September 8, 2024 - "False Claims About Organizations Serving Newcomers"

Various claims have been made about criminal activity in Catholic organizations that assist newcomers. The USCCB posted a document on their website that I want to use to address these false claims of Catholic Church agencies being involved with trafficking, smuggling and child exploitation.

 

In fact, Catholic organizations work together with local state and federal officials in providing humanitarian assistance where it is needed. This includes working with law enforcement to identify and counter criminal activity such as human trafficking and assisting those who been victimized by crime. Agencies such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) often rely upon Catholic organizations for their expertise and have viewed them as trusted partners within local communities.

 

Catholic doctrine makes a distinction between persons and their actions. Each person – whether native or immigrant, documented, or undocumented-is viewed by God with equal dignity. Catholics are compelled by Sacred Scripture and Church teaching to recognize all as brothers and sisters and serve them accordingly. At the same time, the Church works to alleviate the root causes of forced migration, such as war, persecution, and poverty, so people can remain in their homeland.

 

Catholic organizations provide a range of spiritual, social, and legal services to newcomers throughout our country. These programs are frequently designed to assist newcomers with navigating legal obligations placed on them by the U.S. Immigration system and to protect vulnerable persons from trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Shelter, medical assistance, and other aid that meets people's basic human needs are offered as act of Christian charity. Like other organizations that receive public funds, Catholic organizations are expected to adhere to requirements for the use of those funds, consistent with the applicable laws and Church teaching.

 

Unaccompanied migrant children are among the populations that can only be served as part of a formal program established by the federal government. Catholic organizations participating in this program are continuing the Church's longstanding concern for this vulnerable population. Allegations that these same organizations are somehow complicit in the trafficking of such children is antithetical to their efforts which focus on decreasing opportunities for children to be exploited. Catholic organizations do not decide if or when unaccompanied children are placed with a sponsor in the United States, but they serve as a vital layer of defense against abuse by providing home studies prior to a potential placement and post-release services to children placed with a sponsor.

 

Until next week,

Fr. John