It's well known that the U.S. Bishops speak with one voice on the issue of immigration, but the positions they espouse on the issue are not always shared by the people in the pews. In recognition of the need for dialogue among Catholics on immigration policy, the Catholic Common Ground Initiative (CCGI) held its eleventh annual Cardinal Bernardin Conference March 9-11 in Jacksonville, Florida on this topic. Catholics representing citizens groups skeptical of church-endorsed measures like the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill sat down for dialogue with Catholic representatives from business and labor, academics, an immigration judge, the leader of the Border Patrol agents union, and four Catholic bishops, with two staff from the Justice for Immigrants campaign also participating.

As with many CCGI meetings, the first achievement was getting people with the various perspectives together in one room. Then a process led by facilitator Peg Garvey-Mitchell, led participants to hear various reflections on immigration policy from the perspective of Catholic social teaching, global patterns of migration, business and labor, legal, and pastoral/parish perspectives. Each segment included one panelist who told a "story" on immigration, such as auxiliary Bishop of Boston Robert Hennessey's recollection of working with parishioners who married people they did not know in order to come into the United States, but whose true families were not now recognized by the state.

Bishop Thomas Wenski opened the conference with reflections on Catholic social teaching and immigration policy, stressing, "It's sin that divides us, not diversity." Bishop Wenski took on the "lawbreaker" or "illegal" label applied to undocumented migrants, stating "When laws fail to advance the common good, they need to be changed."

Panel discussions were followed by small group discussions, and both CCGI director Sr. Catherine Patten, RSHM and facilitator Peg Garvey-Mitchell encouraged participants to air the core values and even the fears driving their opinions. The result was a level of candor and listening rarely seen in discussions of immigration policy. Presentations bringing the immigration issue into context helped foster that openness. For example, Mary Delorey of Catholic Relief Services shared that the Mexican minimum wage has recently fallen in value by 70% and recent trade agreements have had a measurable impact on immigration patterns. Spiritual insights helped deepen the conversation and elevate it above "talking points." Fr. Rick Ryscavage, SJ, director of the Center for Faith and Public Life at Fairfield University, suggested that the Biblical narrative of migration is more helpful than Catholic social teaching in discussions of immigration policy and also St. Augustine’s insight, "we are all aliens on this planet. Our citizenship lies elsewhere."

Hearing labor and business perspectives side by side helped upend stereotypes as the perspectives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and those of the AFL-CIO seemed not so different. "There must be a path to citizenship," said Randy Johnson of the Chamber. At the same time, representatives of groups which disagree with positions advocated by the USCCB engaged in respectful dialogue, enjoying meals, prayer, and socials together as well. If nothing else, as business cards changed hands, one could not help remarking that these relationships will serve all participants well when the time comes to forge new compromises that will pass muster in a divided Congress.

^ Top of the Page