[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 21, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO FATHER TOM RUSH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 21, 1998

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my dear 
friend Father Tom Rush, pastor at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in 
Pacoima. Father Rush is leaving Pacoima for a leadership position in 
the international order of Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. 
Father Rush will be sorely missed in the Northeast Valley. He is a 
figure beloved by people of all religious and ethnic backgrounds.
  I have had the good fortune of being with Father Rush on many 
occasions. One of the most memorable was earlier this year when I 
attended dedication ceremonies for the rebuilt Mary Immaculate Church, 
which was destroyed in the Northridge Earthquake of 1994. The sanctuary 
was overflowing with church members and others who wanted to share the 
special day with Father Rush. That day I realized as never before how 
much Father Rush means to our community. He has touched countless lives 
through his spiritual guidance, commitment to social justice and 
dedication to helping at-risk youth.
  Father Rush came to the Northeast Valley in 1973, when he became 
priest at Santa Rosa Church in San Fernando. In between other 
assignments he spent 13 years at Santa Rosa, before moving over to Mary 
Immaculate in neighboring Pacoima in 1992. At both Santa Rosa and Mary 
Immaculate, Father Rush, who is of Irish descent, established an 
extraordinary rapport with his overwhelmingly Latino congregants. It is 
entirely accurate to call Father Rush a leader in the burgeoning Latino 
community of the Northeast Valley.
  In recent years, Father Rush has been a courageous and outspoken 
supporter of immigrant rights. Four years ago he carried an American 
flag in a demonstration against Proposition 187. In 1995 he was part of 
a group that met with Richard Rogers, District Director of the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, to demand a speedier 
citizenship process. Rogers promised he would try.
  Father Rush's pending departure has cast a pall over our community. 
Though we wish him the best, we also know that he is irreplaceable.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting Father Tom Rush, a man of 
warmth, compassion and remarkable energy who has brought joy and hope 
to many.

                          ____________________