In late July, 2008, over 800 people attended the National Migration Conference cosponsored by the US Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), in partnership with Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Relief Services. Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, gave a thought-provoking presentation titled, Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice. He accurately observed that we are “in a dark moment in our nation’s history with regard to immigrants, refugees, and newcomers to our land.” We are no longer a land that welcomes the stranger and the person in need. Rather, our current policies have turned us into a land where enforcement raids are common, where states and local governments are increasingly aggressive about their policies, and where much of the energy of the federal government has been focused on building physical barriers, especially a border wall along our southern border.
Cardinal Mahony asked the key questions for Catholics in the US, “How can the Church reframe the debate on immigration in this country? What steps must we take as a faith community to ensure that the rights of immigrants, refugees, and other newcomers continue to be protected in the US?
In his speech, Cardinal Mahony proposed focusing on “renewing hope.” Hope is clearly a Christian theme, as well as an attitude that is reflected in the eyes of immigrants as they come to this new land filled with hope for a new and better life. Tied to this hope must be action. “Hope is not wishing for something without working for it. “ Hope requires action. And hope also requires faith.
Cardinal Mahony suggested five actions for Catholics:
1) Continue to remind migrants and refugees that the Catholic Church will help them on their journey to legal status in the US.
2) Hold our politicians, especially both presidential candidates, accountable for outlining “a humane plan for reform of our immigration laws.”
3) Educate ourselves and others as to the realities of immigrants, so as to change our hearts and not perpetuate prejudice against immigrants.
4) Continue to “provide pastoral care and social services, including legal assistance, to migrants and their families.”
5) Work to reform the “laws impacting migrants, immigrants, and refugees.” As he explained, “While we are bound to respect our laws and not violate them, we also are bound to correct unjust laws. . . We must advocate for an enforcement regime which respects basic human dignity and human rights.”
By working together to reform the immigration policies and unwelcoming attitudes prevalent today, we can hopefully become worthy again of the special quote etched into our Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Posted by APWeb 
