Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
September 25, 2002
Catholic Charities 1968 — 2002
"It was an exciting time of change."
By Mary Gibson
The focus of the first 42 years of Catholic Charities' existence centered on continuing and expanding child welfare programs, resettling World War II refugees and establishing community centers and medical clinics to serve the poor and unemployed. When the first director, Msgr. John Mulroy, died in 1955, Msgr. Elmer Kolka took over until his death in 1969. Msgr. William Monahan was named director that year.
One of Msgr. Monahan's first actions was to contract with Ralph Whelan and Associates Inc. of New York to conduct a management and planning study of Catholic Charities' entire operation and recommend a strategic plan for the 1970s. The report found that Catholic Charities "was barely adequate to meet the social needs of the 1970s" and called for a total reorganization of the agency.
On the national level, a sweeping report — the Cadre Study — was published in 1974, recommending significant changes in the direction of Catholic Charities' organizations across the country. Both studies had a dramatic impact on the Denver organization.
Father Don Dunn, now Vicar General of the Diocese of Colorado Springs and pastor of St. Mary's Cathedral, came to Catholic Charities in Denver in 1968 as a new social worker.
"It was an exciting time of change," he recalled. "We were still placing over 200 children a year for adoption and we had 40 to 50 children in foster care. But, times were changing. The orphanages were phasing out as was the Infant of Prague nursery. The Ave Maria clinic closed as did many of our community centers. We still ran Camp Santa Maria and Little Flower Community Center."
The organization's new direction, fueled by the two studies, included parish outreach, parish social ministry and opening satellite offices to provide services in communities.
"We opened an east office, started the Mulroy Center for youth and senior programs, and increased our emergency assistance work," he said.
To better reflect its service, the organization changed its name to Catholic Community Services and incorporated while still keeping Catholic Charities and Community Services as a corporate entity. Two other subsidiary organizations were also incorporated: Catholic Community Services of Colorado Springs and Catholic Community Services_Northern. Father Dunn's first job was to help the Colorado Springs organization get off the ground.In 1971, Father Dunn become director of Denver Catholic Community Services (DCCS) when Msgr. Monahan, who died in 1973, became chairman of Catholic Charities' board of directors. Three years later, Father Dunn was appointed archdiocesan director of Catholic Charities. Jim Mauck was named director of DCCS.
Father Dunn, active on the national level, served as president of the National Conference of Catholic Charities from 1977_1979. In 1980, he was named Vicar for Family Life and Youth for the archdiocese and stepped down from his Catholic Charities role. Mauck was appointed to Father Dunn's position and continued as director of DCCS.
"I loved my years at Catholic Charities," Father Dunn said. "We had great challenges, but I was young and full of energy. When you're young, you think you can do everything. We accomplished some wonderful things. It was most rewarding to see lay persons become involved in social justice work."
Mauck, who had been director of Catholic Charities in Wheeling, W. Va., was happy to relocate to DCCS in 1974.
"The Denver organization has a very strong reputation throughout the country. I felt I was coming to a quality agency, one very interested in growing," Mauck recalled. "DCCS was in the beginning stages of social justice programs and parish outreach. It gave me an opportunity to work in an environment giving direction to social change so as to rejuvenate the involvement of the Church in ministry to the poor."
What the agency needed most was a new strategic plan, however. That was Mauck's first priority. One major thrust in the new plan was to decentralize the organization.
"We opened offices in four of the five deaneries and placed a staff team in each to work in the communities and with parishes. They provided emergency assistance, family counseling and operated parish social ministry programs," he said. "At the same time, we took on the job of resettling thousands of Indo-Chinese refugees who came to the United States after the Vietnam War." Working in communities and seeing the effects of public policy or lack of public policy on the poor, DCCS soon became involved in social justice issues, organizing communities to change public policy. Hunger, food stamp reform, mental health and pollution at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal all came under the organization's scrutiny. Over the next years, DCCS opened Hospice of Peace, expanded emergency assistance, established SHARE Colorado and took over youth services, family counseling and marriage preparation from the Archdiocese Family Life Vicariate. Courtyard Commons, an apartment complex, was purchased as transitional housing for homeless persons ready to leave shelters. In a move to bring all services for families under one roof, the agency opened a Family Center in Lakewood and began to phase out its teams in the deaneries. In 1992, DCCS, CCS-Northern and Samaritan House merged into one organization under the Catholic Charities and Community Services name and corporation. The decade of the `90s saw the opening of a Western Slope office, a major launching into child care and Head Start services, and the opening of a headquarters at 2525 W. Alameda Ave. in west Denver. After 28 years with Catholic Charities in Denver, Mauck believes the greatest challenge was the "constant need to refresh the organization in its roots, traditions and values, to make sure we do not drift into commercialism that is so tempting in an organization that has experienced such growth and change. We need to always remind ourselves that we are an expression of the Gospel." What has made Catholic Charities into the organization it is today is the work of many, many people, Mauck said. "A lot of people stepped forward to make things happen. Everyone's ideas are within Catholic Charities. In that creative context, the greatest satisfaction for me is having lived with that kind of imagination and creativity."
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