For her work to ease the plight of migrants, Joanne Welter, director of Catholic Social Mission for the Diocese of Tucson, has been named the first recipient of the Servant of Justice Award by the Roundtable Association of Diocesan Social Action Directors.
The award was presented at the Roundtable’s 25th anniversary luncheon at the 2010 Catholic Social Ministry gathering in Washington, D.C. The theme of the gathering was “Charity in Truth: Seeking the Common Good.”
Welter, the award states, “focuses on bringing the attention of the Church in the United States to the moral dimensions of migration, especially the suffering of migrants who had to make the dangerous trek through the hostile environment of the desert. In 1996 she led the coordination of two major bi-national Border Conferences that provided experiential and educational awareness of the border realities for diocesan Social Ministry directors from across the nation.”
The award cited Welter for “her persistent and unrelenting commitment to raise the awareness of Catholics about what migrants were experiencing and suffering…”
For 20 years Welter was a parish social minister at St. Cyril Parish in Tucson, where she was involved in the Sanctuary Movement that offered safe haven to those escaping the Salvadoran Civil War.
Founded by Catholic diocesan social action directors in 1985, the Roundtable is committed to advancing the social mission of the church. Over the years, it has evolved as a resource for expert support to members through education, formation, networking opportunities, and management development. It is a project of the National Pastoral Life Center.
