Sunday, June 30 is “Sunday for Justice for Immigrants” in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput announced June 7.
He will celebrate a Mass for the intention of justice for immigrants at 6:30 p.m. on June 30 at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia.
The archbishop encouraged all people in Southeastern Pennsylvania to respond to the issue of immigration on that day in three ways.
People should understand the challenges that immigrants face and to know the Catholic Church’s teachings on immigration in the United States by reviewing the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Justice for Immigrants pastoral program.
The website encourages people to become politically active in the campaign by contacting their congressional representatives in support of immigration reforms outlined by the bishops.
The Archdiocese also urged prayers for immigrants and for justice, especially at the June 30 Mass. All priests are invited to concelebrate the Mass.
In its announcement, the Archdiocese quoted from a 2003 statement of the combined Catholic bishops of the United States and Mexico, “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope.”
“Migrants and immigrants are in our parishes and in our communities,” the statement read. “In both our countries, we see much injustice and violence against them and much suffering and despair among them because civil and church structures are still inadequate to accommodate their needs.”
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There is a world of difference between legal immigration and illegal immigration. It seems to me that the US Government is partially implicated in the illegal immigration over the last 40 years (because it didn’t catch the illegal immigrants in a timely manner) so, in the interest of fairness, the US Government should provide a one-time path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Legal immigrants on the other hand should always be treated fairly and should be treated as any other US citizen once they achieve citizenship status.