What Pope Francis can teach us about immigration reform...

I find myself entering this Holy Week with unquenchable joy.  I keep feeling I should have a more sober tone but in my heart I still believe Pentecost has already come to the Church in the person of Pope Francis.  Simplicity,  compassion, and social justice are front and center.  We can all enumerate our favorite stories about him:  his simple greeting and wave, the request for prayers as he bends to receive them, the simple wish “ good night and sleep well”, getting out of the pope mobile to greet the disabled man, gathering his own things from his hotel and paying his own bill, calling personally to cancel his home newspaper, spending Holy Thursday at a juvenile detention center, inviting guests to his early morning Mass (including Vatican gardeners, street sweepers, kitchen staff and maids working at the hotel where he is currently staying.)   This is a welcoming and warm man.  He is rebuilding our Church as Francis of Assisi was also called to do. 

But yesterday as we remembered the 33rd anniversary of Oscar Romero’s death I couldn't help but look at the similarities between Romero and Pope Francis. Oscar Romero tells us:  "Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.  Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.  Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.  It is right and it is duty." On his anniversary it is fitting that we say a prayer of hope for his people in El Salvador and here in the United States but also for immigrants everywhere.  Both Oscar Romero and Pope Francis are known to be  conservatives,  both deeply spiritual, and both committed to peace and  unflinchingly focused on the poor.   I believe that our Pope will be very vocal about the poor and the marginalized in our society, about the  immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families, for peace throughout the world, and for the nurturing of all creation.  His stance on Social Justice will be clear and straightforward – not just in words but in all of his actions just like they were for Oscar Romero.

In an NCR article John Allen cites two older quotes from our new pope that touched my heart deeply:  1) "Only someone who has encountered mercy, who has been caressed by the tenderness of mercy, is happy and comfortable with the Lord” ( 2001 address) and 2) “We live in the most unequal part of the world,  which has grown the most yet reduced misery the least.  The unjust distribution of goods persists, creating a situation of  social  sin  that  cries out to Heaven and limits the possibilities of a fuller life for so many of our brothers  (his 2007 address at a conference for Latin American Bishops)."

As the son of Italian immigrants to the South American nation,  Pope Francis knows what it is like to live in an immigrant family and what it must have been like for his parents as they migrated from Italy to Buenos Aires, Argentina.    When our Congress returns from their Easter recess on April 8^th, immigration will be introduced and our voice and actions need to speak the tenderness of mercy to which our Pope refers.  There are still some Senators who hold out for legal status rather than citizenship.  Both the USCCB and the Interfaith immigration Coalition insist that a common sense, achievable path to citizenship is essential and that family reunification must be a priority.  Addressing root causes of illegal immigration and inclusion of funding for integration of new US citizens are also very important.

Members of Congress need to know that their constituents care deeply about compassionate immigration that includes these elements.  Our Advocacy Committee and the Franciscan Action Network as well as our Bishops ask us to call or email our local congressional offices and, if at all possible, schedule appointments to talk with them while they are in our neighborhoods between March 25 to April 5  for their Easter Break.   I believe Pope Francis can and will influence people of good will within our nation and others to welcome the immigrant as they come to find a new and healthier life among us.  Like Francis of Assisi, Oscar Romero, and Pope Francis we need to do what is ours to do.  We need to speak  peace and tenderness  with our actions.  Please call or email congress.  God's poor and marginalized need our voice.

(You can also see this blog at our Franciscan Spiritual Center Website)