BY ISN STAFF | April 3, 2017

On March 27, St. Thomas More Catholic Community in St. Paul, Minnesota became the second Jesuit parish in the United States to designate itself a Sanctuary Parish, following St. Agnes Church in San Francisco in January of 2017. “We declare,” reads the parish statement, “that undocumented persons in our community deserve to be treated with respect, dignity, and justice.”

The Catholic Church, Pope Francis, and the Society of Jesus have long advocated for immigration reform in the U.S.  St. Thomas More and its predecessor parishes, Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Luke’s, have a lengthy history of working with undocumented persons as advocates and supporters. St. Thomas More engaged in an extensive discernment process to determine how the parish can today’s immigrant population in the Twin Cities and nationally.

St. Thomas More Catholic Community in St. Paul, MN officially designated itself a sanctuary parish on March 27.

As part of St. Thomas More’s discernment process, the parish held three discernment sessions open to all community members, established four working groups to research answers to questions raised in these sessions, provided a draft statement on sanctuary to parishioners and an opportunity to comment, and discussed the research and parish feedback with parish leadership. Many themes emerged.

The community acknowledges and respects the federal government’s obligation to protect borders and uphold U.S. immigration laws. “Nevertheless,” reads the parish statement, “we agree with the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference that immigration principles should always be at the service of human dignity and the common good of society. St. Thomas More is committed to increasing its advocacy for just and humane immigration reform at both the local and national level.”

As a sanctuary parish, St. Thomas More commits to advocating for justice for immigrants on both a local and national level; offering spaces for organizers, lawyers, and community members to meet; listening and responding to the call and needs of immigrant brothers and sisters; gathering for communal prayer to continually discern the movement of the Spirit in the parish community’s work, action, and lives; and developing a robust referral program to put those asking for help and guidance in contact with local agencies able to provide that help and guidance.

As part of the discernment process, it was clear to parish leadership that a majority of the responders in feel called to participate in more immediate, collective action than advocacy alone can provide. Many feel a biblical and theological call to act like the Good Samaritan who provided shelter, financial support, and comfort to a stranger in need or the innkeeper who offered Mary and Joseph a place to rest after a long journey.

St. Thomas More will support a sanctuary effort by opening space within the Parish Center for individuals facing deportation, especially where deportation would separate parents from their children or would separate people brought to the United States as children from the only homes they have ever truly known. The parish will also create an Implementation Team that will devise a plan for safely welcoming undocumented persons into the community and communal spaces; marshal independent financial resources to the extent possible to support the sanctuary effort; provide training for staff and volunteers on best practices for safely and lawfully welcoming undocumented persons into the community; and work with parish leadership to minimize insurance, financial, and legal risks to the parish community.

“We believe that our efforts are a calling of our faith and a reflection of who we are as a Jesuit parish,” reads the statement. “We respect all parishioners’ right to participate in advocacy and sanctuary efforts to the degree their personal discernments dictate.”

Upon announcement of the parish’s sanctuary decision, Fr. Warren Sazama, S.J., St. Thomas More pastor, shared reflections from parishioners who had spoken and acted in support of the decision, emphasizing the faith and justice dimensions of the action. One young parishioner shared:

“I was a part of the growing statistic of young Americans who identify as spiritual but not religious. Before my husband and I came to STM two years ago, my image of the Church was tainted by nodes of scandal, exclusivity, and patriarchy. Then I got to know the STM community. STM began to transform my image of the Church to a good, compassionate, welcoming one. I started to talk about my church (as a millennial! gasp!) with my non-religious classmates (I’m in business school) and friends. I started to defend my Catholic faith. Then, I did something unexpected: I decided to go through the RCIA process at STM to discern becoming a confirmed Catholic. I’ve felt let down by the Catholic Church many times, but the prospect of STM serving as a sanctuary parish has restored a lively faith in me: I’m ready to engage, give, help however I can. I’m not a lifelong parishioner (yet), but I can tell you: sanctuary won’t divide this parish. Sanctuary is who this parish is.”

Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published as part of the Ignatian Solidarity Network News From the Network series.

BY CHRISTOPHER KERR | April 2, 2017
Readings

In my work at the Ignatian Solidarity Network, I have the opportunity to join passionate colleagues from across the country for regular “coalition calls” to discuss the ways that the faith-based community can advocate for humane migration and refugee policies.

As executive orders were announced by the new administration this winter, the mood during these calls was one of disheartenment and desolation, particularly in light of our new president’s history of taking direct aim at existing regulations designed to protect the dignity of immigrants and refugees who are most vulnerable.

Cleveland Immigration Walk for Justice-2016

Call participants began to share stories of immigrants and refugees already being directly impacted by the changing policies: immigrant families choosing not to attend church services or send their children to school out of fear of deportation; refugees stopped at international airports hours before flights to the U.S. and turned away; and undocumented young people detained amid questionable circumstances despite having Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status.

While each situation had its unique characteristics, they all shared a common theme — a sense of great loss, as if hope had died for these immigrant and refugee sisters and brothers.

In the weeks that have followed, the sense of desolation is still a reality — it cannot be avoided. However, among the coalition members there is also a sense of hope.

It is grounded in a belief that in the midst of challenging realities that face immigrant and refugee communities, there are small steps that we can take as advocates, as companions — that we can be givers of life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives Lazarus “life” when he asks him to come out from the darkness of the tomb.  Through this miracle we experience the hope that Jesus can provide for our world, even amid great desolation. Our coalition partners offer that same hope, showing that there are small glimmers of “life” and hope we can provide to brothers and sisters who migrate.

Reflection questions:

  • What are the experiences of migrants and refugees in your community?
  • How can you be a giver of “life” and “hope” to them?

Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published as part of the Ignatian Solidarity Network Rise Up: A Lenten Call to Solidarity series.

BY JOANNA WILLIAMS | April 1, 2017
Readings

We are always in danger of normalizing injustice, or believing it to be inevitable.

We hear of Jesus’ crucifixion so often that we are tempted to think there was unshakable unanimity amongst the leaders of Jesus’ day that he was a threat to the power structure and must be arrested. Yet today’s readings remind us that there were dissenting voices.

DTRocks via Wikimedia Commons

Here at the border, every day we witness the abuses in the immigration detention and deportation process. In US detention centers, immigrants are subjected to degrading treatment with little oversight. Earlier this year, an individual who had been through our comedor sought asylum in the US and was put in solitary confinement in Eloy Detention Center without access to needed medical care. Instead of accepting this treatment as normal, we spoke out against the injustice and, at our encouragement, an official responsible for oversight decided to respond. Although she was initially skeptical of his account, like Nicodemus, she decided to hear and find out. Thanks to a dissenting voice, he received the treatment he needed and he no longer had to live every day of his time in detention in fear.

We must be the dissenting voices that shed light on the abnormality of injustice, prophesy to the fact that a better world is possible, and encourage our government officials and representatives to do the same.

Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published as part of the Ignatian Solidarity Network Rise Up: A Lenten Call to Solidarity series.