Acts of the Fourth Institute Chapter
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
June 2005, Laredo, Texas
Immigration
The chapter adopts the following pubic stance:
The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas strive to witness to Mercy by reverencing the dignity of each
person, creating a spirit of hospitality, and pursuing integrity of word and deed in our lives. As an
Institute, we recognize an urgent duty and challenge to stand in solidarity with immigrants seeking
fullness of life.
We say to you immigrants who are in our midst:
o
We welcome you to our land; as a people, we are enriched by your presence.
o
We will use our influence to advocate that services be offered to you at ministries sponsored or
directed by the Sisters of Mercy, including our health care institutions and clinics, educational
facilities, Houses of Mercy, prayer centers, housing developments, and outreach, pastoral and
advocacy ministries.
o
We will make every effort to serve you regardless of your immigration status or your ability to
pay.
We invite others of good will to join us in our efforts and we will join their efforts to
o
Use our offices, “pulpits,” communications and justice networks, academic and religious settings,
and all means of persuasion to advocate for broader welcoming which honors human dignity and
explores reform of serious legal restrictions and problems which accompany migration, such as
demographics, exploitation, and trafficking;
o
Re-think services to help all of us to live our faith authentically in today’s multicultural and
multi-religious contexts;
o
Seek to secure funding and advocate for resources to help meet immigrant families’ basic needs,
including interpreters in their birth language, as well as instruction in the dominant language of
their host countries;
o
Advocate for systemic immigration reform. This reform has as its cornerstone just immigration
laws, the goal of family unity and reunification, and the recognition that the root causes of
immigration lie in environmental, economic and social inequalities and in the proliferation of
violence.