Planning a Catholic Response to People on the Move

‘A Wider We’ - Planning A Catholic Response to People on the Move

An Urgent Gathering on Migration of Bishops and Catholic Leaders Mundelein Seminary | June 1-2, 2021 01 Introduction

02 Opening Remarks by Archbishop José H. Gómez, President, USCCB

03 Root Causes by Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration

06 People on the Move at the US-Mexico Border: Urgency and Opportunity by Bishop Mark J. Seitz, Diocese of El Paso

08 The Vision of Pope Francis & the Spirituality of a Church Without Borders by Michael Cardinal Czerny, SJ

14 Conclusions and Commitments

16 Participants Introduction

On June 1st and 2nd, 2021, bishops from the United States, 1. How can enhanced collaboration aid the entire Mexico and Central America, together with Catholic leaders church in the United States in a robust pasto- involved in immigration advocacy and relief efforts met at ral response (agencies, dioceses, parishes and Mundelein Seminary to strategize pastoral responses to the others) to the expected significant increase in current situation of migration in the United States, at the US- arrivals at the US-Mexico border as well as ref- Mexico border and in sending countries in Central America. ugees in order to effectively welcome, protect, promote and integrate people on the move? A new presidential administration and Congress, together with the ongoing arrival of many people on the move to 2. Working as the church in the United States, the US-Mexico border, present urgent pastoral challenges Mexico and Central America, how can we ef- to the Church in the United States. There is a critical need fectively engage the US government on to develop an integral pastoral response to the current root causes and develop innovative propos- situation, to involve the whole Church in the United States als to expand protection for asylum seekers? in welcoming Christ in the stranger. In this situation all of us are called to listen more deeply to the cry of the poor, 3. Working as the church in the United States, Mex- to deepen the church’s prophetic voice on behalf of justice ico and Central America, how can we collaborate for migrants and to align the many efforts of Catholic social in effectively engaging the Biden/Harris admin- service agencies on behalf of positive change. istration and amplifying the church’s moral message on migration? Over the course of the meeting, working groups comprised of bishops, experts and those involved in ministry to At the conclusion of the meeting, participants committed migrants met in working group to brainstorm responses to to an ongoing process to continue discerning an ecclesial the following questions: responses to these challenges and to take collective action. Conclusions and commitments can be found in this report.

A Wider We | 01 Opening Remarks by Archbishop José H. Gómez, President, USCCB

I hope that in our time together we can share perspectives throughout the world. It is really an urgent reality for us in and seek solutions to the challenges of people on the the church to respond in a positive way. I hope that this will move. We need to find a path forward that is rooted in be a wonderful meeting and I think it is a great opportunity solidarity and fraternity and that respects the rights and for all of us to stop and reflect, to make good resolutions dignity of every migrant as a child of God made in His and to continue our ministry to immigrants. image. We cannot be indifferent to the sufferings of the immigrant, the refugee or anyone else in need. We have a duty to take care of one another, to weep with those who are weeping and to lift up those who have fallen. So it is a special moment for all of us.

The decision to meet was very recent and I would like to especially recognize Bishop Mark Seitz and thank him for calling us together. As a brother bishop in El Paso, Bishop Seitz knows the deep human suffering that has been caused by our broken immigration system and the urgency for us to find compassionate answers. It is so important that we stop and reflect on the current situation, especially of the immigrants coming to the United States. And that we search for ways to help all of the migrants, not just here but

A Wider We | 02 Root Causes by Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration

I have been asked to reflect upon the root causes of And then she related the sad story of how her parents immigration from Central America. I know many of you, my migrated to the United States because of lack of opportu- brother bishops, know this song, as it has been played over nities, leaving her with her grandparents. She was contact- and over again. However, every single time that we play a ed by a gang and the pandilla told her, ‘Your grandparents song or we say a sentence, it goes deeper. It changes the are not family. They are not going to be security and sup- perspective with which we used to see it perhaps fifteen or port for you because they will die soon. You need a real twenty years ago. It would be wise to see, to continue to family and one that is going to love you, to support you watch and to go deeper in our understanding of the signs and make you feel respected. And that is this community of the times. This is extremely important for us in order to and this association of youth. But if you really want to be make the right decisions. part of us, you have to pay your dues.’

I would like to begin my short reflection by remembering a And she said, ‘What dues?’ time from when I was a priest. They replied, ‘There are neighbors with whom your grand- I used to serve migrants in the Archdiocese of Washington parents are very close. You will go at night and you will kill through the Spanish Catholic Center, where I was the di- them. And as soon as you do, you will come to us and that rector. As director, I would stop by in the reception area to will be proof that you will always be faithful to us.’ see the people who were waiting in the clinic for a doctor and one day I spoke to a young woman whose name was At that time, she lost her ability to sleep. She really wanted Rosalinda. She was waiting to see a doctor and her legs to be with her grandparents because that was her duty, were full of thorns and I asked what had happened to her. but she said I’m not going to kill anyone. That was the She said, ‘A smuggler forced us to walk through the desert beginning of her process of becoming a migrant. at night and we went through the cactus and as a result my legs are full of thorns’. And she told me, ‘But these ones are We are here to discuss a Catholic response to people on not the ones that hurt. The other ones are the ones that re- the move. To do this we need to understand why people ally hurt.’ And I said, ‘Which ones?’ And she said, ‘The pain are on the move. In other words, what are the real causes of leaving my country and my grandparents. Those are the of migration of peoples from the Northern Triangle to the terrible thorns that I have in my heart.’ United States? To answer that question, we can learn from

