Hope Border Institute, Bishop Seitz present messages from immigrant community in US to Pope Leo

Pope Leo with Bishop Celino, Bishop Seitz and members of the Hope Border Institute

During a private audience at the Vatican today, the Hope Border Institute and Bishop Mark J Seitz presented Pope Leo XIV with messages from members of the immigrant community in the United States.

The delegation included Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute; Most Rev Mark J Seitz, Bishop of El Paso and chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration; El Paso Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celino; as well as representatives of immigrant communities from El Paso, Texas.

During the audience, the delegation shared a video message as well as letters and testimonies gathered by the Hope Border Institute from individuals at risk of deportation and their family members across the country, expressing the fears, anxieties and hopes of the immigrant community during this challenging moment in the United States.

In the course of the meeting, Pope Leo XIV expressed support for all immigrants and his opposition to policies which deny the human dignity of those who migrate. He said, 'The church cannot remain silent. You stand with me, and I stand with you.'

Following the papal audience, Lorena Andrade, executive director of La Mujer Obrera in El Paso, TX, who also participated in the meeting, said: "We are grateful for the support of Pope Leo and the Catholic Church during this challenging moment when so many families across the United States are fearful of deportation and we are at risk of being separated from loved ones. The Pope encouraged us to continue working for a world where the right of everyone to participate and contribute to building healthy and thriving communities is respected and protected."

"During our meeting with the Holy Father, we were able to share both the pain of those experiencing the fear of deportation and family separation as well as the hopes and dreams of immigrant families across the country. Pope Leo's commitment to the human dignity of everyone who had made the migrant journey, and to defending the human rights of those who migrate, was clear and unequivocal. The pope reminded us that even in a moment of darkness and division in our country, migration continues to be a source of hope, and that Catholics are called to work for reconciliation by building welcoming communities," said Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute.

Bishop Mark J Seitz reaffirmed his gratitude to the Holy Father as well as the church's commitment to supporting migrants: 'In our meeting with Pope Leo Today, we were able to bear witness to the injustices and abuses facing our migrant sisters and brothers as well as the powerful contributions immigrants continue to make to our country. The Holy Father received the messages and testimonies of migrants in our country attentively, with compassion and concern. We are grateful to Pope Leo for his support for the work of all of us who are working for justice for immigrants in the United States and a more just world.

LINKS

Diocese of El Paso: www.elpasodiocese.org/

Hope Border Institute: www.hopeborder.org/