By Mary Stadnyk|Associate Editor and Lois Rogers|Features Editor

With immigration reform a high priority topic across the country, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., and faithful from throughout the diocese came together to pray and show their solidarity during a Justice for Immigrants Mass celebrated Oct. 11 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Some 20 priests of the diocese served as con-celebrants.

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Addressing the nearly 500 people who gathered in the diocese’s Mother Church for the Mass, coordinated by Catholic Charities and the diocesan Office of Catholic Social Services, Bishop O’Connell spoke of how important it was for the Church to provide people with an opportunity to pray for positive movement toward immigration policies.

Bishop O’Connell struck a compelling chord in his homily when he reminded the congregation that Jesus was the “divine immigrant” who lived his life “traveling from place to place.”

“Sacred Scripture tell us where he was from and what his ancestral lineage was. But nowhere in the Bible do we find his permanent address, the location of his house, where he lived after beginning his public ministry,” Bishop O’Connell asserted. “He lived and worked as an immigrant, an itinerant preacher, on many levels.”

“It is not the Church’s responsibility to enact civil legislation or to take sides or participate as a Church in differences of partisan political debates,” Bishop O’Connell continued. “No, it is, rather, the Church’s responsibility to educate the faithful in those matters where human moral interaction, informed by the Gospel and Church teaching, need to be lifted up and prayerfully considered.”

“That is why we are here today,” the bishop said. “We believe, after all, that all human beings are created by God in his image. We believe, after all, that Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh who dwelt among us, came to save us from sin and our lesser instincts. We believe, after all, that Christ instituted the Church as his living body, a community of faith, to continue his saving mission throughout all time. And so we, the Church, teach and preach his Word and his message whenever the opportunity arises. The life that confronts immigrants in our country today is one such opportunity to preach and to teach.”

Recalling the teaching of the Letter to the Ephesians, Bishop O’Connell stressed, “‘… we are fellow citizens and members of the household of God.’ The ‘household of God’ has no national boundaries … the ‘house of God’ has no zip code.”

The bishop also underscored the social teachings of the Catholic Church as rooted in “salvation history,” then reviewed several historical moments in Scripture relating to immigration – God’s Chosen People going from slavery to freedom in the Promised Land as well as Jesus’ life journey on earth, starting with his birth, and leading to his Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into heaven.

The push for comprehensive immigration reform throughout the Catholic Church in the United States is drawn upon the now 10-year-old pastoral letter issued by the U.S. Catholic Bishops entitled “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope.”

The key principles  of immigration reform outlined by the bishops include: providing a path to earned legalization for immigrants of good character; establishing a framework that allows foreign-born workers to sustain their lives through safe, protected, honest employment; keeping families together; honoring basic human rights; addressing the root causes of world poverty and advancing systemic change; enforcing legitimate measures to control  borders in ways that are targeted, proportional and humane.

In an interview prior to the Mass, executive director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton Marlene Lao-Collins spoke of how “hugely significant” it was to have Bishop O’Connell “as the leader of our diocese come out and invite people to pray for immigration reform.”

“First and foremost, as a people of faith, we pray and then we take action,” said Lao-Collins, elaborating that positive action includes people either writing to or calling their legislators or parishes hosting group discussions about the U.S. bishops’ views of immigration reform.

“I believe that today’s Mass sends a clear message to our immigrant families that we are in solidarity with them and to all Catholics of the Diocese of Trenton that we should support immigration reform,” said Lao-Collins.

Roberto Hernandez, director of Catholic Charities’ El Centro, which provides resources to Trenton’s Latino community, noted how important it was “for the Church to come together with the community. The community represented here today is not just immigrants but people who support immigration reform.”

Faculty and students from several schools including St. Ann, Lawrenceville, and Trenton Catholic Academy, noted that immigration reform is often a topic of discussion addressed with students in social studies and religion classes.

“This is a chance to let lots of people know (where the Church stands) on immigration reform,” said Ann Albe, who teaches fourth grade in St. Ann School. Coupled with a teacher in-service day, the entire faculty attended the Mass. “We’re here to lend support,” she added.

Michele Neves reflected on how “blessed” she was to serve as principal of the Upper School of Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton, a school with a “very diverse” community. Of the 38 Upper School and Lower School students she accompanied to the Mass, she noted the majority hailed from a number of Central and South American countries including Panama, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Cuba and  Mexico, as well as from Nigeria, Germany and China.

Neves said that Catholic Social Teaching, including immigration, is emphasized in the school’s religion classes.

“TCA is privileged to serve a very diverse population,” said Neves. “Just as the earliest Catholic schools in our country did, we are here for immigrant children.  We prepare them for college while bringing them closer to God.”

Karlly Nunez, a senior in TCA’s Upper School, and Carla Lopez, an eighth grader in the Lower School, spoke of how important it was for them to learn about immigration reform issues given that both girls have parents who immigrated to the United States. Nunez’s mother is from Cuba and her father is from the Dominican Republic. Lopez’s parents arrived from Guatemala about 15 years ago.

“This is a learning experience and an opportunity to pray for all immigrants,” said Lopez.

The parish community of St. Anthony of Padua, Hightstown, has consistently advocated for equitable treatment of immigrants and immigration reform. Among the parishioners in attendance was Victor Fernandez, who teaches English as a Second Language there and holds classes in Spanish for English speakers who want to learn the language.

Fernandez, who immigrated to the United States from Peru, said some member of the diverse parish – which includes recently arrived Indian,  Haitian, Latino and Turkish Catholics – took time off from work to attend the Mass in the cathedral.

“It is important for all of us to let people know that we are in favor of immigration. We want to communicate that,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez noted how uplifting it was to see so many members of the English speaking community present and said that Bishop O’Connell, along with pastors throughout the diocese, are “creating a good environment” that can only help the immigration reform movement.

Father Patrick McDonnell, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, spoke of the “large waves” of immigrants arriving to the country and the hard times they encounter as they try to get settled. He called the Justice for Immigrants Mass a way of recognizing their situation and offering consolation.

“If they can’t find solace in the Church, where can they find it?” he said.