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Statement of Bishop Daniel E. Thomas on the Recent
Immigration Action at Flower and Garden Centers in our
Diocese
The Catholic Church in the United States is an immigrant
Church with a long history of embracing diverse newcomers
and providing assistance and pastoral care to immigrants,
migrants, refugees, and people on the move. Our Church has
responded to Christ's call for us to "welcome the stranger
among us," for in this encounter with the immigrant, the
migrant, and the refugee in our midst, we encounter Christ.
This message has been consistently reinforced by the United
States Catholic Bishops.
The Catholic Church supports the human rights of all people
and offers them pastoral care, education, and social
services, no matter what the circumstances of entry into
this country, and it works for the respect of the human
dignity of all, especially those who find themselves in
desperate circumstances. (Welcoming
the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, A Statement of
the U.S. Catholic Bishops).
Respecting the role of government and law enforcement, we
recognize our current immigration policies are broken and
are actively contributing to the suffering and separation of
vulnerable families, as evidenced in the most recent
large-scale immigration action at Flower and Garden Centers
in Sandusky, Ohio. No matter our political persuasion, when
families are broken apart, as in this raid, we should all
recognize that the common good is not served.
Already, through our local parishes in Sandusky, Norwalk and
through Catholic Charities outreach, we are offering
pastoral care and working directly with the families
affected by this extreme action. The only way forward is,
together, to strongly advocate for just, comprehensive and
compassionate immigration policy reform. Only this can
ensure the dignity due the family and the human person.
Please pray with me that civil dialogue and
common sense solutions will prevail when it comes to
addressing our immigration policies, even as we recall the
words of sacred scripture: "When the foreigner resides with
you in your land, you shall not oppress the foreigner. The
foreigner who resides with you shall be to you as the
citizen among you; you shall love the foreigner as yourself,
for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord
your God" (Lev.
19:33-34 and 24:22).
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