In a statement, the Catholic bishops of Iowa, the US, said: “Many immigrants have been forced to leave their countries in order to provide even for the most basic needs of themselves and their families. The desperation of their circumstances does not correspond to the inordinate length of time required to wait in line for the present system to process a visa request.
“We believe that those already here, for the sake of family unity and being humane, should receive special consideration that would include eventual citizenship. We support measures that help secure our border but respect human rights and human life.
“While Catholics may disagree within the limits of justice on the specific approach to reforming the immigration system, we must agree as a people of faith to live out the scriptural commandment to ‘welcome the stranger’ and defend the God-given dignity of every person.
“We urge all to remember their history as immigrants as we work towards a fair and compassionate resolution of this problem.”
‘This is not Christian vs Muslim violence’
The attack on and destruction of 58 Christian churches in Egypt, 14 of them Catholic, may lead one to believe the violence is a war of Muslims against Christians. Egypt’s Catholic Church disagrees.
Fr Rafic Greiche, a spokesperson for the Catholic bishops, told the Fides news agency the attacks against the churches “took place all over the country, but are concentrated especially in the areas of Al Minya and Assiut, because it is there that we find the headquarters of the jihadists, responsible for this violence”.
“It should be emphasised that Muslims who live in the vicinity of the affected churches have helped men and women religious to put out the fires of the religious buildings.
“This is not a civil war between Christians and Muslims. It is not a civil war but a war against terrorism. And the majority of the population is against terrorism and religious extremism,” said Fr Greiche.
‘Faith means making tough choices’ – Pope
Faith “is not decorating your life with a bit of religion as if life were a cake you decorate with cream,” said Pope Francis before reciting the Angelus.
He said that “following Jesus means renouncing evil, selfishness and choosing goodness, truth and justice even when that requires sacrifice and renouncing our own interests”. Living a truly Christian life can lead to division, even within families, the Pope said.
“But pay attention: it’s not Jesus who divides. He sets out the criteria: live for oneself or for God and others; ask to be served or serve; obey one’s ego or obey God – it is in this sense that Jesus is a ‘sign of contradiction’,” he said.
US nuns pleased with Vatican dialogue
At the end of the assembly of the members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the US, the nuns said they were pleased with dialogue they had with Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle, the Church official appointed to oversee their organisation as part of a Vatican assessment, and hoped for “continued conversations of this depth”.
In a recent statement, the sisters said the discussion with the archbishop gave them “hope that continued conversations of this depth will lead to a resolution of this situation that maintains the integrity of LCWR and is healthy for the whole Church”.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)