Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

About 120 Catholics involved in family ministries from across the United States gathered in Louisville from October 13 to 16 for the annual conference of the Catholic Family Life Association. The event took place at the Crowne Plaza hotel and focused on topics including the impact of immigration policy on families, as well as providing opportunities for worship, discussion, and networking.

The Catholic Family Life Association, previously known as the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers, provides support and professional development for those who minister to families. Kathy Schmugge, president-elect of the association and diocesan director in Charleston, emphasized the importance of building connections among ministers. “We’re all working at the same thing — family and marriage — but we are approaching it, perhaps, from different life experiences,” she said. She noted that sharing lessons learned can help prevent mistakes among new ministry directors: “I love to be able to prevent someone from making a mistake that I may have made.”

Schmugge also spoke about this year’s theme, “The Family: Building Communities of Hope,” highlighting how ministry to couples and families can restore hope in society. She said some people “feel like love is impossible, that there’s no such thing as love.” She added that witnessing authentic love between couples can serve as an image of God’s love: “And when that’s authentic, then it allows people to believe that love is possible.” According to Schmugge, such examples not only offer hope for love but also provide a believable image of God.

Attendees participated in Masses, roundtable discussions, breakout sessions, and engaged with exhibitors throughout the conference. One notable session on October 15 addressed “Immigration, Catholic Teaching, and the Family.” Lisa DeJaco Crutcher, CEO of Catholic Charities of Louisville, and Kat Riddle, Hispanic services coordinator at Catholic Charities of Louisville, led this presentation.

DeJaco Crutcher discussed challenges faced by mixed-status families—where some members have citizenship while others do not—and described how undocumented parents may fear involvement in schools or community life due to their status. She explained difficult decisions faced by parents who risk deportation: whether to leave their citizen children behind or take them to another country where they may lack language skills or opportunities.

She addressed recent changes affecting individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), noting its termination for several countries including El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras. “Twenty-two percent of the TPS holders from El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras came as children and lived in the United States for more than 20 years. They have mortgages; they have approximately 273,000 citizen children,” DeJaco Crutcher said. She continued: “These folks had legal permission to be here. Now they no longer have that permission... And so the question on the table for you is, are you going back to Haiti? Are you taking these children who are citizens of the United States...to Haiti?”

DeJaco Crutcher pointed out that undocumented individuals with U.S.-born children or those married to citizens can apply for citizenship but face long waits: “the line from Mexico for a first category family preference is currently 20 years long.”

Riddle reminded attendees about the U.S. bishops’ position on immigration reform as outlined in their January 2025 document “Catholic Elements of Immigration Reform,” which lists six elements central to their approach.

Steve and Kathy Beirne from Portland, Maine attended because they wanted more information about immigration’s impact on marriage preparation ministries. Steve Beirne shared their experience preparing immigrant couples for marriage: “We’ve worked with a number of couples preparing for marriage who are immigrants.” He described helping a couple separated by borders—the groom living in the U.S., his bride still in Congo—who may face years apart due to immigration processes.

Prior to this conference was another event—the Horario Conferencia Federación Hispana—which brought together about 80 participants on October 11-12. Father Wilfredo Fernandez from the Archdiocese of Louisville presented on spiritual guidance within marriage ministry during this gathering.