I am making this statement after having consulted the Parish Council. As our webpage reads we are a parish with “God’s people in extraordinary variety…a diverse and welcoming community, seeking to serve the will of God and striving to live the gospel of Jesus Christ through prayer, vibrant liturgy, educational excellence, personal sharing and social action.”
As an immigrant Nation we all have a common goal to seek the opportunity to live in freedom and to participate in the American Dream. As a faith community, we believe in Jesus Christ who placed no limits on love, compassion, and empathy. We believe that we are called to serve the needs of those who suffer from many forms of hardship, whether in our parish, community, national, or international.
Over the centuries many of the country’s immigrants have entered the country legally through politically constructed immigration laws. At the same time, many others have entered the country by circumventing these legal means. Depending on circumstances, many of these people were granted full citizenship.
Today’s immigration crisis is focused on a group of people who have entered the country at great risk to themselves and their families. They have come to America to escape poverty and political upheaval and chaos in their home nations.
We are grateful that Pope Francis, Archbishop Thompson and other American religious leaders remind us and the nation to remember the dignity and worth of every person. They remind us that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were immigrants and refugees in Egypt as they escaped the decrees of King Herod.
It is way past time for immigration reform. We urge our leaders to seriously consider reform that is centered on the dignity of each individual and the sanctity of each family.
We at St. Thomas Aquinas will continue to do all that we can to bring about such reform. We will continue to do all that we can to recognize that everyone is our neighbor. We prayerfully recommend a humane system is established that provides means of unbiased decision-making concerning an individual’s immigration status. Because as Pope Francis wrote to the US Bishops, Migration policies built on force, not truth, ‘will end badly’.
Respectfully,
Fr. Varghese Maliakkal
