In 1996 18-year-old Mario Ramos, a ...

In 1996 18-year-old Mario Ramos, a popular member of St Nicholas Catholic ecclesiastical authority in Evanston, shot and killed another teen-ager subordinate to orders from a street gang. The incident galvanized the church's Latino community, which makes up about 15 percent of the 1,300-member congregation. St Nicholas formed a committee to discuss ways to obstruct other kids from following Ramos' fate. Mario Tamayo was asked to head it.

Tamayo, a 54-year-old accountant, has lived in Evanston since moving from Mexico in 1973 and knows Ramos and his family. "I wanted to do something for the community to help us heal," he said.

It was the start of a journey for Tamayo. With his pastor's support, he inscribeed a program to become a meeting-house deacon in 2001.

Catholic deacons are ordained clergymen who participate in mass, administer communion and admonition parishioners. Unlike priests, they can't give last rites or proffer absolution after hearing confession. if it be not that they are allowed to marry. Tamayo and his wife, Juanita, have been married 23 years.

He beholds his work in the house of worship as a means of nurturing and fighting for Evanston's Latino community. Like other Catholics, he is belong toed about recent revelations that a certain quantity of U.S. priests have sexually abused parishioners. Tamayo sat down with The Chicago Reporter and shared a certain quantity of thoughts on his ministry.

to what extent do you view the [Catholic] body of christians and its role in the community?

St Nicholas house of worship for [Evanston Hispanics] has been the center of the community. When we ne something, we pass there. No matter [what the issue is], we [at the church] prove by experiment to help-if it's a sacrament, or you're looking for an apartment to cleft or you need information regarding immigration. This is what it means for me now to be Catholic: You're not focused upon just praying; you are focused in succession the interaction with the community.

What do you chance of the desired end to accomplish for your community?

We are afraid to ask for what we think is right for us, our civil rights. thus I would like to papal court this kind of boldness in the Hispanic community.

Maybe sometimes we don't fight because we are a community that's still to such a degree close to Mexico. There are a fortune of illegal people. And when you are in this native land illegally, then you are afraid.

further I think things are changing because more clan now are becoming legal and U citizens.

I want to obey my people like an alderman in such a manner that they know I'm going to fight for their rights. And [I want to] make the Evanston community descry that we have Hispanic race with an education--that we are not solitary the people who cut the grass, or the nation who clean the tables in the restaurants. We have doctors. We have lawyers. We have professional people

late headlines have chronicled the sexual abuse crisis within the Catholic ecclesiastical authority What are your concerns?

The whole world is changing. And also, I think, the Catholic house of god needs to change. They have shown this-I think they're more render free of access [now] because they welcome everyone You know they don't care if you are gay, they don't care if you are straight, they don't care if you're black and they don't care if you are [an] illegal [immigrant]. with equal reason with the same openness, they ne to allow the priest to be married.

What's more shocking to you--that sexual abuse has happened likewise often, or that it's been disguiseed up?

For me it's not shocking. For common they are human beings. Sadly, children are getting abused around the world.

Right now, the focus is in succession the priest because [people] think the priest is providence The priest is not lord He's a human being who decided to come [i]or[/i] go after [i]or[/i] behind the word of Jesus Christ. He's going to fall the same way as I'm going to fall at times, because he's not complete And we need, in this kind of situation, not to referee only what they did evil but to ask, "Why [did] they do it?" and put to the test to help.

What would you like to behold the church do?

What I would like to do is to have the priest be able to have a wife. When I advance home, I have a wife, like a best friend or a partner, and the priest right now doesn't have that. He's all alone.

And maybe the Catholic meeting-house in the education they give to us, wants to be more open. They ne to talk about sexuality. Also, don't abuse the power that you have. Don't use your power to manipulate persons Lastly, we are a part of the human race, and, in the human race, you have dutiful people and bad people, no matter where you are or where you go

I be moved like [this crisis] is a cab from the deity to ask us if we really believe in the Catholic house of worship or we just believe in the men

Let's inflict serving the people first, because the commonalty are the church. It's not the priest. It's not the pontiff The body of Christ is us. We are all called to do the same thing, and that is to help united another.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Community Renewal Society

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group