US Roman Catholic bishops have called on President-elect Donald Trump to enact for humane immigration policies towards immigrants and refugees.
In a plea made at the start of their annual fall Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore this week, Archbishop Joseph E Kurtz, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, called on the bishops to support a post election statement which said the church stood “ready to work with a new administration to continue to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans”.
The statement had been issued by Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, chairman of the conference’s committee on migration, on 11th November following Mr Trump’s election. In it, Bishop Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of Seattle, congratulated Mr Trump on his election and said he would be praying for the president-elect and administration officials. But he also offered “a special word” to migrant and refugee families living in the United States – that they should “be assured of our solidarity and continued accompaniment as you work for a better life”.
“We pray that as the new administration begins its role leading our country, it will recognise the contributions of refugees and immigrants to the overall prosperity and well-being of our nation,” the statement said. “We will work to promote humane policies that protect refugees and immigrants’ inherent dignity, keep families together, and honor and respect the laws of this nation.”
Bishop Elizondo said that a “duty to welcome and protect newcomers, particularly refugees” is an “integral part of our mission to help our neighbors in need”.
Meanwhile, RNS reports that in a move interpreted as making a statement on the issue of immigration, the Catholic bishops have elected Mexican-born Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles to the post of vice-president of the conference, putting him in line to become the first Latino to lead the American hierarchy.
By custom, he will likely become the president of the conference in three years when the term of the incoming president, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, expires.