FROM OUR SHEPHERDS
Pastoral Statements
Immigration
“The State has a very serious responsibility to protect its citizens and this may entail strong immigration controls. At the same time however, the Church says that human beings have a right to migrate – particularly in search of work in order to improve their human condition and to provide for the needs of their families.” Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory
Arizona Bishops on Immigration Policy: Reform, Not Sanctions
A little more than two years ago, we communicated our concerns about the moral dimensions of the immigration crisis in Arizona.
In "You Welcomed Me," our pastoral letter to Catholics in our dioceses, we stated that the Catholic Church speaks up about immigration because it is committed to the protection of the rights and dignity that all persons are entitled to from conception to natural death. AZRepublic 01/03/2008
USCCB migration chairman expresses concern about direction and tone of national immigration debate (USCCB)
“The immigration reform debate, while provoking informed analysis and thoughtful discussion, also has generated harsh rhetoric against migrants in this country, particularly those without legal status,” said Bishop Barnes. “Fanned by talk radio and anti-immigrant organizations, this rhetoric has inflamed fears and misunderstanding among some portions of the American public, leading to a polarized and vitriolic atmosphere.” USCCB 09/27/2007
California bishops call for statewide action for immigration reform (Archdiocese of Los Angeles)
“Cardinal Mahony and the Auxiliary Bishops of Los Angeles join our brother Bishops in California in calling on Catholics—and all Californians—to reject anti-immigrant rhetoric and to work constructively toward just and humane immigration policies in the U.S.” LA Archdiocese 11/28/2007
Maryland bishops: A Catholic response to immigration
The Maryland-serving bishops have released "Where All Find A Home: A Catholic Response to Immigration." In it, Baltimore Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl and Wilmington Bishop Michael Saltarelli urge Catholics to engage in faith-filled discussion of the issue. Maryland Catholic Conference 11/28/2007
Oklahoma's new immigration law is immoral and unjust, Roman Catholic Bishop Edward J. Slattery declared in a pastoral letter made public this week."They've come to regard people who are illegal immigrants as having fewer rights than people who are legal. In the eyes of God, we all have equal rights, and we have the obligation to love them," he said. 11/27/2007
Utah's Catholic bishop speaks out for immigrants Utah's Bishop John Wester joined in a Christian chorus from Washington, D.C., this week, calling for better treatment of immigrants, legal and otherwise. "No person is illegal in God's eyes," said Wester, recently named chairman of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops' Committee on Migration. "We cannot sustain a status quo that accepts the toil and taxes of the undocumented population on one hand yet scapegoats and dehumanizes them on the other. SLT 11/16/1007
US Bishops Urge Elected Officials To Support DREAM Act
The DREAM Act would provide young people, who were brought by their parents to the United States at an early age and have undocumented status, a way to regularize their status and obtain permanent residency. It also would allow states to give them eligibility for in-state tuition. CNA 09/21/2007
Bishops’ Annual Labor Day Statement Stresses Catholic Teaching On Work; Urges Restart Of Immigration Debate
In recent months, “this vital national immigration discussion polarized our people, paralyzed the Congress, and failed our nation,” Bishop DiMarzio said. “We have to find a way to re-start the discussion, to re-engage the hard issues, to search for practical and realistic solutions.” 08/27/2007
“Labor Day 2007: A Time to Remember; A Time to Recommit,”
Holy See says protect the dignity and rights of legal and illegal immigrants Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, recalled how "migrants contribute to their host country's well-being, and also because of this their human dignity must be respected and their freedoms guaranteed: the right to a dignified life, to fair treatment at work, to have access to education, health and other social benefits, to grow in competence and develop humanly, to freely manifest their culture and practice their religion. 07/11/2007
RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH
Bishops Decry Failure Of Immigration Reform The U.S. bishops decried failure of immigration reform and its implicit exploitation of millions of people.
The position was voiced by Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino, California, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration.06/29/2007
“As a nation, we cannot continue to employ an immigration system that leads to the exploitation of millions of our fellow human beings,” bishop Barnes said. “We cannot accept the toil of a large underclass which does not have full rights in our society. This strikes at the very character of our nation and lessens us as a people.”
Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Cardinal Mahoney on Immigration Bill Failure
Statement Regarding The Failure Of The Senate’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill This is not the end of immigration reform. Our immigration laws are unjust and immoral. The present system causes much suffering, including even the death of many immigrants. I and our Catholic Church will continue fighting for immigration reform that is comprehensive, just and that respects and protects the human rights and the dignity of each person. 06/29/2007
Archbishop Gomez draws attention to urgent need for immigration reform “It only makes sense to offer them a path to full participation in American society,” he argued. “We should help them become taxpaying citizens with ordinary workers' benefits. Such measures would strengthen our borders, enhance our economy and reduce the strains on our health and social services systems.” 06/14/2007
Archbishop Chaput: Immigration proposal merits support Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver is calling for support for the current Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348). The bill is currently in debate in the U.S. Senate. The debate is expected to continue into early June. 05/31/2007
Bishop Expresses Reservations On Proposed Immigration Compromise But Calls For Legislative Process To Move Forward
“Specifically, Congress should ensure that any final legislation contains a legalization program which is workable and includes family unity and a fair and realistic path to citizenship, a new worker program which provides participants a meaningful opportunity to obtain permanent residency, and the preservation of family unity as an integral part of the U.S. immigration system,” 05/18/2007
Archdiocese of New York: 'Comprehensive and Just' Immigration Reform I am encouraged by the immigration legislation that has been proposed in the Congress. Equally encouraging is the initiative of the President to develop a framework for addressing this issue in a comprehensive manner. 05/11/2007
Bishop urges Congress to pass immigration reform bill Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando is urging Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill before the August recess.In a message released May 1, the bishop urged lawmakers to pass the Security through Regularized Immigration and Vibrant Economy Act of 2007, known as STRIVE. The bipartisan bill (H.R. 1645) was introduced by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). 05/10/2007
Michigan Catholic Bishops Release Statement Calling for Prompt Federal Immigration Reform Church Leaders’ Declaration Stresses Dignity for Immigrant Laborers 04/29/2007
Bishops “Deeply Concerned” About President’s Immigration Reform Proposals; Bipartisan Strive Act A Better Model The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) migration committee has written to Congress asking lawmakers to pass comprehensive immigration reform and warned that the Bush Administration’s recent proposals would be harmful to immigrants. 04/23/2007
Catholics To Visit Capitol Hill With Clear Message For Lawmakers: Pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform Catholics from across the country will visit Capitol Hill and urge lawmakers to pass comprehensive immigration reform as part of an April 17-19 conference that will bring together social justice leaders, diocesan directors and others active in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Justice for Immigrants campaign. 04/12/2007
Immigration foes upset bishop Camden Diocese's Bishop Joseph Galante says he is extremely saddened by what he perceives as anti-immigration sentiment in the nation, especially by many whose own parents were themselves immigrants.
Cardinal O’Malley calls for more humane immigration policy The immigration raid in New Bedford last week is evidence of the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform in the United States, said Cardinal Sean O’Malley in a comment published yesterday in the Boston Globe. 03/16/2007
US bishops on Immigration: policies that deny refugees, terror victims asylum must be changed. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has joined a coalition of religious groups and refugee advocates in calling on Congress to address flawed provisions in national security laws that have blocked thousands of vulnerable refugees, freedom fighters, and victims of oppressive regimes from entering the United States. 03/09/2007
Nashville bishop supports mayor's veto of 'English-first' legislation Bishop David R. Choby of Nashville, said the city is "noted for its friendliness and its willingness to welcome those who are new to the area...The characteristics of kindness, for which this city has developed a national recognition, can also be called Christian charity." 02/20/2007
Not just a spiritual matter Cardinal Mahony says Church must become politically involved on behalf of immigrants. Political solutions must include offering citizenship opportunities for undocumented immigrants, facilitating the reunion of immigrants with their families, and providing due process protection for the undocumented, said Mahony. 02/09/2007
U.S. Bishops Welcome President Bush’s Support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform During State of the Union Address “The issue of immigration reform is ripe for federal action,” Bishop Barnes said. “The nation has debated this controversial and complex social issue for several years now. In part because of inaction at the federal level, states and localities are moving to adopt their own laws in this area. Americans throughout the country strongly desire that Congress solve the problem of illegal immigration.” 01/ 26/2007
Migration should also be seen as a resource for world progress, Pope says The Pope went on to recall how the phenomenon of human mobility "is very extensive and varied," and that according to recent United Nations statistics, "economic migrants number almost 200 million, refugees nine million and international students two million." 01/15/2007
Immigration foes upset bishop Camden Diocese's Bishop Joseph Galante says he is extremely saddened by what he perceives as anti-immigration sentiment in the nation, especially by many whose own parents were themselves immigrants.