A Wider We | 03 Rosalinda’s story about why this is happening in her own their mandates. Corruption is also a very difficult point land, in her own country. and hinders the creation of new avenues that would allow people to embrace pathways out of poverty, including We cannot deny that one of the most difficult drivers education. Participation in early education has increased in the region is the violence that has long troubled the but opportunities for university education or technical Northern Triangle. Homicide rates have rapidly risen in the and training school continue to be a challenge. Without last two decades as the region has become the primary education for our new generations, poverty will persist and transit corridor for drugs from South America. Violence continue to drive the migration of those who need to look has become like a stigma for families living and trying to for a better life and better opportunities. survive in these countries. It is going to be very difficult to stop immigration if violence continues to grow. Gangs The United States could be the nation, the good neighbor, are growing in their aggressiveness to conquer new youth able to further progress in education and a future in other and coyotes and smugglers are incentivized by so many countries. families living through this very difficult chaos. It is also a priority for us to be co-responsible, in embracing The region also experiences widespread sexual, gender- those who arrive at the border, those who come to us. based and community violence. During the pandemic and However, we are not going to solve the problem alone and lockdown it seems that aggression and violence against that’s something that I think we need to continue to struggle women has increased tremendously. Children have been with. We need to count on an alliance of civil society, also targeted as the recipients of increased frustration. In government and the church in the region to discern the this perspective, I believe that violence is one of the most right paths to enhance or make possible something Pope difficult points for immigrants and a root cause of flight to Francis has mentioned in many different moments during America. his papacy, that is, the right of people to stay in the place where they are born. Governance is also another weak point. In the Northern Triangle and across Latin America, failure to reform and Last week, I spoke with a group of officials from Guatemala. dedicate sufficient resources to the public sector have They said that they went to the border to encounter people left government institutions weak and unable to carry out from Guatemala escaping from gangs and violence. When

A Wider We | 04 interviewing some of the parents, they told them that their means that it’s not only one brother who is called to do the children would be the future of this nation. The parents job of the whole family. A family comes with many broth- answered, yes, they might be the future of this nation, but ers and sisters that live the same passion and address the it’s sad that they will never be the future of Guatemala. challenges in front of them together, always seeing that a That’s something we have to struggle with and understand; challenge is an opportunity to place in the hearts of those immigration is a good thing but our neighboring countries who need the presence of Jesus Christ, his love, his hope in our region cannot be left by themselves. and his faith.

There is a bishop here from El Salvador who can corrob- I would finish with an exhortation to continue to work and orate that there are entire towns there which have been continue to follow what the bishops in the United States deserted. Where are these youths? How can we find a way have taught us through the years -- to be merciful and to to understand that the American dream is the Guatemalan be in solidarity with those in need. I would also like to re- dream which is the Honduran dream and the Salvadoran mind you that it is important for us to always have a sense dream? These children and their families belong to their of hope and a sense of being successful through the grace homeland. My brother bishops, and bishops of the region, of the Holy Spirit and the help of God. it will be so important for you to reflect with your parishes and your priests on how to develop a pastoral approach I never told you what happened with Rosalinda; it was to embrace the families, the grandparents and the chil- such a beautiful example. She learned English and with dren left behind so that they might not become victims of her English she got a job through the help of the Spanish gangs but members of the church. They are not the future Catholic Center and today she is a Dreamer. It is a beautiful of your churches, they are the present and without them thing that happened. It happens not just to one person but the church in the region has no future. to thousands and thousands of people who come to this country because it’s the land of opportunity. Through the years many migrants have come through the border. These are the people with TPS, Dreamers But why does it have to be just one country? Why can’t and workers on the frontlines who have been waiting for there be so many countries and so many churches that comprehensive immigration reform. With their remittances, could do the same work? they contribute a major portion of the national budget for Central American countries. Without them, their home We can’t do everything. But together we can do some- countries would not be able to survive, as many Salvadoran thing. In the words of T.S. Eliot, ‘there is only the trying. The bishops said to our government on a visit a few years ago. rest is not our business.’ Together let’s try. Thank you. They said, we need TPS and we need these people to be finally given legal status in such a way that they are not going to be jeopardized every few years with losing their ability to work legally.

We need to focus on how we’re going to fix this situation. There are eleven million persons who have been living here without documents -- faceless, voiceless and invisible; the worst poverty that an immigrant can endure. These 11 million people have to also be a priority; that doesn’t mean that we’re going to forget about others who come with the same problems.

The United States and the Catholic Church in the United States can be a great leader for others to follow. We see other countries in Latin America doing the same to open their borders to those who really need our help just as many nations across the world may be able to do. I’m sure that the church will be seen and recognized, as it always has been recognized, as a major social promoter around the world.

We have Catholic Charities and nonprofits and brother bishops on the border, who work day and night, not indifferent, but who have moved their lives and their ministry towards solidarity. We pledge our commitment. As we do, we also hope our brother bishops and other episco- pal conferences might do the same, because we are one church. As Pope Francis recently reminded us in Fratelli tutti, all of us are brothers in sisters. What does that mean? It

A Wider We | 05 People on the Move at the US- Mexico Border: Urgency and Opportunity by Bishop Mark J. Seitz, Diocese of El Paso

I. Introduction

!Bienvenidos y bienvenidas! What a joy it is to see you all gathered here!

Thank you for your generosity in taking time from your busy schedules to be here! I am particularly grateful to Archbishop Gomez, the President of our Conference of Bishops and Bishop Dorsonville, the Chair of the Com- mittee on Migration for their tremendous support of this meeting and for their presence and participation during this gathering.

I also want to express our gratitude to Cardinal Cupich, Catholic Extension, Mundelein Seminary, and the Hope Border Institute for their patronage and their efforts to bring this meeting together on a very short timeline. This event would not have been possible without their gracious assistance.

