December 2, 2025 // Bishop

Catholic Charities Continues to Serve the Vulnerable

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades

By Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades and Dan Florin

The following letter to the editor was written by Bishop Rhoades, chairman of the board of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, and Dan Florin, CEO. It was submitted to Today’s Catholic as well as secular newspapers within the diocese.

On November 13, Catholic Charities of Fort Wayne-South Bend received a Civil Investigation Demand (CID) from the Office of the Attorney General of Indiana (OAG) seeking information related to the OAG’s investigation of “human labor trafficking, indecent nuisances, and immigration-related communication, cooperation, and enforcement policies, and nonprofit activities.” The focus of the CID is on services provided to migrants, with migrants broadly defined as “individuals who are not U.S. citizens.” Catholic Charities has not been accused of any wrongdoing and is not under investigation.

The CID casts a wide net across our Migration Services, well beyond programming focused on job development and employment. Ironically, our refugee programs are designed by the government and regularly audited. Our Immigration Legal Services Department is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and led by our DOJ accredited Immigration Director.

For more than 100 years, we have been a champion for the most vulnerable in our community. We respect the laws and borders of our nation, while following the moral imperative given to each Christian in Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

These principles are reflected in the Corporal Works of Mercy and Catholic Social Teaching. It is only when these teachings are upheld in the highest regard that the most vulnerable have a pathway to hope and a caring hand up in upholding their God-given dignity.

As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated in their recent Special Message, “Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of goodwill work together.” We are reminded of that as we prepare our response to the Attorney General.

In Matthew 25, Jesus did not discriminate in his directive of those who are deserving of help – and neither do we. We depend on the federal government to determine who may lawfully enter the country; because regardless of the programs we offer, that decision is not ours to make. Our work begins when someone in humanitarian need arrives at our door.

Since 1980, Catholic Charities has been a participant in the federal government’s United States Refugee Admission Program (USRAP). USRAP is the formal process by which people are legally resettled in the United States as refugees. The U.S. government manages the health screening, security vetting, and approval of each refugee accepted into the federal program before they set foot into the United States. Once resettled by a local affiliate agency, like Catholic Charities, refugees receive medical evaluations, cultural orientation, and services that maximize their ability to integrate and contribute productively to American communities. The federal and state programs put a heavy emphasis on economic self-sufficiency (as measured by independence from the public welfare system) and therefore require a job development program to aid refugees in finding employment where they will not be taken advantage of.

As a DOJ recognized agency with accredited DOJ representatives, our Immigration Legal Services department serves our local immigrant community by the letter of the law. We live in this community and know that safety thrives when laws are respected and the basic needs of the poorest are met. That is why we provide low-cost immigration legal services, in accordance with U.S. immigration laws, to families in need – the same vulnerable individuals who are often at risk of trafficking and abuse because they are forced to live in the shadows.

We take the threat of trafficking seriously because we know it is real and occurring in plain sight in our own community. That is why, since 2018, we have partnered with the Indiana Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (ITVAP) to support survivors of both sex and labor trafficking. Too often, survivors are trapped in trauma and desperation that fuels a cycle of exploitation. That cycle begins to break when they are met with support and care that empowers them to rebuild their lives with strength and dignity.

The CID includes 25 broad requests for narrative responses concerning Catholic Charities’ nonprofit operations and 17 requests for documents, all covering the past three years. At a time of year when our agency should be focused on our mission to serve the most vulnerable in our community, we instead find ourselves having to devote critical resources to a demand for information and documentation that detracts from the work and services we provide.

Last year, Catholic Charities served over 23,000 of the most vulnerable within our community in a manner which is humane, consistent with the values of the Catholic Church and, as reiterated by the USCCB, consistent with applicable law.  At a time when public assistance is dwindling, more people than ever rely on Catholic Charities for stability and hope. Notwithstanding the distraction the CID represents, we will remain steadfast in our mission to serve all those in need as Christ calls us to do. We have endured the Great Depression, World War II, global crises, and natural disasters by placing our faith and future in the Lord. We will continue that legacy today. We will show up – with courage, compassion, and unwavering faith – to serve His glory, not our own.