Archbishop Schwietz partnered with Philippines to build solidarity and bring priests to Alaska

CatholicAnchor.org
During his early years in Anchorage, Archbishop Roger Schwietz saw a vision for what he termed “mutual giving and a need to reach out” that led to a long collaboration with an archdiocese half a world away.

In 2004, the Archdiocese of Anchorage and the Archdiocese of Cotabato, Philippines, entered into a Global Solidarity Partnership, a program sponsored by Catholic Relief Services, the overseas humanitarian aid program of the U.S. Catholic bishops.

This collaboration with a remote sister diocese was inspired by the years Archbishop Schwietz served on the board of Catholic Relief Services.

He said he also realized that as a long-standing mission archdiocese, Anchorage was used to “receiving people and help,” including several Filipino priests from the Diocese of Butuan who helped minister to Alaskans in rural parishes and missions without resident priests. He felt it was time to establish an outreach to others.

A fellow member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Cotabato’s Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, then an archbishop, saw the same vision for his own archdiocese.

Bonnie Cler, the director of Catholic Relief Services operations within the Anchorage Archdiocese, said the purpose of the partnership was “not one diocese doing charity for another. It’s the idea that each area has something to offer the other.”

The partnership resulted in several trips back and forth between delegates from the two sister archdioceses.

Additionally, the Archdiocese of Anchorage has benefited from the service of several priests from Cotabato, including Father Ben Torreto, Father Dadz Esguerra and Father Jaime Mencias, who is the only remaining Cotabato priest still on loan and serving as pastor of St. Michael Church in Palmer.

“Catholic Relief Services’ idea grew out of the experience in Rwanda, where ethnic cleansing happened,” Cler explained. “After that, CRS set up the partnerships to build relationships among people. They believed that people meeting people at the grassroots can facilitate understanding.”

Alaskans made several trips to the Archdiocese of Cotabato, which is a landlocked province in the southern part of the country on the island of Mindanao. These included visits in 2004, 2008 and 2010. Delegations were usually accompanied by Archbishop Schwietz.

The trips gave Alaskans a first-hand look at the “bread basket” agricultural lifestyle of Cotabato and the sometimes dangerous situation resulting from Islamic pressure on Christian areas.

“In 2004, security was high,” Cler recalled. “We returned from a visit to find troops surrounding the archbishop’s compound — to protect the Alaskans.”

Archbishop Quevedo was made a cardinal by Pope Francis two years ago and has visited Alaska several times.

On his third visit to Anchorage in 2014, Cardinal Quevedo told the Catholic Anchor that he wants to “establish among the priests who volunteer to serve in Alaska that they are on a mission … to a place where priests are needed. I don’t want them to come thinking they are coming to a greener pasture, financially or materially.”

Cardinal Quevedo told the Anchor that he sees the Global South as sending missionaries to the West, much the reverse of historical missionary activity.

Just as the Archdiocese of Anchorage has benefited from the Cotabato priests, the Alaskan archdiocese has provided prayers and financial support to Cotabato during times of flooding, political unrest and natural disasters.

In 2006, a group of parishioners from Cotabato journeyed to Alaska for an exchange visit. Visa problems plagued the visitors and less than half of the 15 travelers were ultimately allowed into the country. The visitors who did arrive visited the Kenai Peninsula, the Mat-Su Valley, the programs of Catholic Social Services and the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

The Global Solidarity Partnership in the archdiocese has waned somewhat in the past several years. Trips are expensive, and as the Filipino travelers experienced, visa issues can sometimes be complex and stymieing.

Alaskans who visited Cotabato and have come to benefit from the pastoral care of missionary priests from that archdiocese feel the continuing benefits of Archbishop Schwietz’s vision.

“We were able to share ideas about health care in outlying, remote areas,” Cler said. “We had that in common. We shared ideas about best practices in farming, access to water and economics.”