By Anne DiBernardo - Florida Catholic
Photographer: ANNE DIBERNARDO | FC
Project Joseph mentors Brother Chris Handal, left, a novice of Franciscans of Life, and Joseph King, center, speak about their work with Brother Jay Rivera.
Photographer: ANNE DIBERNARDO | FC
Brother Jay Rivera, founder of the Franciscans of Life and Project Joseph.
Just
ask Brother Jay Rivera, superior of the Archdiocese of Miami-based Franciscans
of Life. After weeks of volunteering at the Respect Life Pregnancy Help Center
in Hollywood back in 2009, he grew deeply disturbed when it dawned on him that
the pro-life movement was following the same line of thinking as the pro-choice
movement � making pregnancy a mother�s issue and completely ignoring the
father.
�This
is the same argument of the pro-choice movement � fathers have no place; it is
�her� body,� said Brother Rivera, who knows the importance
of being a father. He lost his wife and one of his three children many years
ago, leaving him alone to raise a son and daughter while they were still very
young.
�The
Catholic Church is not using that language but the Church is saying, in
essence, �she�s the one that is pregnant so she is the one we have to rescue,��
Brother Rivera said.
In
an effort to change that, he collaborated with Joan Crown, archdiocesan respect
life director, to create Project Joseph, a Franciscan outreach ministry for
fathers of at-risk pregnancies. The project is part of the archdiocese�s respect
life ministry.
�If
it�s not Franciscan, Project Joseph won�t work. Every volunteer is trained to
preach the Gospel according to the rule and spirit of St. Francis of Assisi,�
Brother Rivera said.
Their
mission is to reclaim fatherhood and save souls by saving children.
A
Project Joseph client is a dad who is �on the fence.� He is led to the program
through the prodding of the mothers who come into any of respect life�s five
pregnancy help centers. This father will either help bring his child into the
world or drive the mother to an abortion clinic, Brother Rivera said during a
recent training workshop held at the North Dade Respect Life Office.
The
workshop, attended by four men, was led by Brother Rivera and two other Project
Joseph mentors � Brother Chris Handal, a novice with the Franciscans of Life,
and Joseph King, a member of the lay community that runs Project Joseph at the
Hollywood Respect Life Office.
Each
of the men who attended the workshop had a different reason for volunteering.
�I
wish there had been something like this when I was going through a similar
situation,� said Carlos Govantes, a parishioner at St. Edward in Pembroke Pines
who was introduced to fatherhood at age 18. He learned about Project Joseph in
his parish bulletin and it resonated with his own life.
The
program offers three levels of service: individual counseling for fathers in
crisis pregnancies, group education, and material assistance for those in need.
Project Joseph remains at the father�s side from the moment he enters the
program until his child turns two.
During
three six-week blocs of meetings, clients learn what it takes to be good dads
and the importance of bonding with their children from the moment of
conception. They also learn the importance of financial planning, time
management, and sharing responsibility with the mother of their child. The last
bloc of meetings hones in on moral issues such as faith, family, society, and
government.
"The
challenge is to prepare them emotionally and materially," Brother Rivera
said, adding that they deliberately talk about God in the latter part of the
program because proselytizing is not part of the Franciscan spirituality.
Fathers
also have the opportunity to earn �daddy dollars� to purchase baby items from
the Respect Life Office boutique.
�Everybody
always hears about the �dead-beat dad,� and part of that image we have of him
is that he doesn�t care, but nothing can be further from the truth,� said Barbara
Groeber, education coordinator for the archdiocese�s respect life ministry.
�It�s
not that men don�t care. They have been told, �We don�t need you,� and so they
feel like they aren�t needed. They don�t know what to do and they have no
confidence in being a father,� Groeber said. �Inside they feel, �I would be
doing a service if I just wasn�t around.� It�s sad because the children, the
spouse, and society all need these dads, and Project Joseph is men mentoring
men � men who are good fathers embracing men and saying to them, �We will help
you be an awesome dad�� and they rise to that occasion.�
In
fact, she added, �We actually have one of our men who came into the program who
is now a mentor.�
In
order to serve in Project Joseph, volunteers must be Catholics in good standing
who follow the Church�s teachings on sex, marriage and other moral and
doctrinal principles. Mentors must attend one of the life issues workshops put
on by the Respect Life Ministry as well as the Virtus � Safe Environment � workshop
offered by the Archdiocese of Miami.
Project
Joseph mentors also have to commit to ongoing formation in theology, Franciscan
spirituality and pastoral care. They are continually reminded to see every man
as Christ sees him, and to approach every man as the firstborn among many
brothers, in keeping with Franciscan principles.
Since
spirituality is the most important dimension of Project Joseph, the training
introduces future mentors to the patron saint of the pro-life movement, St.
Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan friar who in 1941, while imprisoned
at Auschwitz, sacrificed his life to spare the life of a man who had a family.
"Max
shows us how far we can go to protect and defend human life," Brother Handal
said. "Max is a great example of what the �gospel of life� is and teaches
us to be a voice of the voiceless. My hope is that his life being given up
completely to the �gospel of life� will inspire us on this side of eternity to
bring that gospel to everyone that we meet, especially the unborn and the
family that is broken apart."
Project
Joseph is a �miracle of divine revelation,� said Brother Rivera, who calls �the
greatest protector of motherhood.� He credits St. Joseph for inspiring him �
through a dream � to create the program.
"Joseph
trusts God and Mary. He is a man of great faith. Joseph is a provider, a family
man. Not unlike babies marked for abortion, the baby Jesus is born with a death
sentence for a crime he has not committed. It is through the message of the
wise men that Joseph is told to take another route and go to Egypt. He protects
Jesus and models for us the perfect family man. Joseph proclaims the sacredness
of motherhood louder than any person in the history of Christianity without
uttering a word. His actions speak about children, marriage and parenting,
about the dignity of man and woman and the partnership of husband and wife.�
�So
my prayer was answered and now I have a vision for my dads,� Brother Rivera
said. �I must help them grow to become like this man, to take a dad who is
lost, confused, and frightened and walk with him in the footsteps of St. Joseph."
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