He contacted Larry Purcell, longtime director of Redwood City Catholic Worker House and told him he wanted a similar house on the coast. He asked Mr. Purcell if he knew anyone who could run the house. Mr. Purcell recommended the husband and wife team of Mike and Kathy Niece.

After meeting the Nieces over a cup of coffee, the generous humanitarian sent the Nieces house hunting. "We picked this house, and he paid for it. We were so fortunate," said Mrs. Niece.

The agricultural laborers, mostly of Mexican descent, began visiting the new Coastside CWH, where they found the offering of sacks of beans and rice made a substantial difference in their lives. The Nieces believe that the dire poverty the families endure goes unnoticed to many, because of the Mexican culture of "taking care of each." The people look out for their closest relative — and to a distant stranger in need. It is common for five families to live in a two-bedroom apartment.

The couple focuses on "the God-given dignity of every human being," the fundamental principle of the Catholic Worker Movement, established in 1933 by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin.

The Nieces operated two other Worker houses in Oakland for six years. Both houses were sold, "right from under us," leaving them to fear their vocations as Catholic Workers might be over because of the cost of property, and rents in the Bay Area. "We were very fortunate that someone cared about the people on the coast," said Mrs. Niece.

The mission of the newly named Magdalene House is twofold: to provide shelter for one or two families working to improve their lives, and outreach to the community in need, from the south of Pacifica to the small town of Pescadero, encompassing more than 31 miles, along the coast.

There is a great need for low-income housing, according to the Nieces. "Mike and I have families at least twice a week looking for shelter. They know we offer hospitality and work with different agencies to help them find something. A lot of the people we serve have more than one job, and still can’t afford decent housing," said Mrs. Niece.

Currently living with the Nieces are three families of single mothers with four children. The families live on the second floor of the house that has three bedrooms, one full kitchen, and one bathroom. The children range in age from seven to 18-years-old. The oldest is suffering with cancer. The Nieces frequently alternate driving him to and from Stanford Hospital, sometimes waiting up to six hours while he receives his medical treatment. Taking care of the young man, while his mother works, is part of the Catholic Worker commitment to strive to "follow Jesus the best they can, and live the Works of Mercy," said Mrs. Niece.

The three mothers hold domestic jobs. One mother juggles three jobs, making the Nieces part-time surrogate parents. A brief visit to the Nieces from Pedro, 13, Paloma, 12, and Mickey, 8, brought plenty of dialogue with big smiles and lots of laughter, making it evident the children were comfortable with their surrogate parents – better yet – happy.

Included with the families’ board and care is finance management. The Nieces keep two-thirds of the families’ income, and place it in a bank account for them during their stay in the house. When they decide to leave, the income, plus interest, is returned to them.

One family is not included in the finance program because "the mother makes very little money," according to Mr. Niece. "It just wouldn’t be right." The "gringos," as the Nieces refer to themselves, admittedly need a lot more help with their Spanish. Currently, they study Spanish tapes, listen to Spanish radio, watch Spanish television programs, try to sing to Spanish music, and rely heavily on the patience and humor of their growing network of new Mexican friends.

"Our limited knowledge of Spanish is our biggest frustration," said Mr. Niece. "Part of the Catholic Worker Movement is personal relations, which simply means you become friends with the people you serve. The language barrier keeps us from doing our work quickly."

Before establishing Magdalene House, the Nieces had a dream of immersing themselves in Spanish classes. But when a family of eight inquired about housing, the Nieces instantly found their first house guests. From that moment, there would be no time for easy transitions.

In the first year, Magdalene House provided more than 2 tons of beans and another 2.5 tons of rice to more than 200 families, hundreds of pounds of baby clothes, more than 3,000 diapers, several hundred pounds of clothing for older children and adults, and more than 200 blankets.

The Catholic Worker House had quickly gained recognition for its steady outreach of serving the needy with dignity. Its stance on social justice issues, and refuge from persecution and dire poverty began spreading from one coastal ranch to the other.

