Home Photo Gallery Classroom Documents Mr. President: It has been very kind of you to address a letter to me asking my humble opinion about conditions in this community of Loreto Parish. Please accept my affectionate thanks and sincere appreciation for this great honor bestowed on me. This is a very poor parish, in fact one of the poorest parishes in the Archdiocese of New York. Located as it is in the Bowery section, lives a sickly life because of so many families that, not having enough for them, cannot support their church as they did in times when conditions were a little better. Our Indebtedness, between mortgage, loan, and current bills to be paid, amount to $340,000.00. We have 400 children in our Parochial School, which is to be kept open and free altogether, for the intellectual and spiritual welfare of our little ones. If it were not for our beloved and saintly Archbishop, His Eminence Cardinal Hayes, who is paying the interest since 1927, this church had to be closed since long ago. Many families in this community, of course, have been living on relief so far, which relief, with all the abuses and frauds they claim it gave away, it was a blessing as emergent remedy of a sorrowful situation. The Works Program has been received from the Federal Government with a feeling of more understood gratitude. Work ennobles, inspires courage to those who were down in despair as to be lost, but as men, naturally, dislike to be protected, and independence is an inherited gift of the human soul, the Works Program should be carried out to appear not a protection, like another assistance or a disguised dole, but truly work, work to be done with energy under a wise and intelligent direction for benefit of the whole nation. People are still coming to our church for help, and I understand that many of them did not find employment as yet. But, to my thinking, the situation, at least for a number of families, due to your strenuous effort as wise legislation, has improved quite a bit. May our Divine Savior bless you, Mr. President, for your continuous and sympathetic work in favor of the people, and I do pray that guided by the Divine Wisdom and interpreting the divine and eternal law, you may enact laws that are always for the good of the poor. Very sincerely yours,
(Rev.) Emilio Di Matteo
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