Note: This message was originally sent on November 6, 2019
She was, is a giant……take in the wisdom……enjoy
Bob and Donna Hanson pursued successful careers in the social welfare field; Bob worked for the Washington State Department of Social Welfare, where he became a supervisor, then took on major administrative responsibilities as regional director. Donna took a position with Catholic Charities in the Catholic Diocese of Spokane, working with Monsignor Bach.
In Donna’s case, both Bach and the Bishop recognized a good deal when they saw one; soon Donna was appointed Director of Catholic Charities. Then, recognizing what a wise move that was, the Bishop shortly thereafter also appointed Donna Diocesan secretary for social ministries.
“She took Catholic Charities on an incredible journey of service to Eastern Washington,” recalled Monsignor Bach. “She started community centers and spun them off; she created or revitalized and strengthened 15 diocesan programs in 13 counties of Eastern Washington; housing complexes for farm workers, single parents, and the disabled; counseling services; and assistance to refugees and immigrants, low-income seniors, and families in need of quality child care. She relocated and rebuilt Catholic Charities’ most visible programs: St. Margaret’s Shelter for women, the House of Charity, and St. Anne’s Children and Family Center.” By 2004, when Donna retired, the Spokane Diocese was providing services in 50 locations to more than 44,000 homeless, hungry, and hurting people—85 percent of those served today are non-Catholics.
Moreover, the vision of the mission of Catholic Charities broadened. “Look beyond providing direct services,” she said. “What of the public policies that support those services? Are they wise? Should we be advocating other, more just public policies? Don’t leave that to others. We have credibility when we speak. Those of us who do the day-to-day work with people know what we’re talking about, because we have been there. So speak out!” Donna was not afraid to take risks. “Don’t be afraid to try new things,” she urged fellow workers. “We create the path by walking,” she was fond of saying.
She saw her job as a mission for the disenfranchised; she was a voice for women in the Church and beyond. Gender equality was a frequent theme: “Women should be at the table with men, bringing our wisdom in solving challenges that confront our church and our world.”
Her message about eliminating sexism got around and was picked up nationally by her colleagues in Catholic Charities. In 2005, in Washington D.C. at the national meeting of Diocesan Social Action Directors, Donna was awarded the Harry A. Fagan Roundtable Award for her contributions to social justice.
The message went further still. Donna was the North American Coordinator of Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican’s umbrella organization for more than 100 national agencies around the world. At the Caritas annual meeting in Rome she carried her message abroad. Addressing the delegates, she said: “We can achieve our dream - the dream that one day half of us will be judged, not by our sex, but by our ability to contribute to building the kingdom of God.”
She then carried her message to the Pope himself. It was in 1987 when she was selected to address Pope John Paul II, on behalf of all the nation’s leaders of Catholic Charities. St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco was packed with more than 3,000 people cheering “Vive il Papa.” The Pope smiled as he took Donna’s hand, and she smiled back, saying to him in his native Polish: “Praise be the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That broke the ice - then came her message: She told the Pope that the Church hasn’t always listened to her message about lay women. She thought that he would and should listen. Then she urged him to reach out to others like her, and to the divorced, and to the people of color, and gays and lesbians, and to the women in the Church.
Donna was honored by many organizations for many achievements: the Alumni Merit Award from St. Louis University, 1986; the Angeline Award, from the Ursulines of Louisville, 1991; The Junior League of Spokane, Outstanding Sustainer, 1992; YMCA Women of Achievement Community Service Award, 1995; the Sister Peter Claver Award, 2004; and the National Pastoral Life Center Roundtable Award, 2005. In 1996, Gonzaga University presented her with the honorary Doctor of Laws degree. The citation stated: “Equally at home with pope and priest, prince and pauper, professional and volunteer, she brought with her a spirit of generosity and enthusiasm as traced in the Gospels. She did this with caring, compassion, and a sense of peace that was infectious.”
An international figure at that point, her Catholic Charities colleagues in the United States honored her with the U.S. Catholic Award for furthering the cause of women in the Church. Eight years later, she was selected as a United States delegate to the United Nations Conference of Women in Beijing. That same year in Rome, Pope John Paul II awarded her the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal, the highest honor awarded to a lay person by the Catholic Church.