As attractive as the surroundings might be, don’t think you are here for a restful day and a half. We have our work cut out for us.

II. Why We Are Here

We are not here for this day and a half to determine Cath- olic teaching in regard to immigrants. God’s special love for the poor and vulnerable is something we have received from the Gospel. Thanks to Pope Francis, this aspect of Catholic Social Teaching and its application to those who are forced by circumstances to depart their homeland is laid out for us with great clarity and power.

So why have we gathered here? My hope is that this eve- ning and tomorrow we will play a part in reinjecting vitality into the historic role of the Catholic Church in the United States and beyond in our witness of justice and charity to those who arrive at our door.

Having received input from you, and working with staff from the bishop’s conference, we’ve shaped this gathering around three imperatives:

First, Welcoming: let us examine ways in which we might better coordinate as Church to welcome asylum seekers and refugees with humanity and compassion, especially in light of changing policies at the border. This is not simply a “border issue” but a matter in which we all have responsi- bility as Catholic organizations, as dioceses and as Catholic Christians.

A Wider We | 06 Second, Root Causes: we need to consider how we might They jump at the chance to go to Mass and when Mass work as a Church across borders to look with fresh eyes at is over they spontaneously line up to ask for a blessing how we might collaborate to address the drivers in coun- for themselves and their family. A couple have given me tries of origin, especially Central America and how we bracelets that they made. This is from 17 year old Cesia might work to expand protections for asylum seekers, in- from Honduras and this one is from 15 year old Adriana, cluding the growing number of climate displaced persons who thanked me for the Mass. in the region. Over the course of this meeting, we’ll hear from our brother bishops from Mexico and Central Ameri- And these are among the most cared-for of migrants and ca on the present reality in sending countries. asylum seekers who come to our borders filled with hope, the ones for whom our government has marshalled the And finally, Advocacy: let us see how we might togeth- most compassionate response. There are so many other across borders, collaborating across our different roles, ers who are not as well taken care of, or who are forcibly responsibilities and ministries, raise anew the moral voice expelled to danger, or who are turned back with dreams of the church with decision makers at this critical time in dashed. defense of the rights and dignity of those who are forced to flee. You will notice over here that we have an altar set up like the ones the children have created in their tents. Please go This is a defining moment for us! This present moment in- by while you are here and take a look. The kids were excit- vites a bold response from the Church, grounded in the ed to send these things with me when they heard about Spirit and in fidelity to the Gospel. No more than we can this meeting while I was at the camp the day before yes- close our eyes to the evil of abortion can we close our eyes terday. Included are slips of paper with their prayers and to the suffering of our immigrant brothers and sisters and petitions which I would ask you to add to your prayers. the disregard for their human rights. Society, and perhaps even our government, are looking to the Church to provide a moral compass. I believe there is III. Remaining Grounded in the Perspective of an opportunity to set aside old and failed ways of respond- the Directly Affected ing to migration with foreboding barriers and weapons of war. It is time to seek new pathways and understandings As we begin this work I would like us to keep before our of the place of migration within the human story. It is time mind’s eye the faces of the real people, whom our work to recognize migrants not as interlopers and intruders, but will directly affect. That has not been hard for me recently as people who reveal the face of Christ in their love and as I have had the opportunity almost weekly since Easter to courage and who enrich us by their presence. celebrate Mass at the camp that was opened by the government at Fort Bliss in El Paso for unaccompanied chil- Let us pray that God’s Holy Spirit will guide us. May God dren. As of Sunday they had nearly 6,000 children there help us to rise up from the sleep of our national paraly- between the ages of 13 and 17. sis on this issue and political polarization and inspire us to fearlessly live the Gospel! It is not supposed to be a detention facility, but they are not allowed to go anywhere either. You see the children wearing their masks day and night, walking in long lines along dusty desert pathways, hundreds and hundreds of kids, most of whom carry trauma from the communities they fled or the perilous journey they just completed. For most, it is the first time they have been separated from their parents.

One 17 year old girl told the staff she needed to speak with me. She came from a very remote region of Honduras, Puerto Lempira. She told me with tears flowing from her eyes that she was missing her mother. Another came up and said she was hearing voices telling her to cut herself. Some have to be watched with special care because as a result of their trauma they are suicidal.

No staff is allowed to do more than a fist bump with the kids who need a hug in the worst way. When I blessed them in small groups many times they would line up just to extend a hand to my arm and I in turn would extend my arm in half an embrace.

A Wider We | 07 The Vision of Pope Francis & the Spirituality of a ‘Church Without Borders’ by Michael Cardinal Czerny, SJ

Today’s subject is important and difficult, especially at the Our premise in Salvation History beginning. So when the kind invitation came from Arch- Let’s start by agreeing on what I call our premise in Salva- bishop Gomez, I accepted with joy because this encounter tion History: that dislocation and relocation are at our or- is so generously conceived: it begins by expanding your igins as people of God. They are baked into our DNA as own ‘we’, to include Bishops and Church-workers all along Christians. They help to make us who we are. an important human corridor. Coming together, listening to one another, sharing frankly -- fulfills the African prov- Our father Abraham, ‘a wandering Aramean’, took his fami- erb: ‘If you want to go quick, go alone. If you want to go ly from Ur to a place of greater promise – a promised land, far, go together.’ and later his great-grandsons ‘went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, The Vatican’s Migrant and Refugees Section listens to mi- powerful and numerous’ (Deut. 26,5). Abraham’s descen- grant stories from all over the world. We analyse and reflect dants were liberated from the yoke of slavery, not by stay- in order to create channels of communication and practical ing put in Egypt but by undertaking the very risky Exodus tools to support Bishops in responding to the needs of the and a generation of wandering in the desert to be forged vulnerable displaced. The Pope made it crystal clear from into God’s people. Jesus the infant Savior practically start- the start: we are not the boots on the ground or at the bor- ed life as a refugee, as Joseph took Mary and Jesus away der - that’s you and your co-workers and your parishioners. from Bethlehem, a place of danger, and fled to Egypt; Our job is to support you. some years later, the family relocated closer to their homeland, in Galilee rather than in Judea, still risky. In what follows, I will mention some of our key findings and resources in the hope that you will find them useful in So we take note of these roots. True, humans treasure the discerning your best responses to brothers and sisters on place where they were born and feel at home, but they typ- the move – the great variety of strangers in whom we meet ically move – sometimes voluntarily, sometimes perforce, Christ. as the traumas of World War II -- nazism, imprisonment, forced labor, concentration camp, communism -- caused

