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| Online Extra |
Border conference discusses migration pastoral Border Conference By Gina Keating LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Just three days prior to the Arizona visit by Mexican President Vicente Fox, bishops, religious leaders and directors of social service programs from several states gathered to discuss a pastoral letter concerning migration. More than 70 people representing 20 dioceses from border states attended the conference Nov. 2-4 at Holy Cross Retreat Center in Mesilla Park, N.M. The “Migration and Refugee Services Border Conference,” attended by members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services, met to study and discuss implementation of a recent pastoral statement by the U.S. and Mexican bishops’ conferences titled, “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope.” Kathy Saile, director of the Office of Peace and Justice for Catholic Social Service of Central and Northern Arizona, said attendees heard presentations on the migration phenomenon that covered root causes, the migratory journey and contributions of migrants to U.S. communities. Discussions and workshops also covered policy and pastoral responses to the migratory phenomenon, Catholic social teaching and migration and comprehensive migration reform. “The dynamics of the Gospel call us to reconciliation and integration of relationships. Current immigration policy is the opposite of this,” Saile said. “One of the principles of Catholic social teaching is our call to family, community and the common good. We believe that family is the core of society, and this is where we learn to love and respect others. We have a moral responsibility to take these values into the public square.” The 52-page pastoral letter states in one passage, “Our dialogue has revealed a common desire for a more orderly system that accommodates the reality of migration and promotes just application of civil law. “We seek to measure the interest of all parties in the migration phenomenon against the guidelines of Catholic social teaching and to offer a moral framework for embracing, not rejecting, the reality of migration between our two nations.”
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