WASHINGTON (ChurchMilitant.com) – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is calling for a celebration of mass migration and open borders amid an unprecedented deluge of illegal migrants passing into and throughout the country.
The USCCB announced the celebration of National Migration Week, scheduled this year from Sept. 18 to 24. The annual event, intended to bring attention to the plight of migrants in the United States and around the world, culminates with World Day of Migrants and Refugees, established by the Holy See over 100 years ago.
The theme for this year’s observance, chosen by Pope Francis, is “Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay.” In a message for the occasion, the pontiff said:
The decision to migrate should always be free, yet in many cases, even in our day, it is not. Conflicts, natural disasters, or more simply, the impossibility of living a dignified and prosperous life in one’s native land is forcing millions of persons to leave. … Migrants flee because of poverty, fear or desperation. Eliminating these causes and thus putting an end to forced migration calls for shared commitment on the part of all, in accordance with the responsibilities of each.
According to the USCCB:
The faithful and others of good will are encouraged to reflect on the challenges facing migrants, refugees and others impacted by the complex phenomenon of forced displacement, the ways these newcomers enrich welcoming communities, and how we are each called to respond to them as members of the same human family.
Not everyone agrees with the USCCB’s promotion of illegal migration and open borders. A U.S. Catholic priest, remaining anonymous for fear of retaliation, told Church Militant,
Encouraging people to reflect on the plight of migrants is good. But there must also be a corresponding reflection on the plight of the people who live in countries receiving the migrants. Look at what’s happening in Italy, where hordes of male migrants of military age are swarming the island of Lampedusa, outnumbering the inhabitants. Closer to home, look at what’s happening at the southern border and in New York and Chicago. People living there are having their lives turned upside down because of mass migration.
Last week, a Texas-based U.S. District Court ruled against the aspirations of the bishops. In a Sept. 13 ruling, Judge Andrew Hanen found that despite President Joe Biden’s administration taking measures to strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the deficiencies that led him to find it unlawful in 2021 remain unchanged.
Anna Gallagher
Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., a nonprofit established by the USCCB in 1988, called the ruling “unjust and deeply upsetting.”
“DACA recipients are treasured members of our communities, places of worship, workplaces and more,” Gallagher said in a Sept. 14 statement.
“In solidarity with DACA recipients and their loved ones, we will continue to advocate and pray for permanent legal protections and for a timely, moral resolution to this legal struggle.”
The spokeswoman for the USCCB also chimed in, expressing the bishops’ resolve: “We are disappointed in the recent decision by the U.S. District Court regarding DACA, Chieko Noguchi said. “Although the legal status quo remains unchanged for current DACA recipients while the case works its way through the courts, the U.S. bishops have repeatedly called for Congress to enact legal protections for Dreamers.”
In July, a coalition of a dozen conservative religious organizations, spearheaded by Church Militant, held a press conference in Washington, D.C., which exposed the USCCB’s Marxist agenda. The bishops’ lucrative involvement in Biden’s border crisis was one of the issues discussed at the conference.
Sheena Rodriguez, president of the Alliance for a Safe Texas, an organization devoted to informing the public of the catastrophic consequences of illegal immigration and open border policies, spoke at the presser in D.C.
She pointed out that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and various dioceses get millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to help illegal migrants. She said the USCCB “lobbied for a total of nearly $30 billion in appropriations of American taxpayer dollars just for the fiscal year of 2024” in order to bring in and process more illegal migrants.
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The coalition press release includes three ways to defund the USCCB and complicit organizations:
Stop congressional appropriations committees from granting them contracts
Force the churches to publish their tax filings (990s) by amending the IRS code
Cancel the tax-exempt status outright for blatant partisan politicking
The priest who spoke to Church Militant noted that the USCCB announcement assumes to speak for “the Catholic Church in the United States,” but “the USCCB cannot speak for ‘the Catholic Church,'” he said.
“As Roman Catholics in the United States, we are only obligated by the Church canons to listen to and follow what these bishops say in matters of faith and morals. No Catholic is obliged to follow the musings and whims of these men in political matters, no Catholic is obliged to follow,” the priest added.