by Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) – Catholic parishes are called to build communion with immigrants and newcomers so people unite in faith rather than solely because of their cultural backgrounds, said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. Brooklyn’s bishop, who has worked for 38 years to improve immigrant relations, told a Feb. 24 conference on the integration of […]
immigration
Pope Addresses Immigrants at Parish Visit
by Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) – Meeting 80 immigrants assisted by members of a Rome parish, Pope Francis said leaving one’s homeland is always painful, but faith can give one the strength to keep going. “The faith that your parents instilled in you will help you move forward,” the pope told the immigrants at the […]
International Stars Shine in Brooklyn (with slideshow)
The second half of the Shining Stars Awards were presented to members of migrant apostolates on Oct. 11 at Gargiulo’s Restaurant, Coney Island. Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto, Msgr. Ronald Marino, vicar for migrant and ethnic apostolates, and Father Patrick J. Keating, CEO of Catholic Migration Services, presided. Honored were Betty Francis, Indian Latin Rite; Vaclav […]
Faith of Immigrants Shines in Our Midst
The annual Shining Star Award Dinner is so popular that the Diocesan Migration Services has to run two of them. (See photos on Page 8.) Sixteen people were honored last week, and 13 more were scheduled to be honored this week as Catholics who have come to the U.S. from another country and made outstanding […]
Migration Office Offers Help for Undocumented
For undocumented Latinos, the threat of deportation is an ever-present destabilizing factor that endangers their capacity to have a stable family and work life. And yet, less than half of all Latinos in the U.S. that are currently able to naturalize have done so. Barriers to getting a green card, which puts people on the […]
Immigration Reform: Bishop DiMarzio Prays with Latin American Community in Corona
by Antonina Zielinska As the U.S. Congress debates immigration reform, Catholic Bishops throughout the U.S. prayed with immigrant communities on Sunday, Sept. 8, in a unified effort to promote change in the country’s legal system. In an answer to the call of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio celebrated a standing-room-only Spanish […]
Pope: Immigration Reform Begins with Repentance
by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Before saying a word publicly, Pope Francis made the sign of the cross and tossed a wreath of white and yellow flowers into the Mediterranean Sea in memory of the estimated 20,000 African immigrants who have died in the past 25 years trying to reach a new life […]
Immigration System Needs Repairs
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, The issue of immigration reform has surfaced now in the 113th Congress as a priority of both President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. It is important that we understand this issue from a Catholic perspective. The interest of the Church in the issue of immigration is […]
Boston Murders Have No Bearing on Immigration
by Patricia Zapor Without getting into specifics, a panel of bishops said April 22 that a comprehensive immigration bill introduced the week before is on the right track, though they alluded to some aspects they would like changed. In a teleconference about the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, or S. […]
Path to Immigration Reform
While it is far too early to know if a substantive outcome can be expected, the Senate initiative toward immigration reform is a welcome start. The draft introduced last Monday by a bipartisan team of eight Senators outlines four foundational pillars upon which the reforms will rest. Specifically, the plan addresses four points to overhaul […]