July 7, 2019 - "The Cry of the Poor"

In my five years as Pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville (2008-13) I was moved by the stories of many parishioners from El Salvador who had fled the gang violence so prevalent there.  Some fled because they were the victims of extortion and were warned that if they did not pay protection money, family members would be killed—starting with the children in the family.  I can well understand the desperation of people trying to escape from the lawlessness and gratuitous violence that so marks El Salvador and other Central American countries.  Recently we had the heart breaking story and photograph of a young father and his baby daughter from El Salvador who drowned in the Rio Grande while attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico on Sunday, June 23, 2019.  Both Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Joe S. Vasquez, Bishop of Austin and Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration, issued a joint statement in which they called on the federal government to hear the cry of the poor and vulnerable.  I am transcribing their statement here.  It can be found online at http://www.usccb.org/news/2019/19-125.cfm.
 
“We join with Our Holy Father Pope Francis in immense sadness, having seen the horrific images of Oscar Martinez and his daughter Angie Valeria who drowned in the Rio Grande Valley while attempting to flee persecution and enter the United States.  This image cries to heaven for justice.  This image silences politics.  Who can look on this picture and not see the results of the failures of all of us to find a humane and just solution to the immigration crisis?  Sadly, this picture shows the daily plight of our brothers and sisters.  Not only does their cry reach heaven.  It reaches us.  And it must now reach our federal government.
 
All people, regardless of their country of origin or legal status, are made in the image of God and should be treated with dignity and respect.  Recent reports of overcrowded and unsanitary conditions are appalling and unacceptable for any person in U.S. custody, but particularly for children, who are uniquely vulnerable.  Such conditions cannot be used as tools for deterrence.  We can and must remain a country that provides refuge for children and families fleeing violence, persecution, and acute poverty.
 
Congress has a duty to provide additional funding to address the needs of children in federal custody.  Their supplemental appropriations bill should also increase protections for immigrant children, including heightened standards and oversight for border facilities.  It is possible and necessary to care for the safety of migrant children and the security of our citizens.  By putting aside partisan interests, a nation as great as ours is able to do both.”
 
Let me close my column today with a prayer that a parishioner sent me recently after reading some of these news reports about how migrant children in federal custody were been treated:

"Loving God,
Remembering that the Holy Family fled violence and lived for a time as refugees,
We ask that you protect all refugee families fleeing persecution. 
Provide them with a place of safety and comfort.
Forgive us for neglecting their needs.
 
For children,
Who are making perilous journeys often alone and without the protection of loved ones, 
We ask that you reunite them with their families.
Protect them from violence and fear on the journey.
 
For all migrants,
That they not feel compelled to leave their homeland.
Grant them opportunity to thrive and live fully human lives.
 
Open our hearts so that we may provide hospitality for those who come in search of refuge.
 
We ask this in Jesus' name.  Amen."
 
Until next week,
Fr. John