Immigrants

Migrants seeking a better life in other countries must not be viewed with suspicion but rather defended and protected, no matter their status, Pope Francis said.

The head of Catholic Charities USA is saddened that many Catholics have “become acclimated” to national resentment over migrants.

Members of mission groups from around the diocese gathered for the fifth annual Diocesan Mission Rally April 26 at St. Joseph Church in Clarissa.

With so much suffering, poverty and exploitation in the world, missionary work must also include reaching out to people whose hearts are closed to receiving immigrants and refugees, Pope Francis told Jesuits in Myanmar.

While many Catholics took to social media asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the life of migrants who have come to the U.S. seeking a better life, President Donald Trump called, on Dec. 12, her feast day, for an end to two immigration programs.

Supporters of youth who came to the U.S. without documents as children descended on Washington in early December, risking arrest and seeking attention from lawmakers during what they believe is the last window of opportunity this year to pass legislation to help the youth stay in the country.

As the nation made preparations to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed gratitude for “the gift of immigrants and refugees to the country,” but also appealed for their protection.

St. Frances Cabrini, the missionary to Italian immigrants in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, “teaches us the path to handling the epochal phenomenon of migration by joining charity and justice,” Pope Francis said.