Father John Lasseigne, O.M.I. doesn’t have to preach the story of David and Goliath. He’s living it.

Armed with a “slingshot” of faith and determination, Fr. John is taking on the giant banking industry on behalf of his parishioners and neighbors at Mary Immaculate Church in Pacoima, California. He is seeking justice for people in his community whom he believes have been unfairly treated during the current housing crisis.

“This is not just a question about homes but about children, parents and the integrity of the family,” says Fr. John.

Father John had been pastor of Mary Immaculate Church for just a few months when a parishioner came to him with a request – “Father we are losing our house, can you please pray for us?”

Father John did more than pray for that family – he took action. At the end of each Mass on Sunday he asked for families to add their names to a list if they were in danger of losing their home. Dozens of families signed up the first week. Hundreds more signed up in subsequent weeks.

Today Fr. John has helped to organize more than 300 families in the San Fernando Valley to seek some relief for their housing payments.

“Once Mary Immaculate Church got involved it brought the community together and we realized that we are not alone,” says José Hernandez, who is facing the possibility of his family losing their home.

Father John’s idea for organizing homeowners was based on the premise that individually these families would have almost no chance to renegotiate the terms of their mortgages. Collectively, they could get bank officers and politicians to sit up and listen.

Father John partnered with One L.A., the local affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), to look at ways to help families facing foreclosure. Mary Immaculate has been a member parish of the IAF for over ten years. Other community groups, parishes and activists also joined the cause.

A number of meetings have been held between bank officials and groups of families. Father John says the banks are resistant to negotiating with groups and prefer to work individually with homeowners. But with the staggering number of potential foreclosures – more than 8,000 alone in the San Fernando Valley – individual negotiations could drag on forever.

Father John also said that bank representatives have been unwilling to accept their share of responsibility for the housing crisis. If the banks have money to give bonuses to their executives, Fr. John rationalizes that they have money to lend to the hard working immigrant families
that make up his parish.

He also points out that many local families had good credit histories but were steered into sub-prime mortgages so the banks could make even more money.

Most of the families in his parish have limited capacity to speak English. While the majority of their loan agreements with the bank were in Spanish, the section about adjustable mortgages was provided only in English.

Most parishioners at Mary Immaculate parish have seen the value of their homes cut nearly in half since the start of the economic downturn. At the same time, their monthly mortgage payments have nearly doubled.

One positive result from the efforts of Fr. John and the other housing advocates took place in August. The Los Angeles City Council dedicated $1 million to a demonstration project designed by One LA to prevent foreclosures. The program allows about 30 homeowners to receive low-interest loans of up to $75,000.

The homeowners then turn this money over to their banks, but only if the banks agree to lower their interest rate and reduce their loan principal. With their principal lowered by up to $150,000 the homeowners are then able to afford their monthly mortgage payments.

In October the Los Angeles Archdiocesan Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society agreed to invest another $1 million in the same demonstration project.

Father John’s approach to helping people survive the financial crisis gathered national attention. A story written for the Los Angeles Times ran in newspapers around the country. His foreclosure fight was also profiled on National Public Radio and the CBS Evening News.

The housing crisis will not go away anytime soon, especially in California. Father John says that while the obstacles facing many of his parishioners may seem insurmountable, he is in the fight for the long haul.

“If we stay united and combine our resources, we can have a positive effect on this problem,” says Fr. John.