A Wider We | 08 my family to flee from Czechoslovakia to Canada. Taking litical agenda as well as much ideological confusion. Or to refuge or being displaced or migrating does not make put it the other way around, if it weren’t for what’s happen- them inferior in status, less human or less worthy of the ing at that border, and thanks to Christian and civil-society highest regard. Instead, this element of our Christian ge- witnesses who keep raising the alarm, it would remain a netic code makes the one knocking at our door even more hidden tragedy like so many other sufferings on the mar- our brother, our sister - fratelli tutti. gins of well-developed societies.

Now, wherever we are and whatever forms of migration we So the ongoing-worsening border crisis brings us togeth- encounter, it is natural and essential to us as Christians to er to face enormous pastoral challenges. The Tex-Mex respond to people on the move as our sisters and broth- Bishops have been meeting and collaborating for a long ers. This is just one of the manifestations of how we meet time, thanks be to God, and God has blessed their shared Jesus in others – Jesus who said, ‘I was a stranger and you ministry abundantly. Today we are meeting more broadly, welcomed me’ (Mt 25,35). also thanks be to God, as the Church, not in the whole of the Americas, but significantly all along the great corridor Our premise in human history which stretches from Panama to Alaska and crosses from Historically, human movement is as ancient as humanity, it Newfoundland to Hawaii. is normal and typical. According to the Universal Declara- tion of Human Rights: ‘Everyone has the right to leave any And if the corridor really stretches so far and includes so country, including his own, and to return to his country’ (13, many suffering brothers and sisters, then our pastoral shar- 2) and ‘Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other ing and pastoral planning and pastoral collaboration also countries asylum from persecution’ (14,1). But -- here’s the need to stretch just as far and just as deep. The Church of limit and complication -- the community of nations recog- Christ ‘without borders’ recognizes Christ and responds to nizes no human right to settle down elsewhere than where Him in each one who becomes, like Abraham and Sara, ‘a you were born (with a few exceptions). wanderer,’ a stranger, on exodus, in flight, and in search of some promised land… Migration is not first a problem to be managed, or a phe- nomenon to be feared, but a sign of relationships to be A real example of ‘Church without borders’ is the Church established, reconciled, healed, and a possibility for mutu- in Amazonia, throughout the basin, involving Bishops from al transformation, right relationship with the earth, and the 7 different Conferences (Antillas, Bolivia, Colombia, Ec- construction of a world on the basis of social friendship uador, Perú, Venezuela y Brasil) and including borders of and universal human fraternity. 8 different countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Perú and Venezuela. Coordinating Forced migration is a sign that the world -- although more the great common pastoral effort is the new Ecclesial Con- and more globalized, interconnected, unified -- continues ference of the Amazon (CEAMA).1 to draw artificial lines of exclusion. While borders need to be managed, they don’t have to be destructive but can be So, in the face of increasing challenges, the Holy Spirit in- places of encounter and exchange and transition to the spires us with the desire and provides the opportunity for better. increased sharing and collaboration.

Naming the place and the moment Central America Each of you participating in these discussions is located ‘When we look, what do we see?’ Pope Francis seems to somewhere: ecclesially, institutionally, professionally, geo- be addressing Central America directly. ‘Many are being graphically. Your parishes encounter migrants in many devoured in conditions that make it impossible to survive. ways: there are parishes of departure, parishes of transit, Forced to abandon fields and shorelines, homes and vil- parishes of arrival, parishes of short- or long-term settle- lages, people flee in haste carrying just a few souvenirs ment, and parishes of return. The pastoral task includes to and treasures, scraps of their culture and heritage. They welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate. There set out in hope, meaning to restart their lives in a place are a myriad of opportunities and challenges for the com- of safety. But where they mostly end up are dangerously munities all along the migrant’s way. This meeting will suc- overcrowded slums or makeshift settlements, waiting on ceed if each one really tries to listen and understand ‘walk- fate. Those driven from their homes by the climate crisis ing in the other’s shoes’. need to be welcomed, protected, promoted and inte- grated. They want to start over. To create a new future for The continuing and probably increasing arrival of many their children, they need to be allowed to do so, and to be people seeking to cross the border from Mexico into the helped. Welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrat- United States is frankly the catalyst for this gathering. What ing are all verbs of helpful action. Let us remove, one by has long been a locus of great insecurity and suffering, and one, those boulders that block the way of the displaced, so of great pastoral needs, is squarely at the top of the po- what represses and sidelines them, prevents them from

1 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2020-06/communique-celam-repam-announces-new-bishops-conferenc e-amazon.html http://www.synod.va/ content/sinodoamazonico/en/news/celam-_-repam--official-statement-about-the-project-of-consti tut.html

