US Bishops call Week of Prayer and Action in solidarity with migrants & refugees

Bishop Joe Vasquez

Following last week's kick-off of the 'Share the Journey' Migration Campaign, launched by Pope Francis on 27 September, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA called for a Week of Prayer and Action from October 7-13, 2017. Dioceses across the country are participating by hosting different events during this week and throughout the two-year campaign.

"During the week of prayer and action we need to show our support and compassion for those in need," said Bishop Joe Vásquez, Chair of USCCB's Committee on Migration. "It is important that we also highlight the positive contributions that migrants and refugees have made to our society."

"The Holy Father has repeatedly called on us to support migrants and refugees forcibly displaced from their homes," said Joan Rosenhauer, CRS Vice President for US Operations. "We're called by the Gospel to love our neighbor, and amid a global refugee crisis not seen since World War II, we have to do more to welcome and support those whose lives are threatened by violence and poverty. In the U.S. we can do that by admitting the most vulnerable refugees for resettlement and of course assist them and the countries hosting them around the world."

Resources and information about the campaign and week of prayer and action are available on the campaign's website, www.sharejourney.org. . . . Included amongst the information is a toolkit for Catholic leaders that offers ideas on how to show their support and solidarity with migrants and refugees in schools, at mass and in the community.

Sister Donna Markham OP, PhD, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) said: "When we encounter people who have had to flee to the US in order to save their lives, we do not have to guess at how to help. We pray for them and we extend ourselves in compassion to assist in whatever ways we can."

The 'Share the Journey' campaign kicked off globally last week by the Caritas network. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) are sponsoring the campaign in the US Both CRS, working in more than 100 countries around the world, and CCUSA, the Catholic Church's domestic agency, are members of Caritas Internationalis, the Church's worldwide charity organization that is the overall sponsor of the campaign.

Links:

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA): www.catholiccharitiesusa.org

Catholic Relief Services: www.crs.org. . . or www.crsespanol.org

US Conference of Catholic Bishops: www.usccb.org

Justice For Migrants: www.justiceforimmigrants.org