"Even some of our neighbors who weren’t quite sure if they wanted us here became some of our greatest supporters," said Mr. Niece. "You have to remember, there was never a Catholic Worker House here, most people didn’t know what it would mean to their neighborhood."

Two times a month, the Nieces visit approximately 10 ranches to serve the agricultural laborers who do not have transportation. They deliver food, clothing, shoes, diapers, furniture and miscellaneous household items. They also receive and deliver furniture to those in need up and down the Coast, and provide food and clothing twice a week from their garage.

Transients are also provided with food, clothing, gasoline, showers, laundry facilities, and motel vouchers. Last year, the Coastside Worker House provided 250 school children from first grade through high school with backpacks stuffed with school supplies. "We’re trying to raise the number to 400 this year," said Mr. Niece.

Children attending Scripture Camp at St. Charles Parish in San Carlos this summer helped with the backpack program. The children, kindergarten through fourth grades learned of the program through director, Allison Stastny. "All I did was mention the need," she said, "and the children did the rest." The children worked around the house and some sold lemonade. They managed to earn $391 for the program.

It is not the first time the kids of St. Charles got involved. According to Terry Mooney, religious education coordinator for kindergarten through fifth grades, Lenten collections of rice, beans and diapers, along with Advent toy drives have been held for the Coastside and Redwood City Catholic Worker Houses.The children have also donated McDonald’s gift certificates and concert tickets for teenagers.

Pacifica’s St. Peter’s Church also helps support the Coastside ministry by sponsoring a yearly Spaghetti Feed.

Like all Catholic Worker Houses, the Coastside House is not supported by any agency, public or private, and is not church affiliated, leaving the Nieces struggling for funds to continue the outreach.

"Donations have been way down," said Mr. Niece, blaming it on the economy. It takes an estimated $40,000 a year to support the house’s operating budget that includes totally supporting the live-in families, a high gasoline bill for the extensive outreach covering 31 miles, electric, water and garbage bills, and taxes.

The Nieces are currently fundraising. They have collected $15,000 of the $40,000 they need for next year’s operating budget. They also need donations of furniture, clothes, disposable diapers, beans, rice, canned vegetables, tuna — "the staples" said Mrs. Niece.

Also, volunteers are always welcomed.
For more information write to Coastside Catholic Worker House, 160 Kelly Avenue, Half Moon Bay, Ca. 94019, or telephone (650) 726-6606.

From not-so-devout Southern Baptist to Catholic Worker

By Evelyn Zappia

When Mike, a not-so-devout Southern Baptist, met Kathy, a very devout Catholic, he thought at first — "she must be nuts." It was not because he met her in a psychiatric hospital where she worked as an occupational therapist, and he worked as a registered nurse – no, it was what Kathy did in her spare time. In the early stages of their dating, he watched, from afar, as Kathy, the peace advocate, participated in peace marches. He even saw her arrested at a Lawrence Livermore Lab protest, for which she spent 30 hours in jail. She also volunteered to clean up places in Oakland called Catholic Worker Houses.

"You know how it is," said Mike, "I wanted to impress the girlfriend so I kept tagging along." One day, he followed Kathy to Sunday Mass at St. John of God Parish in the Sunset District. There, Kathy introduced him to Father Bill Brady, whom Mike describes as a "great friend for over the last nine years." "We love him dearly," said Kathy.

When Kathy and Mike decided to marry, Mike wanted them to practice the same religion. "He knew I was too strong a Catholic to even look at Southern Baptist," said Kathy. "Besides, I think it was my faith that attracted him to me."

The couple was married in August of 1993, and the following Easter, Mike entered the Catholic Church. Now, they help Father Brady with Confirmation retreats, and socialize with him by going to the neighborhood movie house.

Both of them have become advocates for the needy by volunteering at "The Pantry" at Our Lady of the Pillar Church in Half Moon Bay, distributing produce at Menlo Park’s St. Anthony of Padua Dining Room, and serving seniors meals at a coastside center. They are active members of the Ministerial Alliance on the Coast, and the Bay Area Organizing Committee

Mike also volunteers his services as a registered nurse to Seton Hospital’s Rota Care Clinic, and Kathy teaches Religious Education at Our Lady of the Pillar.

