The Archdiocese uses various means to inform the faithful about the 2020 Census
The Catholic Church in Los Angeles joined the effort to promote participation in the 2020 census count among millions of parishioners.
Isaac Cuevas, the director of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Migration and Public Affairs, explained in a phone conversation with La Opinion the church's ability to reach numerous angelic residents, even in areas where it has traditionally been difficult to count previously.
"The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest diocese in the United States and has some five million registered Catholics," he said.
The participation of the angelina church is doubly important in this Census because a good number of the millions of parishioners are immigrants of very diverse origins and also, they know that they can trust this institution.
“In the Catholic Church in Los Angeles, the diversity that we have is enormous. On Sundays we say mass in almost 40 different languages in all cities through all migrant communities, "he explained.
In addition, through churches and Catholic schools, the church has an outreach capable of reaching communities that have traditionally been difficult to count in previous censuses, such as the South Central and East Los Angeles region.
"People trust us and know that we are going to give them adequate information," Cuevas explained.
Information is not shared
That trust has allowed the Archdiocese to clarify that the census questionnaire does not include any questions about citizenship, a question that still persists among immigrant communities.
"We let people know that the citizenship question is not going to be included in the Census and that the information is not going to be shared with federal government agencies," explained the Archdiocese's manager for public relations.
On the other hand, the church has adapted to the circumstances of contingency due to the pandemic, since it has media and social networks that also promote the participation of Catholics in the 2020 Population Census.
"Now considering the situation that we have above, we have been working closely with our digital departments, to convene the community," said Cuevas.
For example, the Archdiocese has an office that answers questions from parishioners about the population census.
Besides, he uses the programming of Guadalupe Radio and the television station El Sembrador and also passes information through Catholic schools.
Young Catholic students, who as part of their education are instructed to use tablets and laptops, have often helped their parents participate in the Internet Census.
That help from young people, according to Cuevas, has helped parents of Catholic families who would feel intimidated to participate electronically choose to choose that option.
Some priests, especially those who are inclined towards social justice, have also promoted the participation of their parishioners in the population census, highlighting that by being counted, they redistribute the budget and national and local legislative representation.
Cuevas said that despite the contingency conditions, due to the emergency that the pandemic forces, we continue in the ministry and although we are not there together physically, we continue spiritually.
This persistence is also on the part of the Archdiocese for those who have doubts about the participation of the Census.
We are still here for whoever needs us, Cuevas explained, for the census count even though circumstances require taking great care of ourselves in these difficult times.
Did you know…
The statistics that the Census Bureau collects after the count helps the distribution of money to health clinics, fire stations, and schools in your community; in addition to the budget allocation for roads and public transport.
The results also determine the number of representatives of each state in Congress, indicates the Census website in Spanish: 2020census.gov/es.html
Keep in mind that Census workers will never call or send emails to ask for your Social Security number, or your card details; much less donations.
