Photo Caption: Sister Ana Pia Cordua, SCTJM, president and director of mission and ministry for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Peoria.

Editor’s Note: Following is a letter to all Catholics of the diocese from Sister Ana Pia Cordua, SCTJM, president and director of mission and ministry for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Peoria. The agency is in a state of transition as it adapts to operating without state funding.

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May love triumph!

Catholic Charities is the universal means by which the Catholic Church has responded in a unified way to the call of Christ to care for the least of our brethren. This ministry has been present in our Diocese for more than 100 years, caring for our most vulnerable population, orphan children. In the first orphanage in Metamora in the 1800s, through the many efforts and sacrifices of Catholics at the turn of the last century, and through the construction of Peoria’s Guardian Angel Home, hundreds of children throughout our area found a home and caring hearts to welcome them and help them grow.

As many of you may know, Catholic Charities agencies throughout the whole State of Illinois were deeply affected by the law that came into effect last June. This law mandates that all child welfare agencies provide equal services to couples united by the bond of Marriage as well as those united by the bond of a Civil Union. This mandate and its requirements made it impossible for us to continue serving children through Adoption and Foster Care.

As of March 1st of this year, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Peoria is forced to close a dear chapter of our history in the service of the most vulnerable children in our midst. We will not be able to continue in this decades-long partnership with the State of Illinois — therefore concluding a chapter of a well-done service to Christ present in His poor.

As people of faith, we know that sadness gives way to joy, death to life, and fidelity to Christ to everlasting blessedness.

As partnership with the State and its funding ends, we turn to Christ and His providential care for the poor and vulnerable in our Diocese’s 26 counties.

Some of the programs that have existed in Catholic Charities will continue to exist. As a first step, we are at this moment assessing the particular needs of each local area, through the great help of our Community Advisory Boards (CABs).

Programs such as Senior in-home Counseling for the rural areas, which is so needed for our senior population who are unable to get out, will continue to run through funds donated by our faithful to Catholic Charities. Food pantries in small communities, where so many are submerged due to the financial crisis, will help families to provide food for their children. We plan to continue with Hispanic Outreach, English as a Second Language classes and, with the blessing of God and the help of volunteers, serving meals to the needy.

It is time for new birth in service. It is time to roll up our sleeves and serve Christ in the disguise of the poor in our midst. It is time to share our time, treasure, and talent and thank the Lord for giving us the poor in which we know we serve Him, and through which we can exercise our universal call to love one another.

I invite you to get involved. I invite you to help us build the Kingdom of God and bring more people to experience the care and love of God through our service and love. Be a part of our Diocesan response to God’s call to serve Him with a Universal (Catholic) Love (Charity).

May God bless you,

Sister Ana Pia, SCTJM

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Persons interested in assisting the mission of Catholic Charities are invited to call (309) 671-1550 for further information.