Letter to the editor: Christians and migrants

In response to the letter “Questions for Christians” (May 21, TribLIVE): As a Roman Catholic Christian, I know that church clergy and members repeatedly advocate on behalf of migrants, from Pope Francis on down. Some examples:

1. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on May 12 issued a “Statement from Bishops of U.S. Communities Along the U.S.-Mexico Border.”

2. On May 8, the bishop of El Paso, Texas, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Migration, issued a letter to the House of Representatives addressing the immigration bill.

3. The International Catholic Migration Commission’s president, Monsignor Robert Vitillo, stated in a letter to me that ICMC provided food, shelter, lifesaving supplies, legal assistance, safe play spaces, counseling, psychological trauma care and other protection services “in Ukraine, Jordan, Greece, Malaysia, Burkina Faso, India, and other countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America.”

4. The Marist Brothers, a religious order, reports that Brother Miguel volunteers at Catholic Charities, working with immigrants to obtain work licenses, and intends to study immigration law to assist them in attaining legal status. Catholic Charities, with 3,500 U.S. locations, welcomes migrants with food, clothes, hygiene products, medical attention and respite centers.

I have heard homilies mention immigration. I could go on and on. The church and its clergy have not turned their backs on refugees and migrants.

The writer seems passionate on this issue, but I believe he has unjustly failed to do basic research.

Margaret Lacek

Richland