"Father Florek says that some farm owners offer the workers access to alcohol and women but make no effort to provide any true comfort. In one camp in Ohio, he says, the owners don’t even let the workers play soccer on their days off for fear they will be injured and will not be able to fulfill their contracts.
'The workers use the word dehumanization. [They tell us:] ‘They treat us less than human,’says Father Florek. 'Like animals. In some places it’s difficult even to get in to visit them. The owners are suspicious, even of the Catholic Church. We’re seeing more and more of that, especially with this administration.'
After dinner, Veronica Rodriguez, the 48-year-old coordinator for the Ministry to Neighbor program in her Michigan diocese, passes out rosary beads, Bibles and prayer cards with the help of her sons, husband and mother. Ms. Rodriguez—whose reserved, quiet strength balances Father Florek’s resounding voice and outgoing nature—helped create the Sembrador pilot program here four years ago. The project has now spread to Yuma, Ariz., and is sprouting in upstate New York; Raleigh, N.C.; Monterey, Calif.; and Richmond, Va.
As a rooster crows and the sun sinks farther on the horizon, the priests lead the group in a Hail Mary and bless them with holy water. The men humbly bow their heads. 'It’s a great thing,' the former construction worker softly says, 'to hear the word of God.'”
~ Helene Stapinski
"Migrant farmworkers are lonely and scared. This Jesuit leads a ministry to serve them." - America Magazine
https://www.americamagazine.org/features/2026/06/22/migrant-farmworkers-jesuit-florek/
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