A Wider We | 09 working and going to school, whatever renders them invis- The United States heartland ible and denies their dignity’ (POCDP, p 6). The Church’s response on the border ought to connect with responses throughout the interior; this would make Responding, these are some dimensions of pastoral minis- the Church’s approach consistent and integral. For exam- try: to accept and guide the discernment of those depart- ple, everyone has been edified by the recent deployment ing, to support those who remain, to care for those in tran- of religious sisters from all across the United States to care sit, to seek out those who arrive, to welcome returnees and for unaccompanied youth and children arriving at the to liberate and rehabilitate those who have been trafficked. border.3 In this spirit, while the Tex-Mex Bishops and their Are there others you have identified? co-workers take the lead, inland dioceses and parishes are encouraged to ask, ‘How can we be of help?’ At the same time, to identify and address the root causes of insecurity, the drivers of grinding poverty, the climate This is how Pope Francis invited Church leaders to respond crisis causing displacement; and promote the right not to in 2015: ‘Faced with the tragedy of tens of thousands of have to emigrate. Addressing the drivers is an ongoing refugees who flee death from war and hunger, and who under-taking, while the migrant -- stripped, beaten and have begun a journey moved by hope for survival..., I make half-dead by the side of the road (cf Luke 10,30) -- requires an appeal to parishes, religious communities, monasteries immediate attention. and shrines [throughout Europe], that they express the Gospel in a concrete way and host a refugee family .... be- Besides the well-run ministries on the Guatemala-Mexico ginning with my Diocese of Rome…’4 border, let us share about the needs and good practices on other borders within Central America, all of them ‘hot spots’? Within the United States, much migrant ministry is already going on: Mexico: coming and going Pope Francis to the Mexican Bishops: ‘Brothers, may your 1. Parishes Organized to Welcome Immigrants & Refugees is hearts be capable of following these men and women and a form of community sponsorship. USCCB provides small reaching them beyond the borders. Strengthen the com- grants to diocesan resettlement groups to foster integra- munion with your brothers of the North American episco- tion, with newcomers and long-term residents working pate, so that the maternal presence of the Church can keep together to build safe, unified and vibrant communities. alive the roots of the faith, the faith of that people, and the motivation for their hope and the power of their charity.’2 2. Diocesan Offices around the United States resettle refugees and unaccompanied refugee minors through part- Even more dramatically than in Central America, Mexico nership with the department of Migration and Refugee displays practically all the aspects of human mobility: de- Services (MRS) of the USCCB. Catholic Charities offices partures / transit / settling in border towns when it’s impos- carry out the program sponsored by the U.S. Govern- sible to cross / returnees, with huge challenges for them- ment, bringing refugees from a country of first asylum selves, their families / human trafficking / etc. to the U.S. in a systematic, organized way. Most Catholic Charities offices partner with local parishes to provide do- Looking southward, are there opportunities for other col- nations and volunteer support to welcome newcomers. laborations between the Church in Mexico and the Church in one or more Central American countries? For example, 3. The Catholic Accompaniment & Reflection Experience. collaboration in indigenous ministries which reinforce the CARE helps parishes throughout the U.S. to accompa- right to remain. ny different kinds of migrants. The program connects lay and religious volunteers with undocumented im- Tex-Mex migrants, unaccompanied children, and their fami- The next session, ‘Welcoming People on the Move’, will lies in need of accompaniment and emotional, social inform thoroughly about the great cross-border ministry service, and spiritual support. Pilot programs are run- called ‘Tex-Mex’. ning successfully in the Archdioceses of San Francisco and of Indianapolis, and maybe soon in Camden N.J. Frontline border dioceses, and agencies with their spe- cialized workforces, offer hospitality, reception, temporary 4. Moreover, there’s potential for expanded Gov- relief. Are they not like Veronica and Simon the Cyrene on ernment-sponsored or supported programs of the Via Crucis? resettlement, community sponsorship and pri- vate sponsorship for which parishes and other You will certainly identify their needs for support and inter- groups in the Church will qualify or can support. connectedness and opportunities for enhanced coordination and cooperation. About these and similar programs, within and outside the Church, parish priests and other local leaders in the United

2 Pope Francis, Speech to Mexican Bishops, 13 February 2016. 3 E.g. A video montage: Women religious speaking about their service at the border 4 Angelus, 6 September 2015 https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2015/documents/papa-francesco_angelus_2015090 6.html

A Wider We | 10 States need to be knowledgeable in order to engage in these newly-opened eyes, let us resist notions of sec- the hands-on ministry of welcoming asylum seekers and ond-class citizenship; proposals that would treat migrants resettling refugees, as well as opening their doors to oth- exclusively as mere resources in terms of their economic er vulnerable people on the move who easily fall into the use and value, and proposals that would deny essential gaps. It would also help for Church leaders elsewhere to rights to the undocumented and other migrants who have know about Church and other programs available to differ- contributed to our health and the resilience of the econ- ent categories of migrants and refugees. omy during this difficult time. In fact there are ‘vulnerable people on the move’ throughout the land, aren’t there? But Canada? many remain invisible: intolerance and xenophobia, driven Like the United States, Canada is a country of arrival where by insecurity, hide them, like historical racism ’hides’ poor new talent and vitality are needed, wanted but often unap- racialized people. preciated or even subject to terrible prejudices. The experiences shared at this meeting alert us to divisive For over 40 years, Canadian community groups -- including dichotomies regarding worthy and unworthy immigrants. parishes, religious congregations, etc. -- have welcomed Here are a few: refugees and long-time residents vs. asy- refugees outside the government resettlement program lum seekers at the border; full citizenship vs. 2nd tier ‘guest and assured their first-year settlement costs. They give all workers’ status; traditional asylum seekers fleeing violence manner of other support, from language practice and help and poverty vs. persons displaced by natural disaster and with shopping to job-hunting and friendship. The results climate crisis. Moreover we need our critical analysts to tend to be better for newcomers and communities alike, alert us to paradigms of militarization and securitization than when government agencies act alone. So it would be which are quietly becoming ‘normal’, the increasing ex- great if Canadian Catholics could share testimonies, good ternalization of borders, and destructive measures and practices, mistakes to avoid in this so-called ‘sponsorship dehumanizing structures like holding facilities, internment model’. camps, etc.

