The following comes from a January 10 Desert Sun article by Mauricio Pena:

On Sunday, several hundreds of people from around Southern California that gathered for the 10th annual Diocese of San Bernardino’s Migration Mass at Our Lady of Soledad Church in Coachella.

The service, a culmination of National Migration Week celebrated by the Catholic Church each year, called for unity and the acceptance of refugees from across the world.

“Today we focus on our brothers and sisters who have had to leave their countries,” said Bishop Gerald Barnes of the Diocese of San Bernardino who presided over the service along with Cardinal Roger Mahony.

The US bishops have asked the federal government to allow the resettlement of 200,000 people annually, including 100,000 slots for the “most vulnerable refugees fleeing violence in Syria,” according to a news release.

“We must open closed doors and fight xenophobia,” Barnes said. “These people want to see their families live. They want what each and everyone of us wants for our families.”