Bishop calls for immigration reform, again

As 2021 comes to an end, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration is reminding our elected leaders that immigration reform remains an important issue. In a statement issued this month, Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington, noted that there is strong support among Americans for congressional action on immigration.

“While the road ahead is uncertain, the present reality remains clear: the status quo cannot stand. Almost half of the 11 million undocumented persons living in the United States today have lived here for at least 15 years. Many others are receiving temporary protections but lack access to permanent solutions. They are mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters. They are essential workers, homeowners, and entrepreneurs. Most importantly, they are persons created equally in God’s image, imbued with a potential far beyond the limits of their current immigration status.” 

He noted that the bishops have advocated for a bipartisan solution to the issue, calling for Congress to “promote the full integration of undocumented persons and to create a more sustainable immigration system, consistent with the common good.”
 
The entire statement is here.

Host a Pope Francis Watch Party

Pope Francis is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on September 24, at 9:20 a.m. Will you be watching? If so, will you be watching by yourself or your parish?

The Ignatian Solidarity Network is organizing “watch parties” across the nation. The group is offering “free resources like Pope Watch BINGO cards, suggested discussion questions, and fun giveaways for your participants.”

The Ignatian Solidarity Network is a national social justice education and advocacy network working in partnership with Jesuit universities, high schools, and parishes, along with many other Catholic institutions and social justice partners.

In order to receive the free resources, parties must be registered by September 12. More details are available here.

In solidarity

Bishop Richard E. Pates, Chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace,  and Dr. Carolyn Woo, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, recently wrote to Congress to urge appropriate funding of the poverty-focused and humanitarian accounts in the fiscal year 2015 appropriations. From their letter:

Based on advice from our partners and CRS staff on the ground, we are deeply concerned about humanitarian funding. International Disaster Assistance, Migration and Refugee Assistance, and Food for Peace must be able to respond not only to the crises of today but also their potential escalation. And of course, should another major natural disaster occur or conflict erupt, some contingency funding is necessary. We urge that these accounts be funded at least at the levels of fiscal year 2014.  

We fully support the Administration’s request to increase funding for peacekeeping; $300 million of that would fund the nascent force in Mali. The proposed Peacekeeping Response Mechanism is a creative response to ensure flexibility should crises escalate, such as the violence in the Central African Republic and South Sudan. We support this proposal. Peacekeeping operations not only help to contain violence, but also enable organizations like CRS to provide humanitarian assistance. 

You can read more here.

Support SNAP Funding

Catholic Charities USA has sent out the following Action Alert:

Tell Congress to Support SNAP Funding, Protect the Poor and Hungry in Budget Discussions 

Members of Congress seeking to reauthorize the farm bill are seeking a middle ground the competing versions of legislation. But cuts to a vital anti-hunger program could leave millions of Americans at risk of losing access to healthy and affordable food.  

Both the House and Senate bills include reductions to SNAP, and both would have an impact on those receiving aid from this crucial program. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate's version of the bill would cause an estimated 500,000 households see their benefits cut by an average $90 per month. It also found that the House bill would cause nearly 3 million households to lose eligibility for SNAP, and another 850,000 households see their benefits fall significantly.  

While the Senate continues to underscore cuts will be a reality, Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) and its network of member agencies urge Members of Congress that when considering cuts that benefits to vulnerable people be spared. CCUSA believes that savings can be realized without cutting life sustaining benefits to people who will be most affected.
Throughout our nation’s history, policymakers have always come together to fund this critical program and support the individuals and families that rely on SNAP to put food on their tables. We encourage you to tell Congress to preserve SNAP funding for those in need!

You can take action here. Scroll down about half way to find the form for contacting your Congressional representatives.

Bishops urge Congress to fulfill role

The bishops who chair three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have sent letters to the House and Senate, urging them to meet the challenges facing the United States at home and abroad.

"In 2011, we welcomed bipartisan action which averted a federal government shutdown and the hardship that would have come with failure to reach agreement," the bishops wrote. "The Catholic bishops of the United States stand ready to work with leaders of both parties for a budget that reduces future unsustainable deficits, protects poor and vulnerable people, advances the common good, and promotes human life and dignity."

. . .

The bishops noted that the Catechism of the Catholic Church says it is the proper role of government to "make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life," including food, clothing, heath care, education and culture.

"In our country today, millions of Americans struggle to meet these basic needs, through no fault of their own, as a result of an economy that continues to fail to create sufficient economic opportunities," the bishops wrote. "Last year, the poverty rate remained at a 20-year high, over 1 in 5 children lived in poverty, and 49 million Americans were food-insecure at some point." They added that 23 million Americans remain unemployed or underemployed.

