The US bishops have welcomed Pope Francis’s letter addressed to them in response to “the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the institution of a program of mass deportations” under President Donald Trump. Source: The Tablet.
The letter, published on Tuesday, applauded the bishops’ efforts “as you work closely with migrants and refugees, proclaiming Jesus Christ and promoting fundamental human rights”.
In a reply issued the same day, the Archbishop for the Military Services, Timothy Broglio, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), expressed “deep gratitude for your prayerful support”.
“As successor to St Peter, you call not only every Catholic, but every Christian to what unites us in faith – offering the hope of Jesus Christ to every person, citizen and immigrant alike,” he wrote.
“In these times of fear and confusion, we must be ready to answer our saviour’s question, ‘What have you done for the least of these?’”
Referring to the “sudden withdrawal of aid” caused by the Trump administration’s halt to funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Archbishop Broglio prayed that the government would “keep its prior commitments to help those in need”.
“We also turn to the People of God to ask their mercy and generosity in supporting the Catholic Relief Services [CRS] national collection this Lent as well as the ‘on the ground’ work of local Catholic Charities organisations so that the void might be filled with the efforts of all.”
USAID funding provided more than half of the CRS $US1.5 billion annual budget for overseas programs, while many local Catholic Charities branches operate refugee support services threatened by the new White House policy.
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, said he appreciated the Pope’s “prophetic witness” in identifying “the protection and advocacy for the dignity of migrants as the pre-eminent urgency at this moment”.
FULL STORY
US bishops thank Pope for ‘prayerful support’ in defence of migrants’ dignity (By Patrick Hudson, The Tablet)
