Going global With Youth

Volume 6, Issue 5

January 2006

A Prayer for Immigrant Justice

Blessed are You, Lord God, King of all creation through your goodness we live in this land that You have so richly blessed. Help us always to recognize our Blessings come from You and remind us to share them with others, especially those who come to us from other lands. Help us to be generous, just and welcoming as You have been and are generous to us. Source: http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/

If we are blessed to live in the comfort of our homes and actively participate in our communities, we can easily forget how difficult it is to make the decision - even when made voluntarily - to leave one's home. Yet, millions face this gut-wrenching decision each year; and the subsequent challenges they face in beginning a new life may offer little assurance for a more hopeful or dignified future. Imagine having no real choice to stay in your home because of economic poverty and lack of opportunity, famine, political oppression, persecution, or war, and the only real choice for hope lies in leaving your family to move to a country where you cannot speak the language, do not understand the systems, and may not even be welcome by its citizens. Moreover, your new life consists of working long hours in jobs that many would not wish on their worst enemy. Such reality is rather inconsistent with the oft-held misconceptions and stereotypes that Americans hold of immigrants and their lives.

In the US Catholic Bishops pastoral letter concerning migration, Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, we are challenged, once again, to uphold the dignity and rights of all people, to become properly informed about the reality facing the immigrant, and to support the right to migrate. A further analysis of this rather complex issue, though, challenges toward a different perspective: that perhaps people should also have the right NOT to migrate. This begs for an honest assessment and improvement of the structures, systems, and policies both internationally and within our own borders of the U.S. that leave people with no other alternative but to flee their homes. Given the gospel challenge to care for the stranger in our midst, Catholics must be willing to ask the difficult questions that lead to solidarity with peoples throughout the world and challenge the island mentality that blinds us to existing injustices as well as our commonality and connectedness.

The pontifical document, Refugees: A Challenge to Solidarity, asserts "the way of solidarity demands on the part of everyone the overcoming of selfishness and of fear of the other. " As we commemorate the 92nd World Day of Migrants and Refugees on January 15, may our prayer become that of letting go of the fears and barriers that prevent God's justice from reigning in our world.

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Announcements

Participate in Operation Rice Bowl online this Lent Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Catholic Relief Services offers Operation Rice Bowl as an opportunity throughout the 40 days of Lent for individuals, families and faith communities in the U.S. to pray, fast, learn, and give in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who struggle with hunger and poverty.

Encourage your youth to sign up to join the Operation Rice Bowl Online Community. Members will receive an email each week during Lent containing a prayer reflection, an educational element about Catholic Relief Services' work overseas, a challenge statement for the week, and an opportunity to give sacrificial donations to their "virtual Rice Bowl. " You and the young people you serve can sign up for this opportunity by clicking here. You can also order free educational materials in English or Spanish language versions by clicking here.

Operation Rice Bowl has redesigned its website to offer some new interactive resources and activities that can be used with young people during Lent. These resources will be available on February 1, and include an interactive global map that will enable you to find out how and where your donations are being used; virtual web tours that will allow you to meet the people whose lives are affected by your participation in Operation Rice Bowl; simple meatless recipes for you to prepare and share for Fridays during Lent; and more! Click here to visit the website and be sure to bookmark it so you can check back often throughout Lent.

Catholic Social Ministry Gathering 2006 This year's annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, "Bringing Good News to a Broken World," gathers social ministry leadership throughout the nation for a conference that features challenging speakers, solid workshops, liturgical celebrations, strategy sessions and visits to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. For more information on this event, click here or to register, click here or call 800/937-8728.

New Food Fast Materials The 2006 Food Fast Coordinator's Manuals and Videos are now available. Food Fast provides an experience of faith and education that inspires youth to live in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world who live in hunger and poverty. It is the only hunger experience program that is based on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. To order free materials and to learn more about how you can sponsor this 24-hour retreat program in your parish or school, click here.

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Life in the Field

Catholic Relief Services Drama Project: The Line in the Sand: Stories from the US/Mexico Border In partnership with the Villanova University Masters of Theatre program, a team of writers and actors were sent to the Arizona/Mexico border in August 2005. Working with the CRS-Mexico office, the group conducted interviews with migrants, ranchers, Mexican and U.S. government officials, diocesan staff, and others.

