CV NEWS FEED // The bishops of Georgia and the Georgia Catholic Conference issued a statement Feb. 4 reiterating the Catholic Church’s teaching on immigration while expressing support and solidarity for immigrants in the United States.
Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of the Diocese of Savannah, and three auxiliary bishops of Atlanta signed the statement, which was published in The Georgia Bulletin.
The bishops explained the Church’s teaching that each person has inherent dignity because they are made in God’s image and that immigrants must be treated with dignity and respect. The bishops added that some proposed immigration policies could negatively impact immigrants and their communities.
“However,” the bishops wrote, “we also understand and agree that those who come to our country with previous criminal records and those who commit crimes after their arrival must be held accountable and deported to their home countries.”
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The bishops reaffirmed Archbishop Timothy Broglio’s response to President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders. They also noted that the Church both teaches that people have the right to immigrate to sustain the lives of themselves and their families and that countries have a right to secure their borders.
“The call and desire of every Catholic, regardless of national origin or legal status, is to worship the Almighty,” the bishops wrote, “and we pray that our churches may be places of peace through solemn prayer, places of grace afforded by the celebration of the Sacraments, and places of compassion provided by fellowship and accompaniment.”
The bishops concluded, “We also lift in prayer our immigrant brothers and sisters and all who are marginalized, that the light of Christ will guide them to peace. During this Jubilee Year and always, may we have the desire to journey together as Pilgrims of Hope.”
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