Justice Bulletin Board

“The Lord said…“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” ”(Genesis 12:1)

The experience of being “Pilgrim People” has been a profound and frequent symbol of God’s action in the lives of God’s people, throughout all of Scripture. We may even have experienced “being sent” as a time of grace in our own lives.  “Pilgrim people” is also a political reality as we experience the issues of the many migrant people of today.

North Carolina is an agricultural state. It is home to many thousands of migrant workers.  Many of these brothers and sisters have “gone forth”, driven from their homes and families by economic crisis and political unrest. As consumers, we benefit from the work of these men and women, although we seldom know their names, their stories, or the desperate conditions in which they are forced to live and work.  Migrant workers, especially if they are undocumented, often face hostility, misunderstanding and outright abuse.  

"No one person in the [agricultural] process—grower, worker, packer, shipper, retailer or consumer—is greater than the other in the eyes of God,"  (Pope John Paul in Monterey California, September 17, 1987)

Our US Catholic Bishops have told us what must be included in comprehensive immigration reform:

·         A fair and workable opportunity for undocumented migrants in the country to earn legal status and eventually have the right to become citizens;

·         A worker program that will allow future migrant workers

to cross our borders safely and legally, with worker protections once they are employed, and with the option for future citizenship;

·         Family reunification policies that reduce the backlogs and

waiting times for family based immigration;

·         The restoration of due process protections for immigrants,

that have threatened basic human rights;

·         International policies that will address the injustices and

repression that are the root causes of migration from poor

and developing countries.

What I can do:

·         Keep in mind what our Catholic Bishops have said about comprehensive immigration reform as you consider candidates during this election year.

·         When you purchase fresh fruits and vegetables keep in your mind and heart and prayer the workers whose labor provides us with this bounty. 

·         Study the words of our US Catholic Bishops in their statement: Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope at:  http://www.usccb.org/mrs/stranger.shtml

·         Prayerfully consider how God has invited you in your own life to be a “ Pilgrim Person.”