NJCC shares letter from U.S. bishops pledging ‘firm solidarity’ with immigrants

MARKING THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE ON DEC. 12, the New Jersey Catholic Conference shared a “letter of pastoral interest” in support of the dignity of immigrants that had been written by several officers of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and a leading Catholic organization on immigration.   

Posted to NJCC’s media and disseminated across the ecclesiastical Province of New Jersey, the letter states, “Compelled by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and recognizing the inherent dignity of each person as a child of God, we stand in firm solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters who live and labor in these United States."  It calls for an immigration and asylum system that protects the vulnerable, keeps families together, offers a pathway to citizenship and upholds a safe and secure border, where enforcement policies focus on such dangers as gang activity, and the trafficking of drugs and human persons.

Originally released Nov. 14, the letter was written by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Migration; and Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, chairman of the board for Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (Known as CLINIC, the network is a Maryland-based nonprofit that provides advocacy, training and support for more than 400 Catholic and community-based immigration law providers in 49 U.S. states.)

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