Speaking to the faithful ahead of National Migration Week, Archbishop Jośe Gomez of Los Angeles encouraged prayer for a society of “solidarity and compassion” that better serves the “poor and least among us.”
“My brothers and sisters, once again we are called to help our neighbors and leaders to feel compassion for the common humanity and destiny that we share with one another, including our immigrant brothers and sisters,” Gomez said. “So let us keep praying for our nation and working hard for immigration reform and let us remember to keep our lives centered on Jesus.”
Gomez, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, made the comments during his homily at an afternoon Mass on Sept. 18, to commemorate the start of the U.S. Catholic Church’s National Migration Week from Sept. 19-25.
Before the Mass, held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, 50 ministry leaders were honored for their work and support of immigrants and their families. Civic and diplomatic leaders, including the Consuls of Mexico and Guatemala were present.
Gomez celebrated the Mass, and was joined by clergy from the Dioceses of San Bernardino, Orange, and San Diego. Relics of St. Junipero Serra, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and St. Toribio Romo – saints all of great significance to the immigrant community – were placed by the altar during the Mass.
During the homily, Gomez lamented that the nation’s immigration system hasn’t been addressed for decades, saying that “we need to pray harder for our government officials and lawmakers,” while never losing hope that immigration reform can be realized.
This year’s National Migration Week comes amid an ongoing immigration crisis in the U.S. There were more than 2.2 million migrant encounters nationwide from October 2021 and July 2022, and specifically more than 1.9 million migrant encounters at the southern border during the same span, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Both figures well exceed the respective totals for Fiscal Year 2021 by more than 200,000.
Full story at Crux.
Curious… What is “immigration reform?” People like AB Gomez talk about it all the time, but they never actually define it. Is it an entirely open border (which we have in the US at the moment. Is it a closed border? Is it handing out money, healthcare and education to each and every person who crosses the border? Maybe it’s granting everyone citizenship, even though no other country on earth is so generous in already offering citizenship to pretty much everyone and everyone, including Muslim and Asian whose host countries and governments have proven to be enemies of the union? What, exactly, is immigration reform?
https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/churchteachingonimmigrationreform
I started looking for faithful Catholic websites and they are out there. If you are tired of being one of three faithful Catholics (used to be four but someone drifted) you can find better places where you don’t have to constantly be exposed to dissidents and critics of the Faith.
I think they don’t really know what to do either.
I think it is easy to say welcome the stranger but they are also committing a crime every day that they stay here illegally.
They use excuses like I want a better life for my family.
The Church should be telling them to obey lawful authority and how can we help you get a better life for your family without breaking any laws?
I had someone who works for Catholic Charities tell me “You would do the same thing.” No I wouldn’t. I would stay and pray and ask Mary for help.
Most people in those countries stay and endure and pray and suffer.
No, this document’s talking points are precisely the problem. The USCCB document states that it wants to allow for the enforcement of border laws, but in another place it says this: “Due process rights taken away by the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) should be restored. For example, the three and ten year bars to reentry should be eliminated.” Ha, that’s a laugh…there is virtually no consequence now for those crossing the border, even illegally, with the one exception being those convicted of a felony offense. Even that sometimes is not a bar to remaining in place. Borders crossers have been known to have crossed 20 times or more. They cross back over, and then bring their kids, then again and bring the primos, and then again, and bring other close friends. Now, they take iPhone pics of their crossings and then send them all over the place so others can find the good crossing spots. People from around the world are flooding across by the millions because the coyotes know there is no consequence and likely a big payout when they arrive.
Me-Thanks for the link.It explained a lot.I’m not in agreement with how they think the taxpayer should pick up the tab on this.If they wish to push this meme maybe I should vote against it with the redistribution of my weekly tithe.
A tithe is not a vote and it is not given to the bishops or your pastor. It is given to God.
People this is not immigration this is mass migration, no other country in the world lets this happen except the United States. This is calculated and being done on purpose by Biden and the Left wing Democrats to change the demographics forever in the U.S. and well it is working very well, remember white people bad all others good, this is called racism at its very core. And this is being done by no other than left wing White people who for some reason hate their own skin color, everything the left does they destroy, case in point, Chicago, D.C., St. Louis, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis, all cities run and controlled by yes Left wing Democrats. Murder, robbery, drugs and needles on the streets, feces on sidewalks, homeless and tents all over the place, Walgreens and CVS stores robbed in broad daylight while security just stands by and watches which I don’t blame them they make maybe $12 an hour and who wants to be killed by the robbers so they let them steal. This is the United States today folks a third world cesspool where anything goes, so yes keep the borders wide open and let everyone in and rape the system dry, remember white people are evil and all others are good.
I wonder why so many people are willing to walk a thousand miles through the jungle and desert to reach this country. What is their motivation? If we knew what life was like in their native country we might be more welcoming. Sneaking across the border is illegal and usually results in deportation. But, those seeking asylum are processed and allowed to stay in the country until they can get a court date, which can be as many as four years. We have always welcomed refugees. Our parents or their parents came from other countries and were accepted and assimilated. They came through Ellis Island and Angel Island by the hundreds of thousands to escape poverty and bad governments. The Irish came to escape famine, for example. Is it possible that a lot of the fuss is because people coming to the southern border happen to be brown and not white? Is it possible that we don’t get worked up over Europeans who are here illegally are white? Why don’t we build a fence on the northern border? Asking for a friend.
People coming through Ellis Island had to do it legally, too, or they did not get in. They were quarantined if they had any diseases, and sometimes not let in at all or sent back for various reasons. They had to go through delousing if they had lice and so on and so forth. No one who has ever immigrated to this country has had an easy time of it. Most Americans have had to work hard just to survive here. I know I have, and so has my family, even though my own family goes back at least four generations and many back to the first colonies.
By the way, Venezuela once had a booming economy. What the heck happened to it? Who is responsible for the mess there now?
There are some fences and check points on the northern border. People in the norther states also complain about terrorists and other criminals coming across. On the other hand, many U.S. citizens have relatives in Canada and they, too, complain that they cannot just cross the border and see more often. Let’s face it, everybody complains about everything in this country, and that is the way it has always been. If we are not fighting about one thing, we are fighting about another.
To the bishops: It’s not “immigration” or “migration.” It’s an invasion.
LETTER TO THE BISHOPS ON MIGRATION
“June 17, 2021
“Dear Archbishops Cabrera López, Jose H. Gómez [Los Angeles], Gonzalo de Villa y Vásquez, Garachana Pérez, and Escobar Alas,
“As the U.S. prepares to spend $4 billion over the next five years to address the root causes of migration from Central America, local Catholic organizations and partners are working to ensure that these resources reach the people and communities that need them the most, following local priorities and plans. Coordinated leadership from the Church in the United States, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala would provide a much-needed boost to these efforts. It would help us channel resources into the local communities that people are fleeing to create economic opportunities, reduce violence and help small farmers adapt to CLIMATE CHANGE. Your leadership is pivotal in reorienting U.S. policy toward Central America, away from low-wage employment and extractive industries, toward better jobs, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, and human rights protection. ” https://www.wpcweb.org/letter-to-the-bishops-on-migration/
Thank you for posting this.
There are several issues which get conflated: immigration, illegal immigration, asylum seeking and the status of undocumented persons already in the US. Each is a huge complex issue for the US.
oops…forgot migrants and exiles
From Bishop Olmsted:
https://dphx.org/the-crisis-before-us/
From Archbishop Cordileone via Catholic Philly
https://catholicphilly.com/2018/01/commentaries/national-migration-week-a-reminder-of-our-duty-to-welcome-the-stranger/