Catholic leaders educate youth on immigration

By J.D. Long-García, The Catholic Sun
July 19, 2007

Catholic leadership isn’t waiting for Congress to pass immigration reform — they’re taking matters into their own hands.

Catholic Relief Services, together with the dioceses of Phoenix, Tucson and the Archdiocese of Hermosillo,   Mexico, are uniting   youth through their “Diocese Without Borders” partnership. Fifty teens and youth ministers from each of the three dioceses will meet Oct. 19-21 in Nogales.

“What it’s inviting us to do is build a culture of solidarity,” said Tricia Hoyt, director of the Office of Peace and Justice. “That is where brotherhood and sisterhood happen.”

This is the second stage of an ongoing project the Office of Peace and Justice began in 2005. The first stage was a series of three immersion experiences with youth in each diocese.

Hoyt, who is skeptical that Congress will pass immigration reform before 2009, said the conference would help teens better understand the context of the immigration debate long-term.

“These encounters are really filling up our kids here and giving them a whole new understanding of solidarity,” she said. “The conference hopes to address the root causes of the migration issue.”

Hoyt encouraged teens interested in global solidarity issues, and immigration in particular, to inquire about the conference.

“I am increasingly bewildered by our sense of patriotism when so many of us had no choice in our citizenship,” said Elizabeth Shaw, a St. Raphael parishioner who attended an encounter last December.

“I am proud to be an American because our country provides so many social securities that are nonexistent in other regions of the world,” the Loyola Marymount student added.

“I will be prouder to be an American when we are willing to share some of our wealth and help those who live in extreme poverty just miles from our own cities,” Shaw said.

Inspired by John Paul II’s encyclical Ecclesia in America, the bishops of the three dioceses signed “Call to Commitment,” a pledge of solidarity, in 2002. The dioceses then began sharing ministries, materials and exchanging popular and cultural customs.

“Working together, we intend to put our words into action and maintain a constant and purposeful awareness of one another,” the bishops stated in the document.

The bishops committed to “be brothers and sisters in Christ, united rather than divided by our common border, sharing the same vision and Gospel values of solidarity, communion, hospitality, reciprocal service, a preferential option for the poor, a culture of life, respect for human dignity and the universality of the Church.”