The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a rare statement advocating for “meaningful immigration reform” Wednesday night — drafted, in part, by Boston’s archbishop.
The special pastoral message staunchly opposed the “indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and the “vilification of immigrants.”
“The message is an attempt to remind us as Catholics of the foundational truths of our faith — about human dignity, and about Catholic social teaching — with regard to how we welcome the stranger,” Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston told GBH News by phone. The Archdiocese of Boston represents 1.8 million Catholics, according to its office.
Henning was one of four bishops who drafted the initial text at their fall plenary assembly in Baltimore. It is a rare statement for the bishops: The last such message was issued in 2013 when bishops opposed requirements for contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In Wednesday’s message, the U.S. bishops jointly call for reform to a broken immigration system, the creation of safe pathways for legal immigration and for their parishioners to help immigrants in their communities.
President Donald Trump’s name does not appear in the statement, nor does any other specific official or policy, but the message outlines a strong opposition to Trump’s hardline approach toward immigration policy.
The message described the group of bishops as being “disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.” The statement also decries immigrants “arbitrarily” losing their legal status, threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the conditions of detention centers.
Henning underscored just how unusual the process was. This pastoral message on immigration was not on the conference agenda, and took about a week to put together rather than the months to over a year that it usually takes, he said.
The bishops approved the message with 216 votes in favor, five votes against and three abstentions.
“We’re pastors, and this is what we’re hearing from the pastors of our parishes, from the people who work with immigrants and from our people themselves — many of whom are immigrants,” Henning told GBH News. “All year long, there’s been a great deal of debate and fear and concern. So, all of us are experiencing that.”
“The immigrant church is very much alive in the archdiocese of Boston — as it has been, really, since the beginnings of the city,” he added. “This is an important part of who we are. And so part of our concern is to accompany and to assist people who are new to the United States. ... We see their human dignity, and we want to protect that human dignity — as well their basic human needs.”
The bishops also affirmed nations’ rights to defend their borders and said that an unruly immigration system puts immigrants at risk of exploitation, including human trafficking.
“Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks,” the bishops wrote.
Henning made that point in his call with GBH News.
“There certainly is a moral argument for a safe and legal process,” he said.
But bishops also saw an urgency to the situation.
Locally, the Trump administration has undertaken at least three significant immigration enforcement operations in Massachusetts, detaining thousands of immigrants over the last 10 months.
“Any of our pastors are basically trying to assist families when their family is divided, when a breadwinner is now detained without much warning,” Henning said. “We’re mostly in sort of reactionary mode in that regard — at the parish level — just trying to reassure, to accompany, in some cases to find financial assistance for people in difficult circumstances.”
Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha, who leads the Diocese of Fall River, voted in favor of the message.
“Good people, hardworking people, families are being impacted by these actions of the government,” he told GBH News by phone. “They want to eliminate bad people from our country, and we all agree with that. But not everybody that immigrated to this country is a criminal or a bad person.”
Moreira da Cunha cited instances where immigration enforcement has detained someone they’re not looking for. He added that people in his diocese are afraid to go to church or take their kids to school.
He said the special message was issued for two reasons: “One is that we show support for immigrants and they know they are not alone,” he said. “And the other is to show the administration that we are open to dialogue with them.”
The pastoral message urged Catholics to help immigrants with their basic needs.
“We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement,” the bishops wrote. “We pray that the Lord may guide the leaders of our nation, and we are grateful for past and present opportunities to dialogue with public and elected officials.”
Henning told GBH News that parishioners are the audience for their special pastoral message.
“Knowing that our politics can be so poisonous, it was an attempt to speak at a more human level,” Henning said. “And so my hope is that that it would be received that way, that people would take it to heart rather than to argument.”
