Pastoral Letters on Migration

Below are several pastoral letters on migration that will help when you reflect on the role of the Church in its engagement with migrant communities, what kinds of principles should inform policies made in response to migration flows

Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope

In 2003, the bishops of the United States and Mexico issued a joint pastoral letter, Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, that presented a Catholic framework for responding to the ongoing migration phenomenon in their respective countries.

In doing so, the bishops offered pastoral guidance to Catholics who encounter and engage migrants living and working in their communities. The letter also suggested systematic reforms to U.S. immigration policy and presented an alternative to the existing immigration policy paradigm. For a brief overview of the major points presented in the pastoral letter, this summary pamphlet will prove of assistance.

For an additional resource to help you better understand some of the themes addressed in the pastoral letter, please see the publication, On Strangers No Longer, which touches on some of the key realities still at play ten years after the pastoral’s publication.

Bishop Mark Seitz

Please find below two pastoral letters written by Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, TX, which reflect on the intersection of migration, pastoral care, race, and the realities confronting the borderland between the United States and Mexico.

– Night Will Be No More (2019)

“On August 3rd, 2019, El Paso was the scene of a massacre or matanza that left 22 dead, injured dozens and traumatized a binational community. Hate visited our community and Latino blood was spilled in sacrifice to the false god of white supremacy… I hope to bear some of the weight of the reality of racism that has been part of the experience of many here on our border. In the second part, we will shoulder this reality in the light of the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus. Finally, we will ask how grace can heal the shared wounds of our borderland community and transform the awful events of this summer into something meaningful.”

– Sorrow and Mourning Flee Away: Pastoral Letter on Migration to the People of God in the Diocese of El Paso (2017)

“The Lord hears the cry of the poor (cf. Ps. 34: 7). Since Jesus announced Good News to the poor, our Church has been called to stand with the suffering. The Church must illuminate the challenges of the moment with the light of the Gospel, pointing out what reflects the Kingdom of God and what does not. As I write this letter to you, we are living in trying times as a country and migrants are living through a dark night of fear and uncertainty. Our border community knows the reality of a broken immigration system. As your pastor, I cannot ignore the stumbling block of a system that causes so much suffering among God’s people. Misguided policies and walls are widening the divide between us and our sister city of Ciudad Juárez, deportations are separating parents from children, and harsh political rhetoric is causing fear in our parishes and neighborhoods. It is with this in mind that I feel it important to write to you now.” Click here to read the Letter in English and here to read the Letter in Spanish.