That model, taking root in many other places, will hope- These are inconsistent with the Church’s teaching on hu- fully soon be available in the U.S.A. too. It could maybe man dignity, human rights and integral human develop- be adapted for parishes in Central America and Mexico to ment, all of which our faith calls us to protect and promote. support returnees, especially families. For example, often connected with the forced displacement of peoples, is the heinous sin of human trafficking. Finally, are there opportunities for cross-border ministry on Here too we need to share experiences and learn to col- the two sides of the Canada-US border? laborate in effective forms of ministry like the Sisters do. We will discover that we are addressing, not only the ref- ‘Lord, that we may see!’ ugee crisis, but also accompanying crises of loneliness, The pandemic has opened our eyes to everyone’s reliance community breakdown, and hopelessness. on hidden essential workers, among whom are many undocumented migrants who worked at great risk to their We want to stand with anyone who is earnestly in search of health and safety to keep everyone safe and healthy. With a life worthy of the name ‘human’.

A Wider We | 11 Dialogue with government institutions hospitable to their own people: that is to address the root Meaningful opportunities seem available during the pres- causes and the push-factors. ent U.S. administration to pursue immigration policy reform, including policy innovations, and to advance pro- Church without borders tections for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, e.g.: Our spirituality is rooted in Vatican II: ‘The Church, for her comprehensive immigration reform; more robust commit- part, founded on the love of the Redeemer, contributes to- ments to refugee resettlement; protections for climate dis- ward the reign of justice and charity within the borders of placed persons; addressing the drivers of migration; eq- a nation and between nations’ (GS 76) and recently re-stat- uitable access to Covid-19 vaccines in sending countries; ed: ‘God’s love and mercy are boundless. They do not stop etc. at borders and do not distinguish between citizens and strangers because God cares for the whole human family From the M&R Section, here is the style of dialogue with and the whole of creation’ (POCDP ch 7, p. 39). government institutions we suggest: ‘this is what we do, and then this is what we ask for / push for’. In other words, it Proudly to call the Church ‘without borders’ is a real ideal, is on the basis of pastoral praxis that we make field-tested a sound slogan which began with Doctors (MSF). It means proposals for adoption as public policy. that people’s needs take precedence over nationality, self-interest, conventional norms. We are sorry that artificial If someone wants to study how this works, please look and unjust barriers get erected to divide the human family at our 2018 publication Towards the Global Compacts and push people to the margins of social, economic, po- on Migrants and Refugees. Its sequence is paradigmatic. litical (and sometimes even Church) life. While accepting First comes Pope Francis’s beautiful message for the 2018 national boundaries as legitimate, we want the Church’s World Day of Peace entitled: Migrants and refugees: men compassionate ministry to go beyond political divisions. and women in search of peace. Then the magisterium is ‘translated’ or ‘declined’ in a chapter entitled, ‘Responding And meeting in Chicago, we invoke Cardinal Bernardin to Migrants and Refugees’ and sub-titled ‘20 Pastoral Ac- and add his prophetic word ‘seamless’ to describe the ex- tion Points’ which come from examples of effective pastoral perience that all the Church’s members should have when praxis. And these pastoral orientations are then ‘translated’ moving (for whatever reason), namely, that the Church her- in a chapter also called ‘Responding to Migrants and Refu- self is as seamless as the Lord’s tunic (Jn 19,23). Especially gees’ and sub-titled ‘20 Action Points for the Global Com- when forced to flee, when moving from one parish to an- pacts’ which presents the proposals which the Holy See other, from one diocese to another (even across a national formally submitted to the United Nations and the Member boundary), the vulnerable migrant should experience the States as its input for the intergovernmental consultations uninterrupted or seamless care of Christ as expressed by and negotiations towards the two Global Compacts on Mi- his followers all along the way -- early Christians referred to grants and on Refugees. themselves as ‘the hodos or way’ inspired by Isaiah’s ‘pre- pare the way of the Lord’ (40,3). I spell this out, first, because I think the three-step method- ology is sound: magisterium, followed by pastoral orienta- Let me remind you of your joint Mexico-U.S. pastoral letter tions and praxis, which in turn become the solid basis for concerning migration, ‘Strangers no Longer on the Jour- advocacy. Secondly, because I ask myself if the two Global ney of Hope’ (2003): ‘We stand in solidarity with you, our Compacts, agreed by the United Nations towards the end migrant brothers and sisters, and we will continue to ad- of 2018, might not be worth suggesting to the present ad- vocate on your behalf for just and fair migration policies. ministration for endorsement by the United States. It’s just We commit ourselves to animate communities of Christ’s a thought! disciples on both sides of the border to accompany you on your journey so that yours will truly be a journey of hope, The 2021 Pastoral Orientations on Climate Displaced Peo- not of despair, and so that, at the point of arrival, you will ple includes a useful input on advocacy: ‘Exercising a pos- experience that you are strangers no longer and instead itive influence on policy-making’ (ch 6). members of God’s household. We pray that, wherever you go, you will always be conscious of your dignity as human Policies worth pushing for include just compensation, ade- beings and of your call to bring the Good News of Jesus quate worker protections, encouragement for labor orga- Christ, who came that we ‘might have life and have it more nizing. ‘This may be the time to consider a universal basic abundantly’ (Jn 10,10). We invite you who are forced to wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, es- emigrate to maintain contact with your homes and, espe- sential tasks you carry out. It would ensure and concretely cially, to maintain fidelity to your families so that you trea- achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no sure your cultural values and the gift of faith and so that you worker without rights.’5 And in the United States and Can- bring these treasures to whatever place you go’ (§ 106).6 ada, press for commercial and climate and political justice in the Central American countries that are increasingly in- The Holy Father’s Message for the 2015 World Day of Mi-

