Pastoral Migrante Recursos Educativos

The Catholic Church in the United States is an immigrant Church with a long history of embracing diverse newcomers and providing assistance and pastoral care to immigrants, migrants, refugees, and people on the move.  Our Church has responded to Christ’s call for us to “welcome the stranger among us,” for in this encounter with the immigrant, the migrant, and the refugee in our midst, we encounter Christ.

A rich body of Church teaching, including Papal encyclicals, Bishops’ statements, and pastoral letters, has consistently reinforced our moral obligation to treat the stranger as we would treat Christ himself. In the 2001 pastoral statement, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us:  Unity in Diversity, the bishops of the United States called upon the Catholic faithful to a conversion of minds and hearts, imploring us to communion and solidarity with diverse newcomers, and entreating us to find new and meaningful ways to welcome our immigrant sisters and brothers into our parishes, schools and communities. In 2003, the bishops of the United States, together with the Bishops of Mexico, in the pastoral statement, Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope (Juntos en el Camino de la Esperanza Ya no Somos Extranjeros) acknowledged that the current immigration system is badly in need of reform and offered a comprehensive set of recommendations for changing U.S. laws and policies to bring about a more humane and just immigration system in the United States

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops has issued the following letter, in Spanish and English, to the faithful:

To the People of God in Texas,

The bishops of Texas will continue to work with governmental officials and other people of good will to implement policies that recognize the dignity of every person, prioritize family unity, and address the root causes of forced migration, while respecting the right and responsibility of our country to secure its borders, regulate immigration in an orderly process, maintain the rule of law, and keep its communities safe and peaceful.

In exercising the basic human right of religious liberty, all Catholics, regardless of national origin or citizenship status, have a right to gather for the celebration of Mass and to receive the Sacraments without harassment or intimidation. Our priests, deacons, and lay ministers are available to provide pastoral services, to offer the Sacraments, humanitarian support, and to provide spiritual graces that God desires for all his people. As the bishops of Texas, we stand in solidarity with the earlier statements issued by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration:

“The Catholic Church is committed to defending the sanctity of every human life and the God-given dignity of each person, regardless of nationality or immigration status. Church teaching recognizes a country’s right and responsibility to promote public order, safety, and security through well-regulated borders and just limits on immigration. However, as shepherds, we cannot abide injustice, and we stress that national self-interest does not justify policies with consequences that are contrary to the moral law. The use of sweeping generalizations to denigrate any group, such as describing all undocumented immigrants as ‘criminals' or ‘invaders,’ to deprive them of protection under the law, is an affront to God, who has created each of us in his own image. Pope Francis has stated, ‘No one will ever openly deny that [migrants] are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human. For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable.’

“While an emphasis on anti-trafficking is welcomed, several of the executive orders signed by President Trump this week are specifically intended to eviscerate humanitarian protections enshrined in federal law and undermine due process, subjecting vulnerable families and children to grave danger. The open-ended deployment of military assets to support civil immigration enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border is especially concerning. Meanwhile, policies barring the consideration of any humanitarian claims—including those of unaccompanied children and trafficking victims—have repeatedly failed to reduce irregular migration in a legal, sustainable, and humane manner.

“Preventing any access to asylum and other protections will only endanger those who are most vulnerable and deserving of relief, while empowering gangs and other predators to exploit them. Likewise, indefinitely halting refugee resettlement is unmerited, as it is already proven to be one of the most secure legal pathways to the United States. Even non-humanitarian legal immigration and naturalized persons are targeted by these policies in support of a so-called ‘unified American identity.’ Finally, the proposed interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment to limit birthright citizenship sets a dangerous precedent, contradicting the Supreme Court’s longstanding interpretation.

“We urge President Trump to pivot from these enforcement-only policies to just and merciful solutions, working in good faith with members of Congress to achieve meaningful, bipartisan immigration reform that furthers the common good with an effective, orderly immigration system. My brother bishops and I will support this in any way we can, while continuing to accompany our immigrant brothers and sisters in accordance with the Gospel of Life.”

As bishops of Texas, we urge pastors and lay ministers to help the immigrant community understand their rights under federal and state law, and to seek legal counsel if needed. We also encourage you to prepare prudently for emergencies and to create a family preparedness plan. The attached document has more practical information in this regard:

This year, Pope Francis is calling the Church into a Jubilee Year of Hope and, so, we pray and hope for a just and humane approach to migration in this country and around the world. May the Holy Family, who fled their homeland to protect the infant Jesus, watch over and protect each of you.

We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration offers a roadmap of dignity, welcome, and hope for the local Church

SAN ANTONIO — Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, has issued a new pastoral letter, We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration, released August 3 at San Fernando Cathedral. Addressed to the more than 1 million Catholics of the archdiocese and to all people of good will, it offers a pastoral roadmap grounded in human dignity and the Gospel call to welcome the
stranger.

He released it on the 100th anniversary of San Antonio’s elevation to a metropolitan archdiocese, as the nation marks 250 years of independence. Amid widespread fear among immigrant families and unprecedented immigration enforcement, he calls for renewed discernment and pastoral accompaniment.

“Families we know by name are now afraid to come to the sacraments. Like the Good Samaritan who drew near to the wounded, we cannot walk past them,” said Archbishop Gustavo. “I write to console the suffering, to awaken the indifferent, and to confront injustice with the courage the Gospel demands.”

The letter outlines four pillars:

• Human Dignity: every person, regardless of legal status, bears the image of God and an inviolable dignity.
• Encounter with Christ: in welcoming the migrant to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate — we meet Christ Himself.
• A Church That Goes Forth: parishes and families are called to accompaniment, from Know Your Rights formation to ministry with the detained.
• The Common Good: an appeal to civic leaders on the non-negotiable principles of dignity, family unity, and due process.

Full text: https://archsa.org/we-will-come-to-you/