Conference Description

As congress works to develop new immigration policies, heated and often acrimonious debates have dominated much of our public discourse. While the bishops of the United States have spoken clearly and with one voice on this issue in Welcoming the Stranger Among Us (2000) and have joined with the bishops of Mexico in writing Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope (2002), Catholics are involved on all sides of the public debate. Many corporate and government leaders as well as many of the poorest undocumented migrants are Catholics. As a church, we experience all of the divisions that we find in our society.

Therefore, we have chosen "The Migration of Peoples and Immigration Policy," as the topic for this year's Cardinal Bernardin Conference. We will try to understand these often complex issues, to listen carefully to those who represent different opinions, and to speak honestly about our own positions.

After an opening presentation laying out the multi-faceted dimensions of this issue, we will examine: global vs. national perspectives on the common good with respect to immigration; business and union perspectives; the role of law and legality with regard to immigration; diocesan and parish tensions. We are asking speakers to present their positions and then to engage in dialogue with all the participants.

CONFERENCE GOALS

• To directly and respectfully engage different positions about immigration
  
  
• To grow in understanding the complexity of the issues
  
  
• To strengthen relationships within the church community by our worship, dialogue, and social interaction
  
  
• To publish a book that will be useful for student groups in colleges and universities or for adult groups in parishes who wish to understand these issues.