Journey to Justice: A Catholic Vision of Immigration

A Catholic vision of immigration must attend to these hidden realities. Immigration has always been an important issue, but even more so today when the issue is being discussed in Congress and around the country in small towns and large cities. Vision forms opinion, and a Catholic vision of immigration contributes elements missing from the current debate on this issue: the overriding dignity of the human person and our communal responsibility to guard that dignity, especially of the poor and vulnerable of society.

Let’s imagine a Catholic vision of immigration marking a path for us. Just as that young family was in flight from danger toward security, we, too, will make a journey from the attitude of indifference and apathy toward the promise of communion and solidarity. We will keep this family present in our minds and hearts and imagine ourselves moving toward them in compassion. Our journey’s destination is solidarity with the immigrant embodied in that family.

Most immigrant poor can take only the bare essentials for their difficult journey. Many times the things they bring must be abandoned in the desert. We, too, will travel lightly; we will take only what we need so as not to overburden our minds and hearts. (Much of the discourse about immigration seen on TV and heard on radio will not help us on our journey.)

Let’s make a list of what we will need. First, we will need water, which we will call our Catholic sacramental life. We will need bread or food, which will be the Scriptures. We will take along a walking stick to support us on the journey, which will be the social teaching of the Church. Finally, the sandals on our feet will be our open-mindedness to follow after the master, Jesus, who will be our guide.

Our Catholic faith offers us the essentials to make such a journey. Some might worry that this will not be enough. They think we will need to factor in questions of history, social realities like language and culture, economics, and questions of national security if we hope to get anywhere in our understanding of immigration. I counsel you to trust that we will make progress even though we don’t seem to have brought the bare minimum to reach our destination. I also suggest that these other matters are actually part of the terrain that we will cover on our journey. It is important that we wisely guide ourselves through the landscape that we will travel, landscape that includes the economy, social realities, culture, and history. Remember, the Catholic vision marks our path.