{"id":5014,"date":"2017-04-27T11:47:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T16:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/?p=5014"},"modified":"2017-04-27T12:03:29","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T17:03:29","slug":"arch_033117","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/","title":{"rendered":"Living as a people of God in unsettled times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A pastoral reflection from the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops<\/em><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Administrative Committee \u2014 of which Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller, MSpS, is a member \u2014 has issued the following pastoral reflection in solidarity with those who have been forced to flee their homes due to violence, conflict or fear in their native lands.\u00a0In the statement, the bishops encourage each of us to do what we can to accompany migrants and refugees who seek a better life in the United States.<\/p>\n

The full text of the Bishops\u2019 Administrative Committee statement:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The word of God is truly alive today.\u00a0\u201cWhen an alien resides with you in your land, do not mistreat such a one.\u00a0You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt\u201d (Lev. 19:33-34).<\/p>\n

To live as a people of God is to live in the hope of the resurrection. To live in Christ is to draw upon the limitless love of Jesus to fortify us against the temptation of fear.\u00a0Pray that our engagement in the debate over immigration and refugee issues may bring peace and comfort to those most affected by current and proposed national policy changes.<\/p>\n

Let us not lose sight of the fact that behind every policy is the story of a person in search of a better life. They may be an immigrant or refugee family sacrificing so that their children might have a brighter future.\u00a0As shepherds of a pilgrim Church, we will not tire in saying to families who have the courage to set out from their despair onto the road of hope: \u201cWe are with you.\u201d They may also be a family seeking security from an increased threat of extremist violence. It is necessary to safeguard the United States in a manner that does not cause us to lose our humanity.<\/p>\n

Intense debate is essential to healthy democracy, but the rhetoric of fear does not serve us well.\u00a0When we look at one another do we see with the heart of Jesus? Within our diverse backgrounds are found common dreams for our children.\u00a0Hope in the next generation is how the nation will realize its founding motto, \u201cOut of many, one.\u201d In doing so, we will also realize God\u2019s hope for all His children \u2014 that we would see each other as valued sisters and brothers regardless of race, religion or national origin.<\/p>\n

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (Jn. 1:14), strengthens us to bring our words to life.\u00a0How might we, as Catholics and in our own small way, bring our words of solidarity for migrants and refugees to life?<\/p>\n

–\u00a0Pray<\/strong> for an end to the root causes of violent hatred that force mothers and fathers to flee the only home they may have known in search of economic and physical security for their children.<\/p>\n

– Meet<\/strong> with members of your parish who are newcomers, listen to their stories and share your own. Hundreds of Catholic parishes across the country have programs for immigrants and refugees both to comfort\u00a0them and to help them know their rights. It is also important to reach out in loving dialogue to those who may disagree with us.\u00a0The more we come to understand each other\u2019s concerns, the better we can serve one another.\u00a0Together, we are one body in Christ.<\/p>\n

– Call<\/strong>, write or visit<\/strong> your elected representative and ask them to fix our broken immigration system in a way that safeguards both our security and our humanity through a generous opportunity for legal immigration.<\/p>\n

As Pope Francis said,<\/p>\n

\u201cTo migrate is the expression of that inherent desire for the happiness proper to every human being, a happiness that is to be sought and pursued.\u00a0For us Christians, all human life is an itinerant journey towards our heavenly homeland.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A pastoral reflection from the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2022\u00a0The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Administrative Committee \u2014 of which Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller, MSpS, is a member \u2014 has issued the following pastoral reflection in solidarity with those who have been forced to flee their homes due […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[145,148,146,149,147],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLiving as a people of God in unsettled times -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"#iamTodaysCatholic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Living as a people of God in unsettled times -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"#iamTodaysCatholic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TodaysCatholic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-27T16:47:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-27T17:03:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"799\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"claire\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@satodaycatholic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@satodaycatholic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"claire\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"claire\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#\/schema\/person\/21f8ab9671263aeeb692cdf7949b99bb\"},\"headline\":\"Living as a people of God in unsettled times\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-27T16:47:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-27T17:03:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/\"},\"wordCount\":678,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller\",\"migrants\",\"official statement\",\"refugees\",\"USCCB\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Today's Catholic\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/\",\"name\":\"Living as a people of God in unsettled times -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-27T16:47:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-27T17:03:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"#iamTodaysCatholic\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/tag\/archbishop-gustavo-garcia-siller\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Living as a people of God in unsettled times\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/\",\"name\":\"Today's Catholic Newspaper\",\"description\":\"The official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Antonio | Since 1892\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Today's Catholic Newspaper\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/TodaysCatholic_PinterestProfilePic_180X180.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/TodaysCatholic_PinterestProfilePic_180X180.jpg\",\"width\":180,\"height\":180,\"caption\":\"Today's Catholic Newspaper\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TodaysCatholic\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/satodaycatholic\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/todayscatholicnewspaper\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/696475\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/tcatholic\/pins\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCN5p8rZxAGb0JdmsLTD-vwg\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#\/schema\/person\/21f8ab9671263aeeb692cdf7949b99bb\",\"name\":\"claire\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/author\/claire\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Living as a people of God in unsettled times -","description":"#iamTodaysCatholic","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Living as a people of God in unsettled times -","og_description":"#iamTodaysCatholic","og_url":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TodaysCatholic\/","article_published_time":"2017-04-27T16:47:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-04-27T17:03:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":799,"url":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"claire","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@satodaycatholic","twitter_site":"@satodaycatholic","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"claire","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/"},"author":{"name":"claire","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#\/schema\/person\/21f8ab9671263aeeb692cdf7949b99bb"},"headline":"Living as a people of God in unsettled times","datePublished":"2017-04-27T16:47:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-27T17:03:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/"},"wordCount":678,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg","keywords":["Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller","migrants","official statement","refugees","USCCB"],"articleSection":["Today's Catholic"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/","url":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/","name":"Living as a people of God in unsettled times -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg","datePublished":"2017-04-27T16:47:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-27T17:03:29+00:00","description":"#iamTodaysCatholic","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/19073138.jpg","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/arch_033117\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller","item":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/tag\/archbishop-gustavo-garcia-siller\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Living as a people of God in unsettled times"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/","name":"Today's Catholic Newspaper","description":"The official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Antonio | Since 1892","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#organization","name":"Today's Catholic Newspaper","url":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/TodaysCatholic_PinterestProfilePic_180X180.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/TodaysCatholic_PinterestProfilePic_180X180.jpg","width":180,"height":180,"caption":"Today's Catholic Newspaper"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TodaysCatholic\/","https:\/\/x.com\/satodaycatholic","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/todayscatholicnewspaper\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/696475\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/tcatholic\/pins\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCN5p8rZxAGb0JdmsLTD-vwg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/#\/schema\/person\/21f8ab9671263aeeb692cdf7949b99bb","name":"claire","url":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/author\/claire\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/satodayscatholic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}