Beatitudes. That's where the real gem of the faith that comes from the Beatitudes, and that saddens me. That still has not risen to the top as a priority for education of people. We have it all backwards. We play games with the parents and try to teach the children and we should be doing the other way around.

Rosemary Welsh: Play games with the kids and try to teach their parents.

Maria Luisa Vera: Right.

Rosemary Welsh: Yeah, it's the people thing. And how can we maybe continue to witness that to other people like our neighbors and the people that come to our door and ask for food and clothes and the ministries we're blessed to have and then our siblings.