Loretto stands with immigrants: yesterday, today and always

Loretto’s spirit of advocacy reflects its mission of “working for justice and acting for peace because the Gospel urges us.”

Both in the Old and New Testament scriptures, one can find references to welcoming your neighbor. The books of Leviticus and Exodus directly speak to the obligation to welcome foreigners.

• “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress them. The person who comes to you shall be as one to you, and you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were once aliens too. You know the heart of an alien.” Leviticus (19:33)
• “You shall not oppress a foreigner. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” Exodus (23:9)

Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel is very clear when he says: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

The plight of migrants and refugees has been a constant and urgent priority for Pope Francis. On his first trip outside of Rome to the Island of Lampedusa, a way station for refugees in the Mediterranean, he spoke of the many who have drowned: “We are a society which has forgotten how to weep, how to experience compassion … the globalization of indifference has taken from us the ability to weep!” 

In his writings and sermons, Pope Francis frequently reminds us that Jesus and his parents were refugees in Egypt. He calls on everyone to understand the root causes of the mass movement of people, and to act with compassion and solidarity in response to their sufferings, remembering Jesus’s words: “What you have done to the least of my brothers, you have done to me.”

Pope Francis recently wrote a letter to the U.S. Bishops on immigration. In it he says, “I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival. That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.” 

The Loretto Community also has been focused on immigration for years. Articulated back in 2017, when it was adopted by the Loretto Community at its Community Assembly, Loretto’s position on immigration justice is as follows:

The Loretto Community affirms that all individuals are endowed with fundamental human rights and are worthy of dignity and respect. We firmly believe in the freedom of movement, family unification, worker justice, and state protection of immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers. Therefore, we denounce current United States (U.S.) immigration laws and policies that are unjust and inhumane. In particular, we are alarmed by the increased militarization of our border and our new government’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

We who believe in justice shall not rest until it comes.