Immigration
The Catholic Church teaches that the stranger should be welcomed just as Christ himself. In our modern world, in the midst of debates about immigrants and refugees in the United States and around the world, our faith guides us to never lose sight of the inherent dignity of every person, including those leaving their places of birth for whatever reason.
National Migration Week Webinar
September 23- 29, 2024
National Migration Week will be celebrated from September 23-29, 2024, culminating with the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on September 29th. In observance of this week and its theme, “God Walks with His People,” which “focuses on the itinerant dimension of the Church, with special attention to migrant brothers and sisters, who are a contemporary icon of the Church on the move,” as stated by Pope Francis, the Archdiocese of San Francisco will host a webinar. This event will provide the Catholic community with the opportunity to learn about social teachings on immigration and how these teachings correspond to Church doctrine.
Special Webinar on Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration
September 18, 2024
7 pm – 8 pm
On Wednesday, September 18, at 7 p.m., Dr. Todd Scribner from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will discuss Church teachings on immigration and contemporary issues at the border. REGISTER BELOW.
Todd Scribner
Assistant Director of Education and Outreach at the USCCB’s Department of Migration and Refugee Services
Todd Scribner works at the intersection of migration policy, U.S. history, and Catholic ethics, manages partnerships and research projects with major institutions including the University of Notre Dame, the Catholic University of America, and Princeton University, and oversees the development and distribution of policy and pastoral resources for Church-related initiatives, including National Migration Week, World Refugee Day, and the Vatican’s World Day for Migrants and Refugees.
He is the editor of the award-winning, cross-disciplinary book On Strangers No Longer: Perspectives on the Historic U.S.-Mexican Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Migration and the author of A Partisan Church: American Catholicism and the Rise of Neoconservative Catholics, which explores the Catholic Church during the Reagan era.
Todd has also published numerous articles in popular magazines and newspapers, as well as academically oriented journals, including the National Catholic Reporter, the National Catholic Register, The U.S. Catholic Historian, and The Catholic Historical Review.
Special Webinar on Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration
September 18, 2024, 7 pm – 8 pm
In this video, Archbishop Cordileone outlines the principles on immigration, derived from the body of Catholic Social Teaching.
“Dear brothers and sisters, and, in a special way, young people! If we want to cooperate with our heavenly Father in building the future, let us do so together with our brothers and sisters who are migrants and refugees.”
– Pope Francis, Message for the 108th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2022
Resources
See below a variety of resources related to Church teaching on the topic of immigration:
California Bishops Call for Solidarity with Migrants and Refugees (2021)
Immigration: The In-Between Life Issue – School of Pastoral Leadership Online Course
Webinar for National Migration Week 2021
Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope – A Pastoral Letter Concerning Migration from the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States
Partner Organizations
Banner photo: Close up of Timothy P. Schmalz’s sculpture, ‘Angels Unawares.’ Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA