By Kurt Jensen OSV News WASHINGTON — Ask women religious leaders on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking and the exploitation of cheap migrant labor, and you hear less about government programs and more about educating the migrants. “It can happen to anyone anywhere,” Maryknoll Sister Abby Avelino said at a March […]
Pope welcomes migrant he’s been praying for since July
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — When Mbengue Nyimbilo Crepin told Pope Francis of his harrowing journey to Italy and about the deaths of his wife and 6-year-old daughter in the desert along the border between Libya and Tunisia, the pope told him he had been praying for them since July. Nyimbilo, […]
Religious help U.S-bound migrants stranded near the Darien Gap
By Manuel Rueda OSV News CAPURGANA, Colombia — Jairo Hurtado entered the Darién jungle with all of his belongings stuffed into a backpack. He wore rubber boots to keep his feet dry on the muddy trails, and carried a machete to slash through the dense vegetation and “protect” himself from criminals who sometimes assault migrants […]
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio: Migrants: To move or not to move
WALKING WITH MIGRANTS A statement titled “The right not to have to migrate” was recently issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. But what does the right not to migrate actually mean? This basic principle of Catholic social teaching regarding migration sometimes causes confusion because it seems contradictory. Some would say: […]
Pope says Mary joins migrants travelling north
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — During this “bitter time” of war, hunger, injustice and poverty, Our Lady of Guadalupe invites everyone to open their lives to her son, Jesus, and to learn to love others like he does, Pope Francis said. “The Lord, through the Virgin Mother, continues to give […]
God dreams of a world where all are welcomed, pope says
Holy Father in Cyprus By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service NICOSIA, Cyprus — Pope Francis told migrants that, like them, God dreams of a world where everyone recognizes each other as brothers and sisters. God “asks us not to be content with a divided world, divided Christian communities, but to journey through history drawn by […]
Bishops blame U.S. policies for child deaths at border
By Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — Leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in an op-ed cast blame on government policies for recent child deaths near the U.S.-Mexico border. In a June 30 op-ed published by The Hill newspaper in Washington, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of […]
Migrant shelters suffer harassment as Mexico toughens enforcement
By David Agren Catholic News Service TENOSIQUE, Mexico — The Franciscan-run migrant shelter La 72 has welcomed a steady stream of migrants since opening its doors in 2011 in this sweaty railway terminus near the Guatemalan border. It has also endured a steady stream of harassment — from politicians and police officers, immigration officials and […]
Talk story: Each human life is a family member
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY “Families are the foundation of our faith, our society, our history, and our immigration system. As Pope Francis notes: ‘Family is the place in which we are formed as persons. Each family is a brick that builds society.’ (Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop […]
Pope uses universal law to guide local churches on abuse
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ latest effort to help the Catholic Church safeguard its members from abuse and hold its leaders accountable came in the form of a new universal law, “Vos estis lux mundi” (“You are the light of the world”), which takes effect June 1. Like all […]