 This year, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) takes place on October 4-5 to coincide with the Jubilee of Migrants. This day invites us to reflect on the dignity, resilience and hopes of those who leave their homes in search of safety, opportunity and peace. We are called to recognize their challenges and their contributions, and to renew our commitment to building communities of welcome where no one is a stranger. This reflection is not just an invitation to awareness but a call to action. Our faith reminds us that the presence of Christ is revealed in those who suffer, especially in migrants and refugees whose lives bear the weight of hardship and uncertainty. As Passionists, we are committed to keeping alive the memory of Christ’s Passion by standing with those who suffer today. Christ’s Passion is not just history. It lives on in those “crucified” by injustice and oppression. In solidarity with Pope Leo and our bishops, we are called to accompany our migrant brothers and sisters with compassion. As St. Paul of the Cross said, “Love is ingenious”—and love must lead us to creative ways to welcome those seeking safety and hope.
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 Read recent stories of refugees and immigrants collected by the United Nations Refugee Agency. Include those fleeing violence and oppression in your prayers.
 As the storm brewed
The long-anticipated national JPIC gathering in March 2020 was moved from Las Cruces, NM, to an online gathering as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gathering featured dynamic panels of speakers addressing critical aspects of immigrant justice and asylum. Following this virtual gathering, the group which included the Passionist Solidarity Network and other religious communities issued a powerful and compelling statement, Envisioning Gospel-Based Solidarity and Flourishing with Migrants. The statement reads in part: "...we looked at how racism, economic injustice, climate change, militarization and migration are all interconnected, just as we as a human family are connected to our migrant sisters and brothers. An intersectional lens helps us to see how these issues not only exacerbate each other, especially forced migration, but how getting to the root causes of forced migration requires us to address each of these issues together." --From the gathering's final statement The final statement is here. Please share it broadly within your communities and consider some of the action steps and to share them with each other for encouragement, collaboration, and momentum. The collected links for the conference are here. The individual sessions included
 WikiCommons ProtoplasmaKid Scott Wright is the Director of the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
The Journey of Hope: A Meditation on War and Peace "...Fast forward to today, and we find the children and grandchildren of these same refugees, and others like them, literally camped out in the cold and rain under plastic tarps, at the foot of a bridge in Mexico, waiting to make their claim to asylum in the U.S. This is the reality I saw on Thanksgiving Day, 2019, as I visited the Columban Mission in Juarez and El Paso. We have forgotten Pope Francis’ invitation, when he visited this border in 2016, to “build bridges, not walls.” We have become a nation of immigrants who has forgotten the dream of our ancestors... Pope Francis’ recent World Day of Peace message is a reminder of how “the desire for peace lies deep within the human heart.” Like the Salvadoran refugee mother and those families camped out today on our southern border, we too bear deep within us both the wounds of war and the desire for peace." Read Scott's beautiful reflection here |
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