Welcoming the Stranger
• We are called to awaken
to the mysterious
presence of the
crucified and risen Lord
in the person of the
migrant.
• Migrants and immigrants are in our parishes and in our
communities. In both our countries, we see much injustice and
violence against them and much suffering and despair among
them because civil and church structures are still inadequate to
accommodate their basic needs.
• We judge ourselves as a community of faith by the way we
treat the most vulnerable among us.
• The treatment of migrants challenges the consciences
of elected officials, policymakers, enforcement
officers, residents of border communities, and
providers of legal aid and social services, many of
whom share our Catholic faith.
At this rally in Boston, U.S. citizens are calling upon elected officials to act with compassion.
The crosses represent the lives lost by thousands of immigrants trying to enter the U.S. in search
of work to feed their families.
• Catholic teaching has a long
and rich tradition in promoting
hospitality and defending
immigrants.
• The Scriptures, and the life and
model of Jesus, are the basis of
the Church's present teaching
on immigration.
OLD TESTAMENT
• The model of Abraham
receiving strangers in
welcoming hospitality is in
Genesis:18
• “You shall not oppress an
alien; you well know how it
feels to be an alien.” Exodus
2:9
• “You shall treat the alien who
resides with you no differently
than the natives born among
you; have the same love for
him as for yourself. Leviticus
19:34
New Testament
• The Visitation:
a model of
compassionate
hospitality.
• Luke 1:39-45
New Testament
• The Holy Family:
immigrants in a
strange land.
• Mt 2: 13-23
• Our common faith in Jesus Christ moves us to search for ways
that favor a spirit of solidarity. It is a faith that transcends
borders and bids us to overcome all forms of discrimination
and violence so that we may build relationships that are just
and loving.
“For I was hungry and
you gave me food, I
was thirsty and you
gave me drink, a
stranger and you
welcomed me…
whatever you did for
one of these least
brothers of mine, you
did for me.”
-Matthew 25: 36,40
New Testament
• “Love one another with mutual
affection…exercise hospitality.”
-Romans 9-10, 13
• “Let mutual love continue. Do not
neglect hospitality, for through it some
have unknowingly entertained angels.”
-Hebrews 13: 1-2
• The word of God and Catholic social teaching also
bring to light the causes that give rise to migrations, as
well as the consequences that they have on the
communities of origin and destination.
The Modern Era
• Pope Pius XII affirmed
that all peoples have “the
right to conditions worthy
of human life and, if
these conditions are not
present, the right to
migrate.”
The Modern Era
• Pope John XXIII: "Every human
being has the right to freedom of
movement; and the right to
emigrate to other countries and
take up residence there."
Pope John Paul II,
at the Basilica of
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mexico, 1993, declared:
“We are called to
awaken to the
mysterious presence
of the crucified and
risen Lord in the
person of the
migrant.”
• Pope John Paul II in his 1995
message for World Migration Day,
notes that undocumented migrants
are used by developed nations as a
source of labor and “their
contributions, rights and dignity
must be recognized.”
• “Poverty is the cause of most
migration. Ultimately elimination of
global underdevelopment is the
antidote to illegal immigration.”
Message Of Pope Benedict XVI
For The World Day of Migrants and
Refugees (2007)
• “In the Family of Nazareth, obliged to
take refuge in Egypt, we can catch a
glimpse of the painful condition in which
all migrants live, the hardships and
humiliations, the fragility of their wellbeing.”
•
“The immigrant family must be ensured
of a real possibility of inclusion and
participation in their new homeland.”
Five principles emerge from such teachings, which
guide the Church's view on migration issues.
1. Persons have the right to
find opportunities in their
homeland.
2. Persons have the right to
migrate to support
themselves and their
families.
3. Sovereign
nations have the
right to control
their borders.
4. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded
protection
5. The human dignity and human rights of
undocumented migrants should be respected.
• In 2000, the U.S.
Catholic Bishops
issued a statement
on immigration that
has guided the
American Church’s
response to current
and proposed
immigration policies
• “We witness the pain of
our people involved in all
sides of the migration
phenomenon, including
families devastated by the
loss of loved ones.”
“The human dignity and human
rights of all documented
and undocumented migrants
should be respected.
Regardless of their legal status,
migrants possess human
dignity. Government
policies that respect human
rights are necessary.”
“We urge communities to offer migrant families and workers hospitality,
not hostility, along their journey.
We encourage social services, citizenship classes, community organizing
efforts for improved housing, decent wages, better medical attention, and
appropriate educational opportunities for immigrants and refugees. ”
The Bishops tell us:
“Making legal the large
number of
undocumented workers
would help to stabilize
the labor market in the U.
S., to preserve family
unity, and to improve the
standard of living in
immigrant communities.”
U.S. Bishops’
Recommendations
on Immigrant Workers
•
We advocate reform of the 1996
immigration laws that have undermined
some basic human rights for immigrants.
• We join with others of good will in a call
for legalization opportunities for the
maximum number of undocumented
persons.
• U.S. employment-based immigration
system should be reformed to feature
both permanent and temporary visa programs
for laborers.
Resources are just a click away:
www.justiceforimmigrants.org
“Our common faith in
Jesus Christ moves us to
search for ways to treat
all immigrants in a spirit
of solidarity.
It is a faith that
transcends borders and
bids us to overcome all
forms of discrimination
and violence”
• Catholic teaching also states that the root causes of
migration–poverty, injustice, religious intolerance, armed
conflicts–must be addressed so that migrants can remain in
their homeland and support their families.
• Pope John Paul II also addressed the
more controversial topic of
undocumented migration and the
undocumented migrant. In his 1995
message for World Migration Day, he
notes that such migrants are used by
developed nations as a source of labor.
Ultimately, the pope says, elimination
of global underdevelopment is the
antidote to illegal immigration.
• The Church recognizes the right of a sovereign state to control
its borders in furtherance of the common good. It also
recognizes the right of human persons to migrate so that they
can realize their God-given rights. These teachings
complement each other.
• We stand in solidarity with you, our migrant brothers and
sisters, and we will continue to advocate on your behalf for
just and fair migration policies.
• We commit ourselves to animate communities of Christ's
disciples on both sides of the border to accompany you on
your journey so that yours will truly be a journey of hope, not
of despair, and so that, at the point of arrival, you will
experience that you are strangers no longer and instead
members of God's household.
• We pray that, wherever you go, you will always be conscious of
your dignity as human beings and of your call to bring the
Good News of Jesus Christ, who came that we "might have
life and have it more abundantly" (Jn 10:10).
The End