Immigration Inspiration from Our Border Bishop
Submitted by Barb Messerknecht
This material is taken from the National Catholic Reporter in a story written by Rhina Guidos. She shares some statements from Bishop Seitz of the El Paso Diocese regarding migrants at the border.
“The important thing is to lend a hand to those in need. The diocese is asking parishes to volunteer to help strangers in their midst. Yet some in El Paso and neighboring Juarez, on the Mexican side, have complained about the Venezuelan population passing through, leaving behind discarded clothing and begging on the streets.”
“As Jesus said, ‘Do not be afraid.’ We’re living right here in what many people have called the ground zero of the immigration movement, and we work with those who are coming every day. Many who are processed by Border Patrol, and many who are not, and in our shelters, we have not had a single incident that I can recall. What we encounter instead are people who are putting their life on the line because their life was threatened where they were.”
“It’s natural to fear the unknown, but we encourage people to look at the Gospel for guidance, at Jesus’ words and actions.”
“We’ve been taught by the one who is our leader that we should care for the ones who are the most vulnerable. It doesn’t say ‘if they haven’t done this’, ‘if they’re not in this situation’ or whatever. I can’t find that in the fine print in the Gospel. All he says is ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’”