12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

“I would also like to draw attention to the tens of thousands of children who migrate alone, unaccompanied, to escape poverty and violence: This is a category of migrants from Central America and Mexico itself who cross the border with the United States under extreme conditions and in pursuit of a hope that in most cases turns out to be vain. They are increasing day by day. This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first urgent measure, these children be welcomed and protected. These measures, however, will not be sufficient, unless they are accompanied by policies that inform people about the dangers of such a journey and, above all, that promote development in their countries of origin. Finally, this challenge demands the attention of the entire international community so that new forms of legal and secure migration may be adopted.” 

— Pope Francis

 

FROM YOUR PASTOR

Jesus calls us to, “Welcome the stranger among us.” For over 20 years, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has invoked the Catholic Social Doctrine principles of the Dignity of the Human Person, the Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable, and Solidarity with our Sisters and Brothers Worldwide in their dialogue on Immigration.

Their positions have not always coincided with those of Federal, State, or Local Governments in the United States…or the Civil Laws.

But their positions are grounded on the Moral Law as Lived By Jesus Christ and Proclaimed By the Catholic Pontiffs.

The US Bishops use the following definitions: an Immigrant is a person who moves to another country to take up permanent residence; a Legal Immigrant is a person who has been admitted to reside and work on a permanent basis in the United States — admission is most commonly based on reunification with close family members or employment; a Migrant is a person on the move, either voluntarily or involuntarily, in the person’s own country, internationally, or both —  unlike refugees, migrants are commonly considered free to return home whenever they wish because their lives are not in danger there; a Refugee is any person, who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling, to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country — or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his or her habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it; and Undocumented Immigrant is a person who is in a country without the permission of that country’s government — such persons are called “undocumented” because they lack the required paperwork.

Unity in diversity is the vision of the US Bishops. The diversity of ethnicity, education, and social class of the Immigrants and Refugees challenge the local Churches to welcome them and help them join our communities in ways that are respectful of their cultures and in ways that mutually enrich the Immigrants and the receiving Church. But the universal call is to Conversion, Communion, and Solidarity…to SAVE SOULS FOR JESUS CHRIST.

The Bishops reject the Anti-Immigrant stance that has become popular in different parts of the Country, and the nativism, ethnocentricity, and racism that continue to reassert themselves in communities. The new Immigrants call most of us back to our ancestral heritage as Descendants of Immigrants and to our Baptismal Heritage as members of the BODY OF CHRIST.

My Maternal Grandparents immigrated from Italy to New York and Colorado in the 1880s. My Paternal Grandparents immigrated from the Sud Tyrol of Germany and Austria in the 1880s. They came to Colorado because it provided opportunity, and in some respects looked geographically like the communities from which they came.

The US Bishops, through their statement, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us:  Unity in Diversity, and their joint statement with the Bishops of Mexico, “Strangers No Longer:  Together on the Journey of Hope, have committed themselves and all the members of our Church communities in these areas: advocacy for laws that respect the Human Rights of Immigrants and preserve the Unity of the Immigrant Family; the extension of Social Services; Citizenship Classes; Community Organizing and Inter-Denominational  Efforts that secure improved housing conditions, decent wages, better medical attention, and appropriate educational opportunities for Immigrants and Refugees; Immigration Law Reform to reflect basic human rights for Immigrants; and Legalization Opportunities for the maximum number of undocumented persons, particularly those who have built equities and otherwise contributed to their communities.

The desire of the Bishops is for a more orderly system that accommodates the reality of migration and promotes just application of civil law. They seek to measure the interests of all parties in the migration phenomenon against the Guidelines of Catholic Social Teaching and to offer a Moral Framework for embracing, not rejecting, the reality of migration between nations. On the ground, this is reflected in a growing consciousness of migrants as bearers of faith and culture; an outpouring of hospitality and social services, including migrant shelters; a growing network of advocates for migrants’ and immigrants’ rights; a more organized effort at welcome and intercultural communion; a greater development of a social conscience; a greater recognition by other nations of the importance of the issue of migration; and the cooperation of government personnel who enforce, implement, and execute the immigration laws.

The images we see in the media today are the outcomes of Isolated Ideologies… a Respect for Life from Conception to Natural Death…and the Desire to Live in Peace and Harmony. Solutions rest in the Human Heart Inspired by Jesus Christ…Not the Human Mind Conflicted by the Ways of the World.

THEY, like you and me, are BELOVED CHILDREN OF GOD…

+May God Bless You and Keep You++May God Bless You and Keep You+