Bishops of Mexico and the US call for a vigil for migrants

Bishops and priests from several dioceses in Mexico and the United States have invited people to organize a Catholic vigil for migrants on October 22 or another possible date, as a way to express their solidarity with these people and ask for appropriate immigration policies.

The call was launched on October 12 in the final message of the Binational Meeting: migrants, pilgrims of hope in Christheld in San Luis Río Colorado, in the Mexican state of Sonora.

Among the participants were representatives from the dioceses of Mexicali, Matamoros-Reynosa, Nogales, Tucson, Las Vegas, San Bernardino, among others. The meeting included a pilgrimage and a Mass in the Mexican city.

In your final statementthe signatories recalled that “in the Church no one is a stranger and the Church is not foreign to anyone, anywhere.”

In that sense, they expressed their closeness to those people “who live in fear, facing dehumanizing rhetoric, policies designed to intimidate and impossible decisions.”

“The deficient immigration systems of both countries deny us the opportunity to welcome them as new members of our community given the lack of limited options to migrate,” they indicated.

Faced with this situation, they noted, “it is not a time for complacency or conformity, but to be even more proactive in our pastoral and prophetic work of meeting and welcoming those who are forced to live in the shadows.”

The signatories recognized the right of nations to regulate immigration “in coherence with the common good and respect for the dignity of all,” as well as the right of people to migrate when the conditions in their places of origin are not adequate for a dignified life, respecting the communities that host them.

The declaration recognizes “the inherent and inviolable dignity” of migrants “which no earthly authority can deny.”

In that sense, the signatories called to “resist the temptation of apathy and, instead, with courage and hope, act to truly live the love of Christ that transcends borders.”

To do this, they invited to carry out “a Catholic vigil for migrants.” The declaration proposes as a date “October 22, Catholic Day of Action, or on other symbolic dates in the weeks and months to come.”

In addition, they encouraged the promotion of meetings of people who have experience in migration with those “who are furthest from these realities,” to go out to meet migrants and pray for the authorities, asking them for “laws and policies that promote the safety of people fleeing violence, respect the dignity of migrants and refugees, and defend the sanctity of the family unit.”

The text ends by pointing out that “whatever our country of birth, we strive to reach the same horizon, longing for our true homeland.”

“Sometimes the obstacles before us may seem insurmountable, but our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, points to a source of inspiration that lives in us: ‘Where all seems lost, migrants and refugees are messengers of hope,’” the statement states.