And they are managing their third Catholic Worker House, which Kathy believes some day will be subject to her "lofty ideas. I dream of a place where we don’t have to serve the people out of our garage, from bags, a place of dignity, like a Mexican Cultural Center with a garden, where a meal on two or three nights can be offered - a simple meal of beans, rice and tortillas. A place where the people feel accepted and served with dignity – a place like the St. Anthony Padua Dining Room complex." The Nieces credit the success of their ministry on the coast with the "great" Interfaith support they receive. "We’re ecstatic with joy to work with such generous people," said Mrs. Niece. They work closely with: Holy Family Episcopal Church; Coastside Lutheran Church; Mariners Church; Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church; The United Church of Christ in Pescadero; Pacifica’s St. Peter’s Catholic Church; Foster City’s St. Luke’s Catholic Church; San Carlos’ St. Charles Catholic Church; and San Francisco’s St. Emydius Catholic Church where Father Bill Brady has been pastor since 1997.

What’s new in schools
More interest in middle schools, new technology coordinator

By Sharon Abercrombie

A possible increase in both sixth grade enrollments and in kindergartens, plus the addition of a new computer education coordinator are new developments on the San Francisco Archdiocesan Catholic school scene, as classes and teachers gear up for the 2002-2003 session.

Maureen Huntington, new superintendent of schools, said that a number of principals have indicated a rising interest in middle schools. "Parents are looking at that level, as a good time to send their children to Catholic schools," she said.

Ms. Huntington also announced that Jeff Brain, a former elementary school teacher in Mill Valley has joined the school office staff as technology coordinator. Mr. Brain will work with teachers and principals, offering educational assistance and support. He will also serve as a liaison between the public policy committee and parents, to make them aware of legislation that would affect their children. "The service will help parents become better informed voters," explained Ms. Huntington. Enrollment in the Archdiocesan schools will probably be close to what it was last year – 28, 836. Those figures break down to 20,500 in the 79 elementary schools, and 8,300 in the 14 high schools. Tuition varies among schools; but generally the average in elementary schools is $3,295. Two children in the same family can be educated for $5,846 per year. In Marin and San Mateo, tuitions can go higher, said Ms. Huntington, offering as examples, St. Hilary in Marin County at $4,797, and Notre Dame, San Mateo at $4,400.

At the same time, tuition assistance is there to help. Low income families can take advantage of several scholarship programs: The Basic fund is a privately funded scholarship created to expand educational opportunities for families in the San Francisco Bay Area. This program provides four-year partial scholarships to help families send their children to the private or parochial school of their choice. They are awarded on the basis of need.

Then, there is a $30 million archdiocesan scholarship fund spearheaded by Archbishop William Levada. Through a series of fund raising events, parishes have contributed $10 million to date with another $9 million coming from corporations and individuals. Aid is also available for working class and poor families through individual private schools and parishes, said Ms. Huntington.

Other relevant facts: The elementary school teacher population among the three counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin are as follows: full-time: 553 in San Francisco; 328 in San Mateo and 132 in Marin. Part time teachers in each of those three counties are 89 in San Francisco; 100 in San Mateo and 62 in Marin. The total number of elementary school full time teachers is 1013; and part-time, 251.

Full-time elementary school teachers are 77 percent lay women, 16 percent lay men and 7 percent women religious. Looking at the part-time statistics, lay women again lead the statistics with 74 percent with lay men at 17 percent; and 9 percent, women religious.

There is no one set date for schools to open in the archdiocese, although they usually begin registering students the last week in August and first week in September.

Preemptive strike against Iraq

President George Bush and senior officials in his administration continue to escalate the drumbeat of war with Iraq — calling for a preemptive strike against that nation with the goal of removing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power.

The White House is hoping its threats of war will provoke a coup against Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi Army. But if a coup does not take place, the Bush Administration shows every sign of being prepared to plunge into a war that the rest of the world will view as blatant aggression.