5 Pope Francis, Letter to Popular Movements , Easter 2020. 6 https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/strangers-no-longer-together-on-the-jour ney-of-hope

A Wider We | 12 grants and Refugees carries the suggestive title, Church parish priests, religious and laity involved in ministry and without Frontiers, Mother to All. ‘From the beginning, the service to recognize the different concrete ways of re- Church has been a mother with a heart open to the whole sponding to our brothers and sisters who are departing, world, and has been without borders. This mission has con- in transit, waiting, arriving or returning. There are so many tinued for two thousand years.’ important opportunities to help them and to support one another, and all these small efforts ‘compose’ a mosaic and In Evangelii Gaudium, the Holy Father speaks in first per- finally a picture of how the Diocese is actually responding son, as if he was giving this talk: ‘Migrants present a par- pastorally to the vulnerable people we usually call ‘mi- ticular challenge for me, since I am a pastor of a Church grants’ or ‘refugees’, but also the internally-displaced, the without frontiers, a Church which considers herself mother climate-displaced, and the victims of human trafficking. to all. For this reason, I exhort all countries to a generous openness’ (EG 210) … a Church of which every one of us is May this meeting prove to be a first step in producing a a pastor or a minister … without borders! Common Pastoral Plan of the Panama-Alaska Corridor (you will come up with a better title!) and implementing it in Here is the take-home south and north, west and east. I hope that, after this meeting, you can call your priests together and consider the pastoral task incumbent on us Two reminders and two fresh thoughts all: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate. First, movement to relocate voluntarily or as a result of dis- Depending on where the diocese is, the parishes might location is normal throughout human history and is part of encounter one or more of departure, transit, arrival, short- our Christian DNA. Those who move are just as fully human or long-term settlement, and even return of migrants. And as those who stay put. in each case, the migrants are ‘our’ parishioners, whether briefly or long-term, whether practicing Catholics or of oth- Second, responding to the needs of strangers is a deci- er faiths or no religion at all. sive criterion, as Jesus said with the utmost clarity ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ (Mt 25,35). This is what are we expecting ourselves to do in every diocese along the corridor and the Church’s agencies or or- Third, the arrival of newcomers in our parishes demands ganizations: fresh thinking and acting. It would be good if this jolts us into fresh looking and thinking about our established par- (a) To accompany those who are vulnerable or needy, at ish base. Because that base is probably changing too, as each stage of the way, to carry out practical care wherever traditional Catholics and their children and grandchildren there is a need, indifferent to the reasons why the need has become less attached to the parish as their community for arisen here or there worship, formation, and service. It would be good if the presence of migrants prompts us to re-think what it means b) To encourage our members to keep believing and giv- to belong to a parish and how we are to minister to ‘our’ ing and growing c) To draw lessons from our pastoral ex- people. perience, and offer them fearlessly for public policy at every level Finally, this Mundelein gathering, to walk together and work together, more than an organizational best practice In support of these various ministries, the M&R Section (although certainly that), represents rather an essential has produced Pastoral Orientations -- on human trafficking characteristic of being the Church today and tomorrow: (2019), on the IDPs (2020), on the climate displaced (2021), synodality! on intercultural migrant ministry (2022), and on migrants and refugees (2023). These pastoral orientations are help- Pope Francis has called the Church in the Americas ‘to wit- ful for evaluating what the diocese, parish or organization ness together that the Church is the custodian of a unifying is already doing, and to discover new needs and plan bet- vision of humanity.’7 Let us rejoice in the opportunity, as ter responses. the Church along the great northward corridor through the upper Americas struggles to show herself both custodian For when in the Church we speak about people of concern and especially promoter of a unifying vision of humanity. -- the poor, the needy, the suffering, the marginalized and Amen. Thank you. the invisible -- our discussion, prayer and reflection ought to yield tangible fruit. That practical fruit would usually be a corresponding piece of pastoral planning -- well-designed, written-down, distributed and explained; implemented; and eventually evaluated and updated and implemented anew.

Such pieces of pastoral planning are very important for

7 Pope Francis, Speech to Mexican Bishops, 13 February 2016.

A Wider We | 13 Conclusion and Commitments

I. Welcoming People On The Move How can enhanced collaboration aid the entire church in the United States in a robust pastoral response (agencies, dioceses, parishes and others) to the expected significant increase in arrivals at the US-Mexico border as well as refugees in order to effectively welcome, protect, promote and integrate people on the move?

Short Term Actions Compile and share best practices on how to welcome migrants throughout the interior

Medium Term Actions Map Catholic assets across the country that can be leveraged to support migrants (Catholic NGOs, universities, hospitals, parishes, etc.)

Long Term Actions Develop a national framework for guidance regarding welcome and encourage the development of diocesan pastoral plans unique to the local needs

II. Root Causes And Expanded Protections For Asylum Seekers Working as the church in the United States, Mexico and Central America, how can we effectively engage on root causes and develop innovative proposals to expand protection for asylum seekers?

