Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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We cannot ignore the suffering of refugees

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Every one of us has been deeply moved by the images and news accounts of the refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East. These men, women and children must leave their homes due to political instability, war, religious persecution, hunger, rape and murder. This is a human tragedy not seen since the Second World War. Children, who should be living in a stable home environment, playing with their friends, getting an education, live in fear and wonder where they will sleep and find food. Some are taken from their families and sold into slavery. Families take perilous journeys in substandard boats to cross the Mediterranean Sea to seek safety in Europe. Many have drowned trying to make that crossing. It is difficult to fathom that this is happening in our day and time.

The chief cause of this human suffering is ISIS. People of all faiths, even Muslims, suffer under their tyranny. Most of the energy of ISIS is directed at cleansing Christianity completely from the area. Mass slaughter of whole Christian communities, beheading of men and women and even mock crucifixions are just part of the ISIS terror campaign. Ancient Christian sights, churches and monasteries, some going back to the 3rd century, are being blown up to wipe out any trace of Christianity.

The suffering is growing worse in Syria since civil war broke out there. In 1991 there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. Today it is estimated there could be as few as 150,000. A century ago in Lebanon 80 percent of the population was Christian; today it is less than 40 percent after years of strife including the kidnapping of 13 nuns recently.

In response to the refugee crisis, Pope Francis called on European parishes and religious communities to each offer shelter to a migrant family. He also announced that two parishes in the Vatican would each take in a family of refugees. These are concrete examples of our Blessed Lord’s Gospel message that when we clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, feed the hungry and welcome the stranger, we do it for him and we will be called into the kingdom of heaven.

We simply cannot ignore the suffering of these brothers and sisters. Evil has happened in history because good people did not stand up in time to stop it. Sometimes we must all raise our voices in solidarity. Let us, wherever possible, contact our political leaders, those who form public opinion and the media and inform them of the need to raise public awareness of this tragedy and the persecution of Christians in this troubled part of the world.

We can also raise our voices in prayer. Wherever groups gather to pray, whether it is the rosary, a holy hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament or daily mass, let the intention of our suffering brothers and sisters be part of our prayers.

Catholic Relief Services and Caritas have already begun to bring help to these victims who are fleeing from danger. Please be generous and help whenever an appeal is made for donations. A link to CRS can be found on www.cathdal.org. In the past, parishes in our diocese showed true Christian spirit and welcomed families from South Vietnam after the war and more recently, those who fled Hurricane Katrina. May we all show that same spirit in whatever way we can for those suffering today in the Middle East.

May we include a daily a petition to Our Lady, Help of Christians, that she take into her loving embrace our brothers and sisters undergoing such suffering today.

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Image Credit: Photo courtesy of Matthieu Alexandre/Caritas Internationalis, via CRS on Facebook

Pope Francis to European parishes: “Take in one refugee family”

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Pope Francis to European parishes: "Take in one refugee family"

Tens of thousands of Christian and Muslim refugees from Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan, continue to swarm into Northern Europe. The good news is that not only borders but hearts have been opened to those seeking sanctuary. In spite of opposition from some nationalist groups, the pendulum seems to be swinging in favor of providing asylum following the example of Germany

On Sunday Pope Francis added his voice calling on “every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary of Europe, [to] take in one refugee family.” And, by way of example, Pope Francis said the two parishes in Vatican City would each take in one family. If the European parishes, religious houses and shrines respond to the Pope’s request, the impact would be considerable.

Crux noted in reporting the story that, “In practice, the Pope’s appeal means that more than 300 refugee families could find shelter in Rome, given the number of churches in the city. France has an estimated 16,000 parishes up and down the country, Italy has 26,000, Germany has 11,000, and Spain has 22,859. Those numbers increase dramatically when monasteries, religious communities, and shrines are included.”

Asking the European bishops to support his suggestion, the Holy Father said that offering shelter to the needy is a “concrete act of preparation” for the Holy Year. Then addressing the crowd in St. Peter’s Plaza, the Holy Father remarked that, “Before the tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees fleeing death in conflict and hunger … on a journey of hope, the Gospel has always called us to be close to the smallest and to those who have been abandoned.”

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Photo credit: Zoriah.net

U.S. Shares Responsibility for Border Crisis

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Detainees sleep in holding cell at U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in Brownsville, Texas

Does the fact that we are the largest consumer of drugs and provider of arms play a role in the unaccompanied minors crisis on our borders?

It is a natural tendency to blame others for our troubles, both as individuals and as a nation. However, occasionally, we will take our self-serving blinders off and look in the mirror to discover the real culprit. I am reminded of Walt Kelly’s play on words regarding Commodore Perry’s famous quote in his Pogo column, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Last week, President Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras joined the presidents of Guatemala and El Salvador in Washington, D.C., at the invitation of President Barack Obama. The reported intention of the meeting was to ask the Central American presidents to do more to stop the flow of unaccompanied children from their countries into the United States. Apparently, the assumption is that our Central American neighbors were encouraging, or at least not discouraging, the thousands of children seeking refuge in our country.

President Hernandez, in an interview with the Washington Post, reminded North Americans that to a large extent we share responsibility for the situation. President Hernandez said, “Your country has enormous responsibility for this. The problem of narcotics-trafficking generates violence, reduces opportunities, and generates migration because this [the United States] is where there is the largest consumption of drugs.”

He suggested later that American officials believe that drugs are “a health problem.”

“For us, it is a matter of life and death, and that’s not fair,” President Hernandez said. “What’s fair is that we work together dealing with our own responsibilities.”

We must take ownership of our share of responsibility for the influx of refugees. The violence from which the children are fleeing is to a large extent of our making because the market for illegal drugs is greatest in the United States. The guns that are sold to gangs and drug traffickers and that are at the root of the violence in Mexico and Central America come from our country.

The blame game is a dishonest attempt to avoid sharing responsibility for the problem and for our failure to adequately address the root causes.

Finally, we must stop demonizing the victims, who are seeking refuge in the United States. This is a moral problem not just a political one. We must remember the words of the Holy Father that “This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first urgent measure, these children be welcomed and protected.” They are children who need to be treated with mercy and compassion, not merely a problem to be disposed of.

It is the love of Christ that motivates us.

 

 Image Credit: CNS

Pope calls for new attitude on migration

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Immigration

Pope Francis in a message this week to the participants in the Mexico/Holy See Colloquium on Migration and Development stated that “A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization.” Describing such attitudes as “typical of a throwaway culture,” he called for a change “towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter; the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world.”

Addressing directly the child migrants from Central America, the pope said, “This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first urgent measure, these children be welcomed and protected. These measures, however, will not be sufficient, unless they are accompanied by policies that inform people about the dangers of such a journey and, above all, that promote development in their countries of origin.”

Calling the migration crisis the principal manifestation of globalization and “one of the ‘signs’ of this time we live in,” the pope said, “We should be reminded of Jesus’ question … ‘Why do you not know how to interpret the preset time?’ ”

Migration, he continued, “is a phenomenon that carries with it great promise and many challenges. Many people who are forced to emigrate suffer, and often, die tragically. Many of their rights are violated. They are obliged to separate from their families and, unfortunately, continue to be the subject of racist and xenophobic attitudes.”

Finally, the Holy Father concluded, “this challenge demands the attention of the entire international community so that new forms of legal and secure migration may be adopted.”

Image Credit: CNS/Reuters