Even America’s closest allies are appalled by the calls for aggression by U.S. officials. President Bush’s recently proclaimed doctrine of "pre-emptive intervention" anywhere in the world appears to our allies as a frightening revival of the old imperialist Brezhnev Doctrine of 25 years ago that called for Soviet intervention wherever socialism was threatened.

Americans, of course, have had experience with preemptive military action. The Japanese Empire determined in the late 1930s and early 1940s that preemptive strikes in Asia, the Philippines and the Hawaiian Islands were in its best interest. Japanese militarists argued that the empire was threatened and bold aggression was justified as a defense against enemies. Americans saw these attacks for what they were.

Americans also have experience in dealing with world bullies and nations that have sought to dominate its peoples or neighbors through aggression. Certainly, the former Soviet Union represented a dangerous entity for a good part of its existence and was rightly called an "Evil Empire" by former President Ronald Reagan.

But the response of the United States to the dangerous leaders of other nations has rarely been a call for open and bloody war. The answer to the Soviet Union’s threat was not the initiation of hostilities; rather it was an achievement of the same goals by other means.

Even if Saddam Hussein and his regime in Iraq truly represent the great threat that is described by officials of the Bush Administration, the people of the United States need to ask their leaders some pointed questions. Is war with Iraq — and the escalation of military action in the Mid-East — the best means to achieve our goals?

Many observers would answer no to this question. In recent Congressional hearings, former UN arms inspector Scott Ritter said, "A handful of ideologues have hijacked the national security policy of the United States for their own ambitions." Ritter insisted Iraq was totally disarmed and no threat to the U.S. or the Mid-East.

Ritter may be understating the threat posed by Saddam Hussein to the Mid-East and the world beyond, including the United States. However, his equanimity in the face of very real dangers in the Iraqi regime is a sort of blind counter-balance to the grandiose claims made by those who paint Saddam as an arch villain.

For Catholics, the question of possible war with Iraq must include consideration of the Church’s just war tradition.

In weighing the Bush Administration’s call for a war against Iraq initiated by a military strike of preemptive intervention, Catholics need to address several questions. Is there a just cause for this action? Is there a right intention? Is the contemplated action proportionate? Is it appropriate to the goal? Have lesser alternative remedies been tried and fully exhausted? President Bush would like to invade Iraq and topple its odious leader, Saddam Hussein. "By seeking weapons of mass destruction, states such as Iraq pose a grave and a growing danger," he has said.

However, the highly visible use of American military power against an Arab Muslim country — coming on top of the highly visible use of Israeli military power against an Arab Muslim population — is certain to provoke anti- American demonstrations throughout the Islamic world and invite numerous acts of terrorism.

hese demonstrations might prove so forceful as to threaten the stability of pro-American governments in the area, including those in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

When the war is over, moreover, the United States will be faced with the unenviable task of creating a stable, pro-Western government in Baghdad. In almost all of the previous uses of military force by the United States abroad, the exercise of American power was triggered by a direct attack on this country (as at Pearl Harbor and September 11) or by unambiguous aggression against an ally (as in North Korea’s invasion in 1950 and Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait).

But there has been neither type of provocation in this case. Saddam Hussein may fantasize about an attack on the United States, but he apparently has no capacity to execute such desires and will not for some time to come. So we are speaking here of an unprovoked American invasion in anticipation of a hypothetical Iraqi attack.

Certainly, there are many who seem to be untroubled by such a move. Preemptive action is justified, they claim, by past Iraqi aggression and the assertion — unsupported by any evidence — that Baghdad is contemplating some new atrocity.

The proponents of invasion have not produced any evidence that Iraq is indeed manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, or that a direct attack is the only way to secure America’s safety.

As we consider the alternatives to the preemptive invasion advocated by officials in the Bush Administration, it is appropriate to ask what is wrong with the existing system of air reconnaissance patrols and space surveillance, which ensure that Iraq cannot build any large weapons plants without inviting detection and destruction?

Unless and until we have substantiation of the need for a war with Iraq, a direct U.S. invasion of that country would represent a violation of the Catholic just-war traditions and basic American values.

MEH