Los Angeles priests have begun celebrating weekend Masses for unaccompanied migrant children housed at federal emergency shelters in Long Beach and Pomona.
The private liturgies began in early May after the Archdiocese of Los Angeles secured permission for the liturgies at the Long Beach Convention Center and the Pomona Fairplex.
“My heart breaks for what these children have been through, and I want to help them any way I can,” said Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, who celebrated the first Sunday Mass for newly arrived children in Pomona on May 9.
Speaking to Angelus before the Mass, Bishop O’Connell said he looked forward to preaching about becoming a friend of Jesus.
“Many [of the youth] have been through difficult times. Jesus invites each one with a friendship with himself.”
The first shelter Mass was celebrated in Long Beach on Saturday, May 1, by Msgr. Jarlath Cunnane, better known as “Father Jay,” pastor of St. Cornelius Church in Long Beach. Auxiliary Bishop Marc Trudeau of the archdiocese’s San Pedro Pastoral Region, celebrated Mass for another group of kids the next day.
Since then, a number of priests specially trained to work with migrant children have officiated services at both shelters. In Long Beach, they include: Father George Aguilera, pastor of St. Anthony Church in Long Beach; Father Budi Wardhana, pastor of St. Lucy Church in Long Beach; and Msgr. John Woolway. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez is scheduled to celebrate a Mass at the Long Beach shelter on Sunday, May 30.
Full story at Angelus News.
These children should be with their parents in their country of origin. Catholic Church officials have been too eager to take government money to become immigration facilitators and it is not their job. This is a continuing outrage.
Are the priests getting paid by the government to say mass?
Yes, where are their parents, or at least one parent? I can only wonder how many of these children were kidnapped by drug lords and brought across our borders. The border patrol says that some of that is definitely going on.
Why would drug lords kidnap a kid and bring them across the border? They are in the business of making money by selling drugs. Mostly, these kids are escaping drug lords.
One way they misuse the children, teens and families is by sending them across the borders first, so the border patrol will go after them, then the drug dealers sneak the drugs in into this country while the border patrol is preoccupied.
A lot of drug lords are “coyotes” too, they charge people exorborent prices to come here, and often the girls and women raped along the way. There are videos where even some Mexican American border patrol officers tell some of the horror stories of what is going on.
One good book is Jesus Romero’s “The Devil in the City of Angels.”
Some of them are being sex trafficked for prostitution also. Drug lords do not just sell drugs. Some of them sell humans. Now have you got the picture??? and don’t tell us it is not happening because it is happening. If you deny it, you are probably involved in it or covering for someone.
I am glad that these priests are meeting the spiritual needs of these children. Can the children ask for a pastor from another denomination if the child is not Catholic?
Are the kids asked if they support abortion before they are given Communion?
It would be wonderful if they would celebrate the TLM for the kids!
More than likely it’s the Traditional Spanish Mass.
There’s no such thing.
If Pope Francis gets around to it, soon there might not be a TLM either.
These children should be with their parents. That said, just because adults have failed them does not mean that we should deprive them of the Faith. We all need the comfort and love of the Lord and other people.
Remember, what we do to them, we do to our Lord Himself (Matt. 25:40)
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt. 19:14)
I know. I know, Deacon Anderson, but it never seems to end. I watched on television years ago a nun crying because of what was done to some children and teens in border towns which are notorious for prostitution of all kinds, especially Tijuana, and many of those misusing these children and teens are Northern Americans. When does it stop?
Tragically, our current open border does lend itself to human trafficking (and drug trafficking, disease spread, violent gang activity and terrorism).
My point is our care for those who are already here. (And, of course, our concern should extend to others in their homelands as well.)
Let us pray and work toward a resolution for our border crisis which acknowledges the needs of refugees and the right of a nation to secure its borders.
Those two admirable interests, as noted by our bishops, are not mutually exclusive.
And clarify that fake or opportunistic refugees are not refugees at all.
That is true. Drug runners, traffickers, gang members, terrorists and other criminals are not refugees. It should be close to impossible for them to enter our country. And, tragically, even when some such are deported multiple times, they return multiple times to commit crimes.