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Walking Together with Migrants and Refugees

September 23, 2024

From the Office for Social Ministry

“Open our eyes and our hearts so that every encounter with those in need becomes an encounter with Jesus, your Son and our Lord.” Pope Francis, World Day of Migrants and Refugees, September 29, 2024

One focus in the 2024 US elections is immigration’s impact on not only on border states but nationwide. Daily in the media there are multiple images of migrants and their families on the Mexico-US border, as well as in many of the major cities and rural areas. Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Migration, recently remarked that the Pope’s message for the 2024 World Day for Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) provides a special scriptural image of and perspective on migrants today. “Pope Francis calls for solidarity with migrants, reminding us that their journeys mirror the biblical Exodus, with God as their guide and companion. He emphasizes that every encounter with migrants is an encounter with Christ, urging us to respond with compassion, recognizing their struggles as a reflection of our shared journey toward the Kingdom of Heaven.”

For this year’s WDMR, Bishop Seitz released a five-minute video which simply “talks story” about his urban and rural diocese experience of migrants and refugees on the Mexico-US Border. “What a privilege it has been for us here in El Paso to accompany our migrant brothers and sisters on their journey! El Paso has always been a place of passage for those on this earthly pilgrimage. Bishop Seitz admits that “increases in migration have certainly challenged us, given our own limited resources, but I have been so proud to see how willing our community has been to step forward with love and generosity.” Many parishes and the diocesan centers opened their facilities to shelter and accommodate migrants on their pilgrim passage and in the process they all discovered something profound. What a blessing it has been to be able to serve dear brothers and sisters whom we have encountered on the way. While we were attempting to be Christ to them, to our surprise, they revealed Christ to us.”  From this experience Bishop Seitz concluded, “We have much to teach our broken world. Pope Francis looks to us here to be a sign, not only of the way people on the move ought to be treated, but how to allow them to remind us that we are migrants too.”

Pope Francis asked Bishop Seitz to come to Rome in September 2024 to share with the 154 newly appointed bishops this year from all over the world where millions of migrants on the move are a pastoral priority for the Catholic Church. Bishop Seitz pointed out that the 2024 WDMR theme “God Walks with His People” is vital to understanding the shared responsibility to be a synodal church. As Bishop Seitz put it, “Walking together is actually the meaning of the word, ‘synodality’, which our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has been encouraging us to reflect upon and put into practice for our life in the Church.  If we are to be faithful to the Church Jesus founded, then we need to take synodality to heart, listening to one another and helping each other along the way, especially those who are most in need.”

This theme is repeated in a two-minute WDMR 2024 video from the Vatican where Pope Francis calls all to action.  “On this special day, I invite you to walk together with the most vulnerable, with Jesus, to remind us that we are all children of the same Father and that together with Him we want to build a more fraternal world.” The speaks about what does this call to walk and build a fraternal world together look like in practice? We can begin by praying and reflecting on how we are all migrants, one family on a journey. We are called to open our eyes and heart, to accompany one another, especially the most vulnerable. Listen and talk story with those in need, to accompany each other with “love and generosity.” Whether it’s donating resources, volunteering, or simply offering kindness and hospitality to newcomers, each act makes a difference.  An important part of “accompanying” involves “walking the talk.” We are called to ensure that our actions reflect our faith commitment to compassion and peace, advocating for just and humane policies that welcome, protect, promote and integrate all as one family.

In Hawaii there are multiple ways parishioners can accompany and walk with migrants in our communities. Parish food pantries and feeding programs often involve migrant participants. Many schools in the diocese have a significant number of students from migrant families. Some parishes have hosted citizenship workshops and legal aid services for migrants and refugees. Other parishes have supported migrant workers in their efforts for better wages and working conditions. For more resources on WDMR 2024 and how you can support migrants and refugees worldwide, please visit the Vatican special website www.migrants-refugees.va. Hopefully WDMR  reminds us that we are all on a journey—that God walks with us, as He walks with every migrant--that we are called to open our eyes, hearts and hands --that through prayer and action we can accompany each other as one ‘ohana and that this walking together becomes an encounter with and witness to Jesus! Mahalo.