April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
OBITUARY
CATHOLIC CHARITIES HEAD MOURNED
Sister Maureen had served as CEO of Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese for 20 years. Prior to that, she spent nearly 20 years as head of Community Maternity Services, a Catholic Charities agency serving pregnant teens and young parents.
Under her leadership, the 14 counties in upstate New York covered by diocesan Catholic Charities provided human services to more than 175,000 people in need each year: the poor, the elderly, persons with disabilities, caregivers, the homeless, persons with HIV/AIDS, families and children.
"To say she will be missed is an unquestionable understatement," Bishop Howard J. Hubbard told The Evangelist.
As a longtime friend, he said, "Sister Maureen has been an example to me over the decades in her compassion for the poor and vulnerable" - and, in her illness, "taught me more about faith and hope and love than I thought possible."
Over the past several months, as her condition worsened, Sister Maureen was showered with so many honors from local and national organizations that Bishop Hubbard teased her about running out of new compliments to give in presenting the awards.
In January, she received the Centennial Medal from Catholic Charities USA, given to only 100 people nationwide, for her leadership on social justice issues. Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, called Si-ster Maureen "a living example of the mission" of the organization.
In March, she was recognized with the Bishop Francis J. Mugavero award for contributions to such issues at the state level. March 8 was declared "Sister Maureen Joyce Day" in Albany.
Sister Maureen herself preferred to keep the focus on the people she served, often telling The Evangelist that the purpose of Catholic Charities was to be a voice for the voiceless. She testified countless times before the New York State Legislature to do just that, chiding lawmakers for putting the most vulnerable populations at risk and applauding steps to provide funding for critical services.
In that, Sister Maureen said many times, she was only responding to Catholic social teaching that the litmus test of society's justice is in its response to the needs of the poor and vulnerable.
"One of the challenges the Catholic community faces is trying to integrate that call to change the world," she remarked in a 2001 interview. "We're always challenged to change the system, to change society."
A Sister of Mercy for five decades, Sister Maureen was a native of Albany who graduated from Vincentian Institute and The College of Saint Rose. She began her career as a teacher at Christ the King School in Guilderland, then was a social worker at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany before joining CMS.
In her tenure as CMS director, the agency expanded to serve infants and children with HIV and AIDS through the Farano Center for Children in Albany; provide foster care and adoption services; teach parenting skills; and offer counseling and other support for struggling families.
Diocesan Catholic Charities also grew under Sister Maureen's leadership: most notably, in the establishment of a health alliance partnering Catholic Charities with healthcare facilities, parishes and schools; and in the creation of the Public Policy Education Network to alert local residents on issues of concern so they could advocate politically.
For a time, she hosted the "Catholic Charities at Work" television program on WTEN-channel 10. She also found time to serve on more than a dozen boards and committees, from the board of Teresian House Center for the Elderly in Albany to the New York State Catholic Conference's Public Policy Committee.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., Sister Maureen immediately sent Catholic Charities staff to Ground Zero in New York City to offer counseling to those affected. The effort was repeated after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, while aid efforts were also rallied for survivors of a tsunami in South Asia the same year.
Catholic Charities staff locally and nationally told The Evangelist that they came to expect such a high standard of service from Sister Maureen.
"She never really veered from mission," noted a Catholic Charities USA official who knew Sister Maureen well. "Whenever she spoke, it was to reinforce the needs and the rights of the people they were serving."
A remark Sister Maureen made about diocesan Catholic Charities' response to Hurricane Katrina might best sum up her half-century of ministry:
"We were Church. It went a long way." (KB)
A funeral Mass was offered May 24 at Blessed Sacrament Church, Albany, for Sister Maureen Joyce, who died May 21. Survivors include two brothers, Lawrence of Cobleskill and Harold of Albany. Interment was in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, East Greenbush.
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