Priority Actions

1. Initiate a process to include Catholic leaders and bishops from Central America, Mexico and the United States in focusing on root causes and engage Congress and the administration in high-level advocacy

2. Joint advocacy trip to Washington, DC of bishops from Central America, Mexico and the United States

3. Joint fact-finding and solidarity trip to Central America by bishops and Catholic leaders

4. Utilize USCCB Justice, Peace & Human Development as a think tank to evaluate Biden/Harris proposals on root causes

III. Advocacy And Making The Moral Argument Working as the church in the United States, Mexico and Central America, how can we collaborate in effectively engaging the Biden/Harris administration and amplify the church’s moral message on migration?

Priority Advocacy Issues

1. End Title 42

2. Safe, orderly access to asylum and due process at the border

3. Covid-19 vaccination for migrants entering the southern border

4. US adoption of the UN Global Compact on Migration

5. Pathways to legalization

A Wider We | 14 Priority Follow up Actions

1. High-level meeting with the administration on a) asylum at the border, b) summer opportunities around funding bills (pathways to legalization for farmworkers, essential workers and Dreamers), and c) root causes

2. Public funding for coordinated reception at the border and nationwide

3. Study remittance program to assist sending communities and families

4. Maintain coordination with regional bishops

5. Include migration in the process for the 2023 Synod on Synodality

Priority Messaging

1. Urgency of robust care management and sponsorship of families

2. Document which provides information on the work that the Catholic Church does on migration

3. Call to Catholic Institutions – a call to engagement to help shape the narrative.

4. Repeated moral messages of transcendent dignity of human person and family unity. (Op-eds, videos, talking points, homily notes, etc.)

A Wider We | 15 PARTICIPANTS

Cardinals Blase Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago (Illinois) Michael Cardinal Czerny SJ, Undersecretary of the Migrants & Refugees Section (Holy See) Alvaro Cardinal Ramazzini, Bishop of Huehuetenango (Guatemala) Joseph Cardinal Tobin CSsR, Archbishop of Newark (New Jersey)

Bishops Most Rev José H Gómez, Archbishop of Los Angeles (California) and president of the USCCB Most Rev Gustavo García Siller MSpS, Archbishop of San Antonio (Texas) Mons Gustavo Rodríguez Vega, Archbishop of Yucatán (México) and president of La Red CLAMOR Most Rev Thomas G Wenski, Archbishop of Miami (Florida) via video conference Most Rev John C Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe (New Mexico)

Most Rev Edward J Burns, Bishop of Dallas (Texas) via video conference Most Rev Oscar Cantú, Bishop of San Jose (California) Mons Guy Charbonneau PME, Bishop of Choluteca (Honduras) Most Rev Octavio Cisneros, retired Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn (New York) Most Rev Frank J Dewane, Bishop of Venice (Florida) via video conference Most Rev Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn (New York) Most Rev Mario E Dorsonville, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington (District of Columbia, Maryland) and Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration Mons Oswaldo Escobar Aguilar, OCD, Bishop of Chalatenango (El Salvador) Most Rev J Gregory Kelly, Auxiliary Bishop of Dallas (Texas) Most Rev Robert W McElroy, Bishop of San Diego Mons Alfonso G Miranda, Auxiliary Bishop of Monterrey (México) and Secretary General of the Conference of Bishops of México (CEM) Most Rev Mark J Seitz, Bishop of El Paso (Texas) Most Rev Jaime Soto, Bishop of Sacramento (California) Most Rev James A Tamayo, Bishop of Laredo (Texas) via video conference

Catholic Leaders and Experts Mr Kevin Appleby, Trustee, Hope Border Institute Mr Joe Boland, Vice President of Mission, Catholic Extension Rev Msgr Jeffrey Burrill, General Secretary, USCCB Mr Sean Callahan, President and CEO, Catholic Relief Services

Mr William Canny, Executive Director, USCCB Migration & Refugee Services Mr Richard Coll, Executive Director, USCCB Department of Justice, Peace & Human Development Mr Bruce Compton, Senior Director for Global Health, Catholic Health Association of the United States Mr Dylan Corbett, Regional Assistant Coordinator for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, Holy See’s Migrants & Refugees Section Mr Max Finberg, President and CEO, Growing Hope Globally Rev Michael Fuller, Associate General Secretary, USCCB Ms Anna Gallagher, Executive Director, Catholic Legal Immigration Services, Inc (CLINIC) Mr Anthony Granado, Vice President of Government Relations, Catholic Charities USA Mr Michael E Hill, Associate Director, USCCB Government Relations Mr Don Kerwin, Executive Director, Center for Migration Studies Ms Marisa Limón Garza, Deputy Director, Hope Border Institute Sr Donna Markham OP PhD, President & CEO, Catholic Charities USA via video conference Fr Rafael Moreno Villa SJ, Regional Coordinator for Central America and North America, Red Jesuita con Migrantes Sr Norma Pimentel MJ, Executive Director, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley (Texas) Ms Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Director, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA Dr Gabriella Sanchez, Migration Researcher Mr Alfonso Sandoval, Translator Ms Elena Segura, Senior coordinator for National Immigration Ministry, Archdiocese of Chicago Ms Rebecca Solloa, Executive Director, Catholic Charities of Laredo Rev Jack Wall, President, Catholic Extension Mr Gordon Whitman, Senior Advisor, Faith in Action International Rev Dr Luis Zavala de Alba, Executive Director, Casa Monarca Dr Gabriela Zamora Carmona, Deputy Director, Casa Monarca

A Wider We | 16