National Foreclosure Crisis Bringing Together People from Different Faiths

The national foreclosure crisis is bringing together people from different faiths. A coalition has been formed that is putting pressure on the Treasury to take effective steps to prevent further foreclosures. The coalition wants the authorities to take a more streamlined approach.

Mary Rabon is a member of PICO National Network or People Improving Communities Through Organizing. It is an organization including 1,000 congregations having its base in Oakland in California. Mary said, “Families are losing their homes and they’re on the street, and that’s just morally wrong.”

Over 200 member of PICO were in Washington D.C. the previous week to make contact with federal officers and organize a ‘prayer rally’ in front of the Treasury Building. Rev. Lucy Kolin (Lutheran pastor, Oakland) said that the Treasury building has the power to stop another 2 million foreclosures from happening and becoming reo homes. The demonstrators chanted, “Wake up! Wake up!” They wanted the treasury secretary Henry Paulson to ‘wake up’ to the harsh reality of the foreclosure catastrophe and make use of the powers bestowed upon him to by the bailout legislation to put a brake on ‘preventable’ foreclosure cases. Paulson has been opposing a plan put forth by Sheila Bair the chairperson of FDIC for modification of loans making use of the $700 billion bailout rescue fund.

The PICO representatives complain that the individual loan workout that is usually resorted to in the mortgage world, is too slow considering the volume of work and extraordinary circumstances. It will happen too late to benefit the foreclosure victims. The leaders of the congregation had become alarmed witnessing the fire of foreclosures sweeping through community after community. Gordon Whitman, the policy director of PICO said that ‘it became clear to us that voluntary case-by-case (loan workouts) wasn’t going to cut it.”

PICO proposed that each bank that accepts the bailout fund would be expected to take over responsibility of modification of loans of equal worth. The payments were not be higher than 34% of the borrower’s earnings. In some cases the principal amount would have to be reduced in keeping with the fall of property value.

Many of the congregations are in the immediate line of fire of the foreclosure crisis. The members are turning to these houses of worship for succour and help in this hour of need. Even clerical members are not immune from the curse of foreclosures.

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