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Arizona (Fides Service) - “You Welcomed Me”: was the title of a Pastoral Letter on Migration released on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and developed and approved by the Arizona Catholic Conference and the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys in which the Catholic Bishops Arizona expressed concern and grief for the hostility shown to Mexican and Latin American immigrants. “We the Catholic Bishops of Arizona, are deeply saddened by the death and suffering we see on our border. We are aware that our communities are ever more divided as a result of immigration in our State. We have seen increasing expressions of hostility and opposition to undocumented immigrants”. While recognising the tension this crisis produces in border area the Bishops say it is possible to find common ground among those involved in this situation to enable Arizona to lead the country to a comprehensive and permanent solution to America’s broken immigration system. Legal and illegal immigrants constitute a growing percentage of Arizona’s Catholics the Bishops say, stressing the need to find “new ways of welcoming them and integrating them in parish life which cannot fail to render the Church in Arizona stronger and more united”.
The recall that “Arizona has become the focal point of the immigration debate in recent years. The concentration of border crossing activity on the Arizona-Mexico border, the record number of migrant deaths, and growing presence of civilian patrol groups have focused attention on the Arizona border like never before.” And that Arizona and Mexico have a long history of economic and cultural interdependence and integration. As a result of stricter border control in Texas and California migration of illegal immigrants was concentrated in the deserts of south Arizona “In fiscal year 2005, at least 261 border crossing deaths were documented in Arizona, while 460 migrant deaths were reported all along the U.S.-Mexico border”.
The Bishops recall that the United States has about 10 million illegal immigrants and they make an important contribution to society and to the Church: “Immigrants from Mexico and Latin
America also bring deeply rooted religious traditions and practices to our communities and parishes - the Bishops say -. They have proven themselves to be extremely hard working and very committed to the family values we hold so dear. Many of our parishes in the state have blossomed because of the contributions of new immigrant parishioners and their families. Many Catholics’ lives have been deeply touched by coming into contact with the hardworking men and women who would risk so much to make a better life for their families.”.
Although the Bishops do not approve of illegal immigration they think it is important to help these people come into the open and be inserted in society. At the end of the Pastoral Letter the Bishops call on Catholics to unite efforts to help migrants: to pray with and for those affected by crisis; render parishes more welcoming; seek to be informed on the problem; call for reforms in immigration policies; support efforts to eliminate poverty in Mexico and Latin America; participate in partnership with sister dioceses in Mexico; unite with people of other faiths and persons of goodwill to find suitable solutions. (RZ) (Agenzia Fides 16/12/2005, righe 39, parole 530)
