Bishops of Canada, U.S. and Latin America: ‘No migrant is a stranger to the Church’

Bishops from the United States, Canada, and Latin America met this week in Tampa, Florida, to discuss various issues of common interest, including migration, and to develop a coordinated response to these and other challenges, emphasizing that “no migrant is a stranger to the Church.”

Eleven bishops representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), and the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) participated in a meeting of “prayer, dialogue, and pastoral discernment” Feb. 15-17, according to ADN Celam.

In addition to migration, the bishops discussed the poor and vulnerable, the dignity and rights of indigenous peoples, human trafficking, and the growing polarization “that wounds public discourse and weakens social cohesion.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, the bishops released a “Message to the People of God on Pilgrimage in the Americas,” in English and Spanish, in which they emphasized that there is “one Church on pilgrimage throughout the Americas.”

After emphasizing their commitment to providing “coordinated, compassionate, and profoundly evangelical responses” to these challenges, the bishops highlighted their renewed “commitment to walk together in a synodal way as a Church that embraces the north and south of the continent, bearing clear and consistent witness to Jesus Christ.”

In every migrant is ‘the very face of Christ on the move’

The bishops specified that “in every person who leaves their homeland seeking safety, opportunities, or dignity, we recognize a brother, a sister; we recognize the very face of Christ on the move.”

“Human mobility cannot be reduced to a merely political or economic issue; it is a profoundly human reality that challenges our Christian conscience and the ethical responsibility of nations,” they emphasized.

In this regard, the prelates invited “civil authorities to promote policies that safeguard the lives, rights, and dignity of migrants.”

“We recognize the responsibility of States to regulate migration and ensure the common good; however, we reiterate that all legislation must place at its center the inalienable dignity of the human person and the respect that person deserves,” they stated.

The group expressed a desire that “the Church may be a concrete sign of hope, a place of welcome, and protection” for migrants.

The bishops encouraged living unity “in a concrete and daily way: in the generous welcome of migrants, in the defense of the most vulnerable, in respectful dialogue even amidst differences, in the patient building of bridges.”

One Church in the Americas

“We are one Church in the Americas. From this unity, we wish to serve with greater dedication, to accompany with greater closeness, and to proclaim with renewed courage the hope that springs from the Heart of the Savior,” the bishops emphasized.

In closing, they entrusted their renewed commitment to the Virgin Mary, asking her to “sustain us in communion and inspire us to respond together, with charity and evangelical courage, to the challenges of our time.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.