Using the power of theatre, The Line in the Sand dramatically shares the stories of those they met. Audiences are exposed to a variety of points of view on this complex and critical issue through an hour-long collection of monologues and photos.

The Line in the Sand is sponsored by Catholic Relief Services. Through the project, CRS hopes to advance the cause of the USCCB supported campaign, "Justice for Immigrants," highlighted below. If you would like to do your own staged reading, you can obtain copies of the script or inquire about the program by contacting Kevin Kostic at kkostic@crs.org.

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Active Solidarity

Justice for Immigrants Campaign Last year, the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops along with several other Catholic organizations launched the Justice for Immigrants Campaign. Rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, the campaign aims to educate the public, specifically American Catholics, about misconceptions and the practical and ethical concerns surrounding immigration. It calls on all people to recognize the contributions of immigrants, advocate for just and humane immigration laws and policies that protect human dignity, and organize networks that assist immigrants at numerous levels. With the aid of numerous other suggestions and ideas, we are invited to continue our work toward an attitude and life of solidarity with all people, particularly the poor and most vulnerable in our world.

The campaign's comprehensive website offers a variety of articles, reflections, and resources in education, advocacy, policy-making, organizing, media and more. You can access the Justice for Immigrant website by clicking here. To obtain a parish kit or high school resources for religious education or social studies, click here.

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Called to Action

HR 4437: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of the immigration laws, to enhance border security, and for other purposes. On December 16, 2005, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. Among the concerns surrounding this legislation, HR 4437 supports extreme punitive measures that risk increased harm of and reduces due process for immigrants and their families in this nation. While it remains to be seen what will become of HR 4437 in the U.S. Senate, you can be kept informed about how to advocate for just immigration laws and policies by registering in the CRS legislative advocacy network and receiving our Action Alerts. For more information, click here.

If you would like more information on why the U.S. Catholic Bishops and the Justice for Immigrants Coalition oppose HR 4437, visit the Justice for Immigrants Campaign website by clicking here. If you would be willing to make phone calls on this piece of legislation, particularly in the effort to contact your senators, contact Chris West at cwest@crs.org for more information.

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Global Thoughts

"Migrations: A Sign of the Times Urging a Christo-centric view of migrants and refugees and of the way the Roman Catholic Church seeks to respond to them, Pope Benedict XVI has released an official message for the 92nd World Day of Migrants and Refugees, January 15, 2006, titled "Migrations: A Sign of the Times. " To read this statement in its entirety, click here.

"Dear Brothers and Sisters,

"Forty years ago the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council was closed, whose rich teaching covers many areas of ecclesial life. In particular the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes made a careful analysis of the complexities of the world today, seeking the ways best suited to bring the Gospel message to the men and women of today.

"To this end the Council Fathers in response to the appeal of Bl. John XXIII undertook to examine the signs of the times and to interpret them in the light of the Gospel so as to offer the new generations the possibility of responding adequately to the eternal questions about this life and the life 'to come and about just social relations' (cf. Gaudium et Spes, n. 4).

"One of the recognizable signs of the times today is undoubtedly migration, a phenomenon which during the century just ended can be said to have taken on structural characteristics, becoming an important factor of the labour market worldwide, a consequence among other things of the enormous drive of globalization. . . "

(Benedictus PP. XVI. Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for the 92nd World Day of Migrants and Refugees (2006): Migrations: A Sign of the Times. 18 October 2005. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. )

To read the entire text of the Holy Father's message, click here.

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CRS Regional News

Catholic Relief Services upholds a vision that "Solidarity will transform the world," placing priority on relationships between the United States Catholic community and people overseas. In the effort to help US Catholics live in solidarity with others and to more fully express their faith with a global perspective, CRS has established four of five regional offices across the United States. The regional offices will bring a broader range of opportunities for engagement to dioceses, institutions and faith-based groups on a regional basis. The links below provide contact information for each regional office and highlight youth-related events and information within each region.

Click here for CRS Regional Office Contacts in the Midwest, Northeast, Southwest and West.

CRS Northeast

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