VISION SPOTLIGHT
COURTESY OF SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE, SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, IN
SISTER JONI Luna, S.P. (left) takes part in a demonstration of solidarity with migrants, immigrants, and refugees.
Religious orders aid and advocate for migrants by
Susan Flansburg produces online and print content for businesses, nonprofits, and individuals at Flansburg Sivell Communications. She has worked for many years with religious communities.
Susan Flansburg
In the United States, attitudes toward migrants and refugees have varied widely, but one group has predictably been on the spot to offer aid, shelter, and spiritual solace: religious communities of men and women.
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HROUGHOUT U.S. history, religious orders have responded to the needs of migrants, immigrants, and refugees who have landed on the country’s shores or arrived at its borders. Most recently, at the border between the United States and Mexico, Catholic sisters, priests, and brothers have helped newcomers with food, medicine, clothing, spiritual comfort, and advocacy. With the outbreak of COVID-19, they were also quick to respond to the safety and health needs of these vulnerable groups. In all of this they are not alone. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued multiple statements in defense of the human rights of migrants, immigrants, and refugees, and bishops have encouraged the faithful to press for more humane policies. =
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