Strive to know God's will and respect dignity of immigrants, Archbishop tells lawmakers As immigration debate looms, Archbishop Gomez warns legislators not to let Americans forget their deeply Catholic, Hispanic heritage.
Helping migrant workers remains major challenge, says bishop
"There are some who judge the status of a nation on the basis of its technological advances or its rate of economic growth. Both are important," the bishop said. "However, the moral test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members."
Human rights should be at the heart of immigration policy, Vatican says ... immigration policies will only be successful, “if the concern for security does not turn into just a restrictive logic in order to hinder migrants from entering a country, but becomes an orderly, rationalized and coordinated relationship between available human resources and the need for manpower in receiving societies.”
Are we not all immigrants? by Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes
It is important for us to recognize that our national immigration policy is in serious disrepair. A policy that left much to be desired before Sept. 11, 2001, has been severely impacted by our nation’s attempts to address national security since then. A year ago in December, the House of Representatives passed legislation that concentrated on criminalizing undocumented immigrants and those who assist them, even churches. A bipartisan effort in the Senate did not succeed last year because a group of senators wanted to pursue the same punitive approach as the House of Representatives without addressing authentic reform. The political stalemate that ensued is totally unacceptable.
Statement from Bishop Bernard J. Harrington on Immigration Raids in Diocese of Winona On Dec. 12, 2006, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of the Americas, the U.S. Government executed an immigration raid in Worthington. Families in the Austin and Albert Lea areas were also affected. Many questions remain about the type of treatment these packing plant workers received and the appropriateness of the methods used during the raids.
Bishops decry U.S. federal feast-day raid as ‘heartlessly’ targeting illegal immigrants
U.S. Catholic bishops urge ‘welcoming Christ in the migrant'
Vatican cardinal says U.S.-Mexico fence ‘inhuman’
Protect migrants' rights, Vatican official urges
Colorado bishops urge lawmakers to enact just immigration legislation
President of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Calls Immigration System “Seriously Flawed.”
Bishops Call For Comprehensive Immigration Reform; Urge Respect For The Dignity And Contributions Of Immigrants Legislative debates over how to restructure the nation’s immigration system should approach any policy change as a moral issue that protects the dignity of all immigrants, a panel of bishops said today at a press conference held during their national meeting.
US bishops applaud passage of Senate Immigration Reform Bill The U.S. bishops view the immigration bill that passed May 25 in the Senate as a critical first step in reaching a comprehensive approach to dealing with the challenges of the nation’s immigration system.
San Antonio Archbishop says Human Dignity, Families Are at Heart of Immigration Debate Archbishop José Gomez of San Antonio took his strongest public stand on immigration during Monday's downtown demonstration against the current bill that would criminalize immigrants.
Georgia Bishops Criticize Proposed Immigration Reform Georgia’s proposed immigration reforms are “punitive” and run counter to Catholic social teaching which insists that the dignity and rights of undocumented immigrants be respected, said two Georgia bishops last week.
Immigration expert Bishop DiMarzio calls on faithful to reject any immoral immigration laws http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=6346
NM Bishops' Pastoral Statement on Immigration Reform http://www.archdiocesesantafe.org/ABSheehan/Bishops/BishMessages/06.03.27.ImmigrationRef.html
