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McCarthy Awards honor social justice efforts
By Joyce Coronel, news@catholicsun.org
November 6, 2008
Five local Catholics were recognized for their work on social justice issues last week.
The Phoenix Diocese’s Office of Peace and Justice honored the recipients during its annual McCarthy Awards celebration Oct. 31.
The awards take their name from Bishop Edward A. McCarthy, the first bishop of Phoenix and later the archbishop of Miami, who died in 2005. In addition to the engraved trophies for the five major recipients, framed certificates acknowledging the hard work of several parish social ministries were also bestowed.
Inge Casey, a parishioner at St. Theresa and a member of Voice of the Poor, the advocacy arm of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, was recognized for excellence in social justice education. She helped bring Just Faith, a conversion-based formation process, first to her own parish, then to others.
“Because of Inge’s vision, follow-through and ongoing commitment, Just Faith has found solid footing in over a dozen parishes of our diocese and has changed the lives hundreds of participants,” said Tricia Hoyt, director of the Office of Peace and Justice.
Margaret Snider, a churchgoer at the Scottsdale Franciscan Renewal Center, received the award for excellence in mobilization of communities to enact systematic change. Snider has worked to promote legislation to provide support to caregivers of long-term care patients through meetings with lawmakers and education. She also worked to promote workforce development.
Dominican Father Fred Lucci director of the All Saints Catholic Newman Center in Tempe, was given an award for excellence in preaching reflecting social justice concerns. Parishioners submitted numerous letters in support.
“Fr. Fred’s homilies and mentoring showed me what it meant to love my neighbor as myself and how I had the opportunity to love my neighbor and care for those in need each day,” read one such recommendation.
The lifetime achievement award was given to Sr. Gabrielle Marry, IBVM, of Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. Sr. Gabby, as she is known, helped organize the first homebound ministry at the cathedral and spent years working with Brophy’s Loyola project, as well as counseling prisoners in anger management classes. She also assists with support for 1st Way Pregnancy Center.
Hoyt extolled Sr. Gabby’s many years of fine service as “a shining example of faith in action.”
Hoyt added that Sr. Gabby has “led a life of outreach and support to the sick, the elderly, the unborn — in fact to anyone she saw as a victim of injustice, whether personal or systemic.”
Lucy Howell, whom Hoyt describes as the primary energy behind Voice of the Poor here in the Diocese of Phoenix, was honored with the award for outstanding contribution to human life and dignity. Howell makes yearly treks to Washington, D.C., lobbying the federal government for increased funding of assistance programs for the elderly and for more attention to the needs of the working poor.
“She is tireless, just incredible,” Hoyt said.
Certificates for excellence in parish social ministry were awarded to several parishes.
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