Dear Friends in Christ,
As the colder months of winter approach, many people have asked me what we are doing to support our migrant brothers and sisters among us, many of whom are still living in tents. First, I want to take the opportunity to thank our Pastoral Migratoria and Pedro and Maria Eugenia Lorenzo for their leadership. Already, through the support of our sharing parish, St. Clement, and Catholic Charities, we have been able to assist with the settlement of a migrant family. We have requested additional funding in order to be able to help more families find apartments in which to live and get them started with what they need for life in Chicago.
Giving resources is one thing, but ongoing accompaniment is another. For anyone who has ever gone to live a new country, you know that life is very different in a new place and you need the help of other people in order to understand how things work. We are also committed to helping families in these ways too. Arranging for consular services, attorney assistance, help navigating social services, drivers’ licenses, and so many more things also fall under the mission of our Pastoral Migratoria. More than anything else, we want to help our brothers and sisters find a new home in our parish as they grow in their faith.
Cardinal Cupich, our Archbishop, has worked very hard with the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago to make a plan to help provide for the migrants among us. This is just some of the work the Archdiocese has done up to this point:
· Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago has assisted with the resettled of more than 8,000 migrants since August 2022.
· Our long-term resettlement work continues at the rate of more than 1,000 families per month.
· 58 migrant families are currently part of the Parish Family Sponsorship Program (OLM has helped one of these families – and we hope to help more soon.)
Finally, Cardinal Cupich shared the following, which I pass on to all of you for your own reflection as well:
“We must clearly counter those voices in society which speak in dehumanizing ways about the newcomers and attempt to divide us as a nation. We must remind our people that the Holy Family once fled their homeland to safeguard the infant Jesus. By proclaiming our true Catholic values: the dignity of all persons, love of neighbor and the call to give what we have to our brethren, children of God made in His image we demonstrate our reverence for life.”
Let us continue to welcome our brothers and sisters the best we can.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Thomas J. Byrne