Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit
As the Trump administration cracks down on undocumented immigrants, the Michigan Catholic church has decided to push back.
Niraj Warikoo of the Detroit Free Press reports that the church is urging support for immigrants regardless of legal status. He writes:
In a pastoral note to migrants released Monday in English and Spanish, all of the state's 10 Catholic bishops said that supporting immigrants is rooted in their faith.
"Our fraternal closeness to you and other immigrants, refugees, and those seeking humanitarian asylum is rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, where we find 'I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me … Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me' (Matthew 25:35,40)," the note published Monday reads. "We hear and empathize with families across the state who express anxiety and fear over mass deportations and harmful rhetoric that broadly demeans our immigrant brothers and sisters."
The Archdiocese of Detroit, the largest diocese in Michigan, sent the note to its more than 200 parishes in southeastern Michigan, inviting them to publish it in their parish bulletins, Holly Fournier, an associate director at the archdiocese, said. It was also published online at the Michigan Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan.
