Federico Barocci’s “Rest on the Flight to Egypt,” 1570
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“World Day for Migrants and Refugees 2020 is an opportunity to reflect on the global contributions of immigrants and refugees, and highlight the work of the church to welcome, protect and integrate them. We are reminded that regardless of our background, we are all built in the image of God and should be treated as such.” (Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration)
Living during the times of the pandemic is a struggle for many, but even more so for migrants and refugees. Picture the anxious young parents, Mary and Joseph, escaping to foreign lands to save their newborn child from violence. This is the story of thousands of families and individuals today — which is why Pope Francis chose as the theme for this fall’s 106th observance of World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR 2020): “Forced like Jesus Christ to Flee.”
In his WDMR 2020 message, our Holy Father focuses on the plight of internally displaced persons, underscoring the COVID-19 difficulties they encounter, and calling us compassionately to share with them. The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, Bishop Mario Dorsonville, said it’s not enough to be aware of the crisis. One must act “to bring solidarity, compassion and love throughout our human encounters. It is of vital importance for us to embrace love for our neighbor as we love ourselves and live out this commitment daily.”
Throughout the world, Catholics are celebrating WDMR 2020 in many ways. Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, visited refugees in a program for pregnant migrant mothers fleeing violence in Central America and stranded in the neighboring Diocese of Ciudad Juarez. While in Juarez. the bishop inaugurated two more programs, one that provides food, clothing and other basic needs for migrants in shelters hosted by Catholic parishes; the other that offers mental health counseling for those forced to wait at the border for extended periods through the asylum claim process.
All three programs are supported by migrant families and individuals in the United States through Bishop Seitz’ diocese’s Border Refugee Assistance Fund. The bishop also met with Mexican community organizers, faith leaders and volunteers to share Pope Francis’ call to “reflect on the compassion of the Good Samaritan and to take risks in order to be close to those whose wounds need binding up in our day.”
Bishop Seitz concluded his journey by issuing a joint statement with HOPE Border Institute and CLINIC, two Catholic organizations that work on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border:
“We have traveled to Ciudad Juarez today simply to listen and share with the many migrant families who, like Jesus, have been forced to flee. In this time of pandemic, we are more conscious than ever before of our interconnectedness as one human family. And never before has the U.S. government in our name taken so many actions that directly endanger the lives of migrant families and children, layering crisis upon crisis. Today we call on our political leaders to restore the right to asylum at the border, end the inhumane practice of immigrant detention, and stop the forced returns of migrants, including unaccompanied children, to situations of insecurity and danger. Like Pope Francis, we know that ‘none of us is saved alone.’ As our one human family works toward building a more just world after the pandemic, may we remember to create new spaces of ‘hospitality, fraternity and solidarity’ to bind up the wounds of the excluded, displaced and marginalized everywhere.”
This fall let us celebrate WDMR by praying and sharing with migrants and refugees here and around the world “forced to flee like Jesus.”
For more information, visit the following links: www.elpasodiocese.org/border-refugee-assistance-fund.html, hopeborder.org and cliniclegal.org. Hopefully the World Day for Migrants and Refugees 2020 can inspire us all to live our faith through sharing with the most vulnerable among our human family, our one Ohana, transforming our shared vulnerability into the solidarity of healing compassionate aloha.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
