Local Catholics gathered at St. Mary’s Park on Madison Avenue in Covington late Thursday morning to speak out against immigration policies, both locally and nationally.
The event coincided with the Feast of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, the first American to be canonized by the Vatican, and followed a recent special message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, decrying immigration policy and calling for reform.
The event took place within view of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, which was designed “by an immigrant architect under the leadership of an immigrant bishop,” said Sister Mary Kay Kramer of the Sisters of the Inter-Community Justice and Peace Committee. “Lest people think that immigrants are not contributing much to our country, just look at that building.”
The committee is comprised of members of the Sisters of Notre Dame, the Benedictine Sisters, and the Sisters of Divine Providence. It’s held events about immigration before, instructing local congregants about Catholic teachings on immigration.
The event was one of 67 that occurred throughout the country, including events across the river. Kramer said the gatherings were meant to augment a recent bi-national mass in San Luis, Mexico, as well as the bishops’ special message.
The bishops issued their message during their Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore. This was the first time the bishops had voted to issue a message since 2013, when the assembly issued one about a federal contraceptive mandate. In order to issue a message, the bishops must cast a two-thirds vote in favor. The final vote count was 216 votes in favor, 5 votes against, and 3 abstentions.
“We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” a portion of the message reads. “We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care. We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status. We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools. We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones.”
Kramer and other members of the committee discussed grim immigration enforcement stories they’d witnessed, taught attendees about St. Cabrini, and led them in prayer, reflection, and song.
Many of the attendees held signs and stood on the sidewalk by the nearby intersection. A crew working on the basilica ground away with power tools and a crane in the background. Several attendees admonished the sisters – jokingly – to use their “teacher voices” when speaking.
“The Department of Homeland Security has justified their most cruel and illegal actions using Christian language and verses from the Bible,” Kramer said. “As followers of Jesus, we cannot stand by in silence while these atrocities are being committed in his name. … The church absolutely, completely supports comprehensive immigration reform.”
Sister Mary Stallmeyer discussed the life story of St. Caprini, who was born in Italy then migrated to the United States, where she faced staunch anti-Italian prejudice, in 1887 at the age of 27.
She established an orphanage and engaged in other charitable work with Italian immigrants, especially. She became an American citizen in 1909, was canonized in 1946, and was dubbed the patron saint of immigrants in 1950.
As part of the event, the attendees recited the Cabrini pledge, which begins with an affirmation of “the inherent dignity of every person.”
“Mother Cabrini’s challenges and the challenges of those who serve are not unique among the generations of Catholics and immigrants in general who have come to this land,” said Stallmeyer. “This is not just a matter of history. It is a present reality in the life of our church and our nation.”
One attendee, Dennis Howard, pointed to the sermon on the mount from the Book of Matthew as a guiding principal.
“We can do more,” Howard said. “They are just as welcome here as anyone. They should be just as welcome, all of them. Across this nation, we display horrifying things. And how do you treat your brother like that, and your sister? We’re brothers and sisters.”
--30--
Written by Nathan Granger. Cross-posted from Link NKY.
Comments
