Immigration reform

June 2, 2007

Bishops urge reflection on immigration reform

Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang of San Francisco blesses boxes containing more than 20,000 postcards asking Congress for just immigration reform. The cards, signed by Catholics throughout California, were delivered May 29 to the San Francisco office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. With the bishop are, from left, Redemptorist Father Don MacKinnon, director of the Kmhmu Pastoral Center of the Oakland Diocese, and immigration rights advocates Betty Canton-Self, Tess Rouverol Callejo and Diana Otero. A simultaneous event occurred in Los Angeles. Both were organized in collaboration with the California Catholic Conference and the social justice offices of California’s dioceses. They are calling for immigration reform that includes family reunification and a pathway to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Jose Luis Aguirre/Catholic Voice photo

By Herald staff

The state’s Catholic bishops have designated June 10, Corpus Christi Sunday (Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ) for parishioners across the state to become aware of the necessity for comprehensive national immigration reform.

The bishops are encouraging all pastors in California to reflect that Sunday on the struggle of immigrants, to pray for just reform, and to urge parishioners to take some action in favor of reform.

Materials to help local dioceses and parishes are posted on the Web site of the California Catholic Conference, the public policy office of the state’s bishops, at www.cacatholic.org/corpuschristi.html.

In the Diocese of Sacramento, a Corpus Christi procession will begin at noon at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church at 711 T St. in Sacramento. Participants will walk to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament at 11th and K Streets, where Bishop William K. Weigand will preside at a 1 p.m. Mass.

Father Oscar Figueroa and Legionaries of Christ Fathers Salvador Gomez and Lino Otero will be among those leading the procession.

The members of the U.S. Senate who are considering immigration reform “need our prayers,” said Sister Jane Burke, a School Sister of Notre Dame, in recent statement. She heads the U.S. bishops’ Justice for Immigrants campaign.

“Our voices are essential to the passage of this crucial legislation,” she said. “There are many ways to raise our voices but two in particular are called for at this moment — advocacy and prayer.”

Information about the campaign, including a special prayer, can be found at the Web site: www.usccb.org/mrs/jfi/millionprayers.shtml.

The campaign spells out five principles for immigration reform:

• To make family a priority in immigration law.

• To insist that worker programs contain protection for U.S. citizen and migrant workers.

• To allow for earned legalization for undocumented immigrants.

• To restore due process protections for immigrants.

• To respond to the economic, political and social root causes of immigration.