“Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ, will live like the grain of wheat that dies. It only apparently dies. If it were not to die, it would remain a solitary grain. The harvest comes because of the grain that dies. We know that every effort to improve society, above all when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God blesses; that God wants; that God demands of us.”
These words Archbishop Oscar Romero spoke in his homily just minutes before he was martyred while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980. Now 35 years later, on May 23, Archbishop Romero was beatified in El Salvador. For decades, the archbishop inspired many in the service of justice and peace in the Americas. His assassination was an example of the Central American violence from which millions have fled to the United States. Blessed Romero’s beatification was a hopeful moment in the current difficult struggle for comprehensive immigration reform, which the U.S. bishops have strongly endorsed and encouraged all to support.
The Hawaii Coalition for Immigration Reform (HCIR) has served many faith-based communities, including Catholics, in working for the rights of immigrants. HCIR recently helped pass the “Hawaii Drivers Safety Act,” which expands access to driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants.
HCIR also successfully advocated for continued funding for immigrant resource centers statewide. A vital participant in HCIR is the Aloha DREAM Team, a multi-ethnic, mixed status youth-led group committed to educate, empower and organize Hawaii’s immigrant community, with a focus on youth.
The Aloha DREAM Team recently met with Bishop Larry Silva to discuss ways to collaborate on the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, or DACA, program that grants relief from deportation and work authorization to some undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. DACA will give a million people the opportunity to attend college, obtain a driver’s license and a work permit. Approximately 5,000 people qualify in Hawaii.
The Aloha DREAM Team helped establish a DACA Pipeline for youth wishing to sign up for the program. The Pipeline introduces applicants to others who have gone through the process and who will help them collect necessary documents and fill out applications.
On June 5, the team will provide DACA education after the Ilocano Mass at St. John the Baptist in Kalihi. They will be on Maui in June reaching out to Latino immigrants. For more information, contact the Aloha DREAM Team at 321-8089 or info@alohadreamteam.org. Their website is www.alohadreamteam.org.
On June 6, the Office for Social Ministry will sponsor another One Ohana — Food for All workshop, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at St. Theresa in Kihei, Maui. These gatherings connect parish social ministries to groups that provide sustainable nourishing food for the most vulnerable in Hawaii.
Another One Ohana — Food for All gathering in Hanalei on Kauai will take place at the same time the following Saturday. These “talk story” gatherings remind us that Bishop Silva, Archbishop Romero and Pope Francis have all called us to live our faith in solidarity with poor and immigrant populations struggling for justice and peace.
As Pope Francis said at the recent General Assembly of Caritas International, “We must do what we can so everyone has something to eat.”
Gracias a Dios!
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
