News

Norbertine honored for Hispanic Outreach

By Jeff Kurowski
Compass Assistant Editor

When Sr. Guadalupe Munoz, OLC, began as the Hispanic Outreach Coordinator for the Diocese of Green Bay in 2000, she invited Fr. Bill Ribbens, O.Praem., a longtime friend, to join her for a special visit.

"It all started with a little girl I used to pray for every morning," said Sr. Guadalupe. "He would ask me, 'Who is it that you are always praying for?' I said to him, 'Do you want to see her?'"

The eight-year-old Hispanic girl was suffering from cystic fibrosis. When Fr. Ribbens arrived at the hospital, he immediately became aware of the severity of her condition.

"She was in intensive care hooked up to tubes and machines," he said. "There was always a nurse in the room. Her mother was always there by her side, although she didn't know what was being said by the doctors. I would go up there practically every day to say a couple prayers. At least the mother knew that somebody else cared besides the doctors and nurses."

The girl soon died.

Sr. Guadalupe asked Fr. Ribbens to become a volunteer for Hispanic Outreach of Catholic Charities, but her invitation was met with uncertainty.

"He didn't think he could do it because he didn't speak the language," said Sr. Guadalupe, "but I knew he could do a lot by just being present. I knew he could help the people."

She was right.

For his more than five years of service to Hispanic Outreach, Fr. Ribbens was recently honored by the Green Bay Packers. Each year, the Packers present Community Quarterback Awards to volunteers who enrich the lives of those they serve and the communities in which they live. In addition to a luncheon for the honorees, the Packers donate $1,000 to each volunteer's organization.

"He deserves it," said Sr. Guadalupe. "He supports the poor in general. He's always there, weekends, evenings, it doesn't matter. If people need help, he is there to help."

"I got used to being with the Hispanic people," said Fr. Ribbens, a native of Mayville, Wis. "When I first started, I would go to the Spanish Mass at St. Willebrord (Green Bay). I would sit in the middle of the church. I got this sense of what it's like to be a minority. Not like they do, but to be among people and not being able to speak their language."

"I would go with Sr. Guadalupe to visit families," he continued. "I would sort through bills and help with different things while she talked to family members. I blessed homes. We would also go to court with some people. You do whatever comes along to serve their needs."

"Hispanics have many different needs," said Sr. Guadalupe. "You go for one thing and you discover something else. I begin to talk with the mother, and something else comes up, so Fr. Bill works with the bills. It works really, really well. He's so faithful."

Fr. Ribbens' ministry to the Hispanic people also includes serving on the Mayor's Hispanic Advisory Council, writing letters to legislators, passing out information to Hispanic businesses, attending City Council meetings, and working with such groups as the Guardian Angels, Encompass Child Care, prison ministry groups and organizations that assist the homeless.

"The people come here from Mexico because they cannot make a living at home," he said. "A school teacher or nurse is doing well here. A school teacher or nurse down there isn't doing well. That's hard for people in this country to understand. There is someone here now who gave up being a school teacher in Mexico and now sells T-shirts on weekends on the side. They come here to do what? Work in the meat packing plant? We do not have a significant population in the United States that is desperate. These people are desperate. They come here to work to help their families in Mexico. All the Hispanic stores here have the ability to wire money. What does that tell you?"

Many Americans are unaware that European countries are dealing with immigration issues much like the United States, said Fr. Ribbens. Those countries also need immigrants to fill low paying jobs, he explained.

"We do not have enough children to fill the slots that they are filling," he said. "We need to be honest, which is not easy to do. We like a 99-cent hamburger in this country, but, at the same time, complain about Mexicans taking all the jobs in the meat packing plant. We have a situation, that as a nation, we have allowed to exist and grow. Now we tend to fault the immigrant making them the scapegoats for a whole bunch of ills."

Fr. Ribbens points to discussions of a new high school in the Green Bay area as an example of intolerance. Some parents were upset with prospective changes in school boundaries, thus sending their children to inner city schools.

"Why fight the changing diversity of this town, when it's not possible to reverse it?" he said. "There are Russians, Bosnians, Hmong, and people from Asian countries coming here, not in the numbers of the Hispanic people, but they are here. Let's find out how we can make it work. How can we make our neighborhoods work? I'm working with a group that is putting together a video about diversity that will be out in a couple months. We need to understand that we all came from somewhere."

Although he doesn't speak the language, Fr. Ribbens learned how to read the Mass in Spanish, initially to serve the Hispanic community at St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Green Bay. Currently, he celebrates the Hispanic Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Newton.

"Faith is really important to their lives," he said. "I usually have one Mass at St. Willebrord. I can remember having 11 a.m. Mass in Green Bay and having to be down in Newton for 1 p.m. Mass. I was tired and wondering why I was doing it. When I got down there I knew why. Their faith is vital. It's all in God's hands. They are a happy people. The live as cheaply as they can, but they celebrate life."

Fr. Ribbens, who joined the Norbertines in 1957, taught science at Premontre High School in Green Bay for 15 years. He has also worked in drug and alcohol counseling, at a home for unwed mothers, in child care services, and serves as chaplain for the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity. He met Sr. Guadalupe 25 years ago, when she was a novice. They worked together on programs for youth.

"Fr. Bill is good and caring with the Sisters as he is with all people," said Sr. Guadalupe. "He has the biggest heart with so much love and compassion for people and somehow he fell in love with the Hispanic community."

"I will keep helping as long I can," said Fr. Ribbens. "God saved the best ministry for last."