How can I stop my priest from allowing hobos to sleep in the church?

[PolyphonyChick]

My pastor allows hobos to sleep in the church. Once I start my job, I’ll only have time to spend with the Blessed Sacrament in the evenings, and as a young woman I am seriously concerned about my safety because there is never anyone in the church praying except the assigned adorer. Do you have any advice as to what can I tell my parish priest to convince him to stop allowing this? The cops can’t arrest the homeless people unless the priest gives them permission, which he won’t. He probably thinks he’s following the gospel and the corporal work of mercy about sheltering the homeless. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to convince him but I’d really like to try.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

The best approach would probably be to express sincere concern for the homeless who sleep in the church and appreciation for your pastor in allowing it. Calling these people “hobos,” expressing fear that they’ll attack you, and expecting the police to arrest them for sleeping in a church with the pastor’s permission will be counter-productive to your goal. Keep in mind that I don’t blame you for being nervous and concerned; I’m only explaining that being up-front and honest about it will only cause your priest to become defensive.

Here are some ideas:

• Find more dignified labels for the homeless. A local ministry to the homeless of which I’m aware calls everyone it serves “guests.” “Visitors” is also appropriate. These labels protect the dignity of the people the ministry serves and ratchets down the natural fear volunteers initially experience.
• Suggest the church start a formal homeless ministry. This will mean that space will have to be set up especially for overnight visitors (preferably in a social hall and not the sanctuary) and that volunteers will have to be recruited to run it and to provide adequate supervision and security for the visitors and the church.
• Provide temporary solutions. If there is no current space in which to house the overnight visitors other than the sanctuary, suggest a temporary program in which volunteers drive the visitors to the nearest shelter until an on-site shelter is possible.
• Suggest that the diocese be contacted for assistance. If this is a routine problem in your parish, the local diocese might be able to assist the parish in better serving the local homeless population.
• Finally, point out the risks of not taking such steps. If the pastor is resistant to such ideas, point out that the parish’s insurance company will not take kindly to the risks involved in insuring a parish that allows at-risk individuals to sleep in the church without adequate supervision and security, both for the property and for parishioners and staff.

What your priest is allowing is indeed a Christian response to the gospel and a corporal work of mercy. He simply needs assistance in finding more effective ways to do so. Perhaps God is calling on you to help him with that.