Throughout history, every group of people have migrated in some form or another, including the Holy Family. As Christians, we open our hearts to those seeking refuge, peace, and a better life, exercising empathy for immigrants who endure trials and tribulations due to their status. We are given the opportunity to put into action what it means to be a child of God by showing compassion for our brothers and sisters starting a new life in a foreign land.
Suggestions for promoting immigration justice:
Become aware of the reasons people are fleeing their homelands. If possible, volunteer at a non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of immigrants. You may also become politically active by learning about U.S. immigration legislation and contacting United States senators and representatives to speak up on this issue. Pray that hearts and minds are opened, and migrants are made to feel welcome wherever they go on this earth, which God created.
Words from Pope Francis
“The Church is Mother, and her motherly attention is expressed with special tenderness and closeness to those who are obliged to flee their own country and exist between rootlessness and integration. This tension destroys people. Christian compassion—this ‘suffering with’ compassion—is expressed first of all in the commitment to obtain knowledge of the events that force people to leave their homeland, and where necessary, to give voice to those who cannot manage to make their cry of distress and oppression heard. They are all elements that dehumanize and must push every Christian and the whole community to concrete attention.”
[Pope Francis Address to the Participants in the Plenary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, May 24, 2013]
Resource Links
• USCCB Migration and Refugee Services
• Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
• Detention Watch Network
• Interfaith Welcome Coalition
• U.S Committee on Refugees and Immigrants
• Human Rights Watch
