A new immigration model for the Catholic Church for today’s world

The U.S. Catholic Church‘s National Migration Week ran last week. The focus this year was on children.In a message to the public, Bishop Brendan J. Cahill harkened back to the work of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. Colloquially known as “Mother Cabrini,” this Italian Roman Catholic nun was sent to New York by Pope Leo XIII to work with poor Italians who had immigrated to America. Mother Cabrini brought with her a group of sisters to this new challenge; she went on to open schools, hospitals, and orphanages.The “Mother Cabrini” model is no longer viable in our globalized, easy transit world; we need a new model for the new world we find ourselves in. U.S. Bishops, churches, and charities need to go to the source in countries of origin. That is, it is time to reverse the order in which help to migrants and refugees is given: The Church must go to the source and stop waiting until they illegally arrive at our border. Better to work preventatively than palliatively. Not only is the Catholic Church’s immigration model outdated, not only does it incentivize migration, it has taxed the goodwill of the people, Catholic and otherwise. Since the Catholic hierarchy has said they are all about accompanying migrants, what better way to accompany these people than in the land of their origin?The goal of the new model should be to take seriously what previous popes, and others, have said about the value of heritage, culture, and rootedness to the well-being of the human person. The goal of the new model should be to help people stay and thrive in their lands of origin.If the Catholic hierarchy means what they say about money and material goods not being the goal of life, and if they are sincere that difficult service to others is not to be shirked, then this new model should be adopted with vigor because there is much to do.What would this new model entail, and how would it be a better option than what the Catholic Church is currently doing?Given that this year’s focus is on children, the first and most important benefit of the new model is that it greatly reduces the physical harm and long-term damage migration can have on children. There is so much danger posed to children, not only for the journey to travel all the way to us, but the evils brought about by human traffickers, drug cartels, and bad actors.With rosary beads wrapped around clasped hands, a man bows in prayer during a Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 4, 2020. Following an easing of restrictions related to COVID-19, the Catholic church in Rio celebrated its first Mass with 30% of its worshippers, while observing preventive measures to avoid spreading the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) The first order of business is for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration to work with charities and their counterparts in countries of origin to sponsor events and create educational material for parents and families, to educate all on the treacherous and damaging migration journey for unaccompanied minors. Migrant-prone areas should be swamped with pamphlets and community meetings educating would-be migrants. Along with these education programs, real assistance should be given to these families.After and along with education comes tangible help. Instead of waiting until all these people travel to our border and then helping them enter our country and giving them material help, the new model calls for tangible material to be given to needy people while they are still in their lands of origin. The committee on migration should shift its focus to what is happening on the ground in migrant-prone areas in our hemisphere. Working with the bishops, churches, and other institutions on the ground in the lands of origin, they can provide food, clothing, and education. Through this collaboration, they can — by working with U.S.-friendly governments — begin creating solutions to the problems that are often the cause of migration: poverty and violence.For too long, religious and socially concerned folks have sought to prick our conscience about how we treat the stranger in our midst. As an immigrant, I’ve found that most people (no matter where they are on the political spectrum) seem to have only one answer to these hardships: “Move!” “Emigrate!” “Go somewhere better!” There is something deeply wrong with this thinking, and it belies a belief that says whenever things get hard and bad, just pick up and go; it is a belief that reduces the human person to an economic unit. It completely neglects people’s roots — their communities, countries, and cultures.TRUMP AND XI SIZE EACH OTHER UPIt’s time for church leaders in particular to emphasize and work toward solutions at the source of the problem, in the countries of origin. Preventive measures could save many lives and lead to revived communities. It’s time for us to understand that sometimes staying put and helping our neighbors to build a better place for themselves is more respectful of their human dignity and a more humane solution.