News - June 2018 RSS Feed

I also want to begin today a reflection on the three basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching on immigration. This is available (like the statement by Cardinal DiNardo) on the USCCB website: www.usccb.org.

In light of the recent news about immigration, I want to continue a reflection on Catholic Social Teaching on immigration and the movement of peoples. I am basing this discussion on a resource that has been made available from the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This week I want to talk about a Biblical vision of love for strangers.

Something that has been in the news recently is the acknowledgement by the Department of Homeland Security that it has implemented a policy of separating families arriving at the U.S./Mexico border. Recently the Most Reverend Joe S. Vasquez, Bishop of Austin (Texas) and Chairman of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) issued a statement in response to this acknowledgement:

Today I want to present some thoughts for accompanying families in special circumstances that are presented in this section of the pastoral plan. We need to echo what Pope Francis says: “I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfill their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way…there is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities with all their joys, hopes and problems “(AL, 57).