Bishops Support TX Cath. Conf.; Pope PSA for Vaccine

CA Bishops Support TX Cath Conf. migrant ministries; USCCB responses to Afghan and Haiti crises; alerts to act on now and keeping faith during tribulations in this week’s Insights.

CA Bishops Supporting Texas Catholic Conference’s Migrant Assistance

This week, the California Bishops offered a letter of support to the Texas Catholic Conference for their commitment to migrant assistance despite the State of Texas’ attempt to halt migrant services provided by several Catholic organizations.

“On behalf of my brothers in the California Catholic Conference, we offer our thanks for the outstanding efforts of Texas’ dioceses and Catholic Charities agencies on behalf of migrants.  We admire the strength and determination of your efforts to address the suffering of migrants despite the political forces working against those efforts,” the Bishops wrote.

“In early June, [Texas Governor] Abbott ordered child care regulators in Texas to take away licenses from facilities that provide shelter and other services to migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally,” reports Catholic Charities USA. “Some facilities, such as Catholic Charities, have federal contracts with the Office of Refugee Resettlement to help care for them.”

Gov. Abbott also signed an executive order this month prohibiting the transport of migrants, citing COVID-19 cases as reasons for the restriction and giving authorities the ability to stop any vehicle on “reasonable suspicion” of violating the order.  The order runs counter to other COVID-related Abbott policies, including the prohibition of masks.

The Texas Catholic Conference released a statement this week emphasizing the work of Catholic organizations for migrants in the state who “are poor and in need of extended services and Catholic Charities partners with a variety of agencies to attend to those needs. Agencies along the southern U.S. border, including Texas and around the country, have provided these services in coordination with the federal government for decades across multiple presidential administrations. Catholic Charities’ efforts are humanitarian, not political. 

The Department of Justice has sued Texas over the order and asked a federal judge for an immediate injunction.

 

USCCB Responds to Humanitarian Crises in Afghanistan and Haiti

A devastating humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Afghanistan, where the Taliban swiftly seized control of the capital on August 15.

In a released statement, the USCCB expressed grave concern over the desperate and chaotic scene engulfing the country.

“The images and videos coming out of the country are difficult to view, as people make life or death decisions in desperation. We are particularly concerned for all those requiring evacuation, as well as Afghan women and girls, who risk losing opportunities gained over the last two decades and now face potential mistreatment,” the U.S. Bishops said.

Read the statement in its entirety here.

In St. Peter’s square on Monday, Pope Francis also asked all to join him in “praying to the God of peace, so that the clamor of weapons might cease and solutions can be found at the table of dialogue.”

The USCCB also recognized the suffering of the people of Haiti this week, who suffered a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Aug. 14, leaving over 2,000 dead, 10,000 injured, and hundreds of thousands in need of emergency humanitarian assistance. To complicate matters worse, the country’s civil unrest has left it vulnerable to gangs, who are blocking access to some of the worst hit areas.

“Catholics and all people of good will may assist in the relief work by contacting Catholic Relief Services. I am grateful to all who can support the relief effort for our brothers and sisters in Haiti,” said USCCB President José H. Gomez in the statement.

Click here for a list of Organizations to Support Earthquake Relief Efforts in Haiti

 

Pope in Ad Campaign for Vaccination

Pope Francis, along with USCCB President and Archbishop of Los Angeles José Gomez and five other Cardinals and Archbishops from North, Central, and South America, have joined the Ad Council and the COVID Collaborative on a Public Service Announcement (PSA) promoting vaccination against COVID-19.

“Getting vaccinated is a simple yet profound way to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable. I pray to God that each of us can make his or her own small gesture of love,” the Holy Father says in the piece.

The video, in Spanish with English subtitles, can be viewed here.

For more resources on the Church and COVID-19, click here.

 

Take Action on These Alerts Now

  • Immigration Reform Needed Now – Ask Congress to take up and pass real, comprehensive immigration reform.

Write to your Senator for Immigration Reform

Write to your Congressmember for Immigration Reform

  • SB 380 – Don’t allow physician-assisted suicide to expand and exploit the elderly and vulnerable.

Tell your Assembly Member to Reject Physician-Assisted Suicide Expansions in CA  

 

Don’t Lose Hope in Times of Tribulation

With wildfires raging, electricity being shut off, historic drought levels, and a recall election looming here in California, not to mention the numerous humanitarian crises taking place all over the world, it is easy to lose hope for a better world and future. It can be challenging to remain steadfast in faith in the face of so much grief, but that is precisely what we are called to do.

While it is hard to see so much pain and suffering around us, we can still rest in the “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) When we feel weary, broken, and have little hope for the circumstances around us, we must recall that the Lord is sovereign and has not forsaken us. Pray for a renewal of the Holy Spirit within you, that you might be transformed and your faith renewed during these times of crisis.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)

 

God does not come to free us from our ever-present daily problems, but to free us from the real problem, which is the lack of love. This is the main cause of our personal, social, international and environmental ills. Thinking only of ourselves: this is the father of all evils. @Pontifex

August 20, 2021
Vol. 14, No. 29

En Español

 

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