The bishops also noted the challenges awaiting Congress on the international stage.

"Throughout the world, millions rely on the United States for lifesaving food, medicine, and support," they wrote. "In Syria, violence seriously threatens the lives of two million refugees and four million internally displaced persons, half of them children."

The rest of the letter is here.

Praying for Syria

At the behest of Pope Francis, Catholics in the Capital District will gather at the Church of St. Mary in Clinton Heights at 7 p.m. Saturday to pray for peace in Syria. The service will include a rosary for peace, a litany for God’s peace, and exposition and adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Also, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has written a letter to Congress opposing military intervention in Syria. They write, in part:

We absolutely condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria. These indiscriminate weapons have no place in the arsenals of the family of nations. With you we mourn for the lives lost and grieve with the families of the deceased. At the same time, we remain profoundly concerned for the more than 100,000 Syrians who have lost their lives, the more than 2 million who have fled the country as refugees, and the more than 4 million within Syria who have been driven from their homes by the violence. Our focus is on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Syria and on saving lives by ending the conflict, not fueling it.  

We have heard the urgent calls of the Successor of Saint Peter, Pope Francis, and our suffering brother bishops of the venerable and ancient Christian communities of the Middle East. As one, they beg the international community not to resort to military intervention in Syria. They have made it clear that a military attack will be counterproductive, will exacerbate an already deadly situation, and will have unintended negative consequences. Their concerns strongly resonate in American public opinion that questions the wisdom of intervention and in the lack of international consensus.  

We make our own the appeal of Pope Francis: "I exhort the international community to make every effort to promote clear proposals for peace in that country without further delay, a peace based on dialogue and negotiation, for the good of the entire Syrian people. May no effort be spared in guaranteeing humanitarian assistance to those wounded by this terrible conflict, in particular those forced to flee and the many refugees in nearby countries."  

The Congressional resolution acknowledges that "the conflict in Syria will only be resolved through a negotiated political settlement." A central moral question is: Will more or less lives and livelihoods be destroyed by military intervention? On this question Pope Francis has been clear: "How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake in that martyred country, especially among civilians and the unarmed!" Instead of employing armed force, in this situation our nation, working with the international community, should direct all of its energies urgently and tirelessly toward dialogue and negotiation.  

The longstanding position of our Conference of Bishops is that the Syrian people urgently need a political solution. We ask the United States to work with other governments to obtain a ceasefire, initiate serious negotiations, provide impartial humanitarian assistance, and encourage efforts to build an inclusive society in Syria that protects the rights of all its citizens, including Christians and other minorities.

Act now for immigration reform

Because the U.S. Senate has passed comprehensive immigration reform legislation and the House of Representatives is currently considering whether to address immigration reform legislation, now is a critical time to contact your House members and urge them to pass common sense immigration reform. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has many resources at the Justice for Immigrants website, including a bulletin announcement that tells us:

The U.S. Catholic Bishops, through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), have urged Congress to pass immigration reform which: 

- Provides a path to citizenship for undocumented persons living in the United States; 

- Preserves and strengthens family unity as a cornerstone of our national immigration system; 

- Provides legal avenues for low-skilled immigrants to come and work in the United States; 

- Restores due process for individuals caught up in the immigration system 

- Promotes efforts that will address the root causes of migration, such as poverty and persecution Please contact your House members today and urge them to support immigration reform legislation that provides a path to citizenship for the undocumented and that preserves family unity.  

Action: Contact Members of Congress through e-mail, phone calls or FAX letters. - To send a pre-written, instant e-mail to Congress go to www.justiceforimmigrants.org - Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask for your Members’ offices. For more information, go to www.house.gov  

Message: Please pass bipartisan immigration reform legislation that includes a pathway to citizenship and preserves family unity.   

When: Act today and encourage others to do so as well.

For those who wish to meet with their Representatives in person, here are talking points for immigration reform from Catholics Confront Global Poverty, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services. You can also watch this recording of a recent webcast for some tips and tools to make your advocacy efforts more effective.

The effects of sequestration

Kathy Saile, the director of domestic social development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has co-authored an op-ed piece about the effects of sequestration on the most vulnerable members of our society.

It’s been more than 140 days since sequestration went into effect, cutting $84 billion across the board from government programs this year. It may be difficult to comprehend the effects of that number. However, it is not difficult to comprehend that a child who is undernourished this year could have learning difficulties for the rest of her life—which will hurt her ability to earn enough money to provide for herself and her future children. It is not difficult to comprehend that a father in South Sudan who needlessly dies from AIDS this year because of reduced access to treatments will leave his family in dire straits. It is not difficult to comprehend that an elderly person on a fixed income in the Midwest will sit hungry and cold in a dingy apartment next winter because of cuts to essential assistance.

For these reasons and more, over 5,000 Christian pastors and other faith leaders have written to President Barack Obama and key members of Congress who are working to reduce our national debt and annual deficits. In their pastoral letter, they ask lawmakers and the administration to form a circle of protection around effective programs that help hungry and poor people in our country and abroad. 

The pastoral letter was initiated by the Circle of Protection, an alliance of Christian leaders who have met with members of both parties and with President Obama, urging that the common good be pursued and that the budget not be balanced on the backs of hungry and poor people.

You can read more here.

Catholic college officials support immigration reform

The Washington Post reports that more than 90 Catholic university heads are urging fellow Catholic legislators to pass comprehensive immigration reform, saying that their faith "values the human dignity and worth of all immigrants."

In the letter, the university presidents called for a path to legalization for all undocumented immigrants. The group asked the lawmakers to resist pressure from "powerful interest groups" and said that as Catholics, they have a "serious responsibility to consider the moral dimensions" of policies.

The letter comes as Congress has been grappling with proposals for a sweeping overhaul of U.S. immigration laws. Last month, the Senate passed a bipartisan measure that would give illegal immigrants a chance to become U.S. citizens, step up border security and increase visas for legal and skilled immigrants.

The House of Representatives, however, is sharply divided on the issue, and conservative leaders want to break it into smaller individual bills addressing border security, legal immigration, employment and illegal immigration. Supporters of immigration reform say this would effectively kill any chance of meaningful change.

In a conference call with journalists Thursday, the presidents of the University of Notre Dame, the Catholic University of America and other leading Catholic educators called on Congress to end what they called the abuse and exploitation of illegal immigrants and to enact legislation that would take a humane approach to the issue.

You can read more here.

Call before 4 p.m. TODAY

From Catholic Charities USA:

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote TODAY at 4:00 p.m. on S.744, the Border Security, Economic Competitiveness, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. Please call your Senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask that they vote Yes on S.744. Catholic Charities USA joins with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the other members of the Justice for Immigrants coalition in supporting comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship and strengthens families.

Workers' wages

In testimony this week before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said that a discussion of workers' wages is a good starting point for fixing the U.S. economy.

Bishop Blaire cited statistics from the Congressional Budget Office, which reported last year that the average income of the wealthiest one percent of Americans has increased 275 percent over the last 30 years. The income of the poorest 20 percent, on average, increased by less than 20 percent, despite an increase in worker productivity over the same time.

Bishop Blaire quoted Catholic teaching from Popes Leo XIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, on the rights and dignity of workers. "A just wage confirms the dignity of the worker," said Bishop Blaire. "And conversely, a wage that does not even allow a worker to support a family or meet basic human needs tears her down and demeans her dignity. The worker becomes just another commodity."

More information on the hearing and Bishop Blaire's testimony is available online.

There is widening gap between the American people and their armed forces, and this is not a good thing, according to Karl W. Eikenberry, a retired Army lieutenant general, and David M. Kennedy is an emeritus professor of history at Stanford. Writing in The New York Times, they note:

Less than 0.5 percent of the population serves in the armed forces, compared with more than 12 percent during World War II. Even fewer of the privileged and powerful shoulder arms. In 1975, 70 percent of members of Congress had some military service; today, just 20 percent do, and only a handful of their children are in uniform.

This is just one of the developments that, according to the authors, "present a disturbingly novel spectacle: a maximally powerful force operating with a minimum of citizen engagement and comprehension." You can read more here.

Bishops and climate change

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is asking Congress to take "effective measures to address climate change" because such steps are "urgent and necessary."

The USCCB asks the U.S. Congress and the federal government to consider the following principles as they shape policies and measures to address climate change:

- Prudence requires us to act to protect the common good by addressing climate change at home and abroad.

- The consequences of climate change will be borne by the world’s most vulnerable people and inaction will worsen their suffering.

- Policies addressing global climate change should enhance rather than diminish the economic situation of people in poverty.

- Policies should create new resources to assist poor and adversely affected communities to adapt and respond to the effects of global climate change in the U.S. and in vulnerable developing countries.

- Policies to address climate change should include measures to protect poor and vulnerable communities from the health impacts of climate change, including increased exposure to climate-sensitive diseases, heat waves and diminished air quality.

- Participation by local affected communities in shaping policy responses to address climate change and programs for adapting to climate change is essential.

- Technology should be made available to people in the most vulnerable developing countries to help them adapt to the effects of climate change (adaptation) and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation).

You can read more here.