The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says the Church would continue to stand by migrants who cross the US border without legal documents. Source: NCR Online.
While stipulating that the US bishops “certainly do not encourage illegal immigration,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio said Church leaders will remain mindful of the Gospel imperative to care for “the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, stranger, or sick.”
“We must insist on the dignity of the human person from womb to tomb, to defend and lift up the poor, to combat the evil of racism, and to encourage immigration reform while we continue to care for those in need who cross our borders,” Archbishop Broglio said during his presidential address at the US bishops’ plenary assembly in Baltimore yesterday.
Later speaking with reporters, Archbishop Broglio said the Church will “certainly take care of those who come to this country and represent the face of Christ in their need.”
Archbishop Broglio’s remarks come amid heightened concerns in immigrant communities since the November 5 election of former president Donald Trump, whose campaign promised to launch a mass deportation program of undocumented immigrants upon his return to the White House.
There are an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the United States without legal documents.
Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, who recently served a term of chairman of the migration committee of the bishops’ conference, said yesterday that Church leaders are “waiting to see exactly what takes shape” in regard to the incoming Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy.
“This is going to be a test for our nation,” Bishop Seitz said. “Are we in fact a nation based on law, on the most fundamental laws about the rights of a human person, or are we not?”
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Bishops stress their support of migrants at start of annual meeting in Baltimore (NCR Online)
