'Jesus Was A Refugee'
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami cut to the chase about halfway through his Oct. 9 keynote at the Diocese of Evansville English Language Respect Life Celebration.
“The story of the Holy Family is instructive,” said Archbishop Wenski, who devoted his Oct. 8 (Spanish) and Oct. 9 (eEnglish) remarks to the issue of migration-immigration. “Joseph took the child and fled with Mary to Egypt.
“Jesus was a refugee. And you can be sure that Joseph did not waste any time trying to get a visa to go into Egypt. So Jesus was just as illegal as the illegals we hear about on our talk show programs we love to listen to.”
Earlier in the day, during a press conference with Bishop Charles C. Thompson of Evansville, the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Domestic Justice/Human Development also cut to the chase when describing longstanding Church teaching on human dignity as it relates to this issue.
“No human being … can be reduced to a problem,” he said in the offices of Catholic Charities – and again at Nativity Parish, which hosted the 2015 Respect Life Celebrations.
“Just as we can call Jesus the King of Kings, we also can rightly refer to him as the Migrant of Migrants,” Archbishop Wenski told a large crowd in Nativity’s parish hall. “In becoming a man like us, Jesus migrated from Heaven. He became a citizen of our world so that we, in turn, might become citizens of the world to come. And those who will enter into His Heavenly homeland will do so because, as He Himself will tell us, ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed Me.’
“In this way,” he added, “perhaps we can contemplate the image of Jesus in the visage of the immigrant.”
Archbishop Wenski, who also serves on the USCCB Committee on Immigration, opened his remarks by focusing on the nature of laws – and what Jesus had to say about them.
“To those who accused Jesus of breaking the laws of His day, He replied, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’ This teaching underscores the point that positive law – even Divine positive law – is meant to benefit, not to enslave, mankind.
“When laws fail to advance the common good, they can and they should be changed. Laws that fail to advance the common good are bad laws … unjust laws. Our immigration laws need to be changed. They are antiquated and inadequate for the promotion and regulation of social and economic relations in 21st Century America.”
He emphasized that the Church will – and must – continue to speak out on behalf of migrants everywhere. “(Catholics) must model to the rest of the world what a reconciled world looks like. We have to show that diversity enriches the Church and doesn't divide Her. Our Communion in Christ is greater than anything that could divide us. Language doesn’t divide us; diversity doesn’t divide us. What divides us is sin; everything else should enrich us.
“As Jesus reminded the embittered zealots of His day,” Archbishop Wenski added, “laws are designed for the benefit – not the harm – of humankind. Of course, we have to listen better to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and pay a little less attention to Sean, Rush, Don and whoever else is talking. Let’s listen to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for a change.”
Catholic Charities organizes the annual Diocesan Respect Life Celebration. This year for the first time, it included Spanish- and English-language events on successive nights. Each drew large crowds for Mass, which was followed by dinner and Archbishop Wenski’s keynote.
Bishop Charles C. Thompson’s homily for Diocesan Respect Life Celebration
Respect Life Mass Wed, October 7: Jonah 4:1-11
Church of the Nativity (Evansville) (Spanish) Luke 11:1-4
October 2015
Thurs, October 8: Malachi 3:13-20
(English) Luke 11:5-13
The national theme for this year’s Respect Life Program, Every Life is Worth Living, is
meant to highlight the dignity of each person and the sacredness of every life. We are most
fortunate to have with us Archbishop Wenski of Miami to speak specifically on immigration and
human trafficking within the framework of the Church’s Social Teaching. Indeed, within this
framework, the Church proclaims that each and every life is worth living and defending. Every
life counts!
Catholic social teaching, grounded in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, is quite clear on the
conviction that each and every human life is sacred from the very moment of conception to
natural death. As Jesus reminds us in his teaching on The Judgment of the Nations (cf. Matthew
25:31-46), authentic Christian discipleship demands that we take no life for granted. The
credibility of our witness to Jesus Christ involves our resolve to allow no person, no human life,
to fall through the proverbial cracks. He states; “Whatever you did or did not do to the least of
my brothers or sisters, you did or did not do to me” (cf. MT 25:40, 45). Thus, are we bound by
both justice and charity. This is the case whether we are considering the plight of the unborn, the
immigrant, the homeless, the unemployed, the downcast, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the
addicted, the imprisoned, the difficult, the elderly or the dying.
In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, (“The Joy of the Gospel”), Pope
Francis reminds us that it is not only hatred and violence that we must overcome, but also
“widespread indifference and relativism, linked to disillusionment and the crisis of ideologies.”
He adds that “in a culture where each person wants to be bearer of his or her subjective truth, it
becomes difficult for citizens to devise a common plan which transcends gain and personal
ambitions.” (EV, #62)
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In his Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si’, “On Care for Our Common Home,” Pope Francis
stresses the fact that the four basic relationships for each and every human person—that is, with
God, with others, with creation and with oneself—are interrelated. None of these can
authentically exist in some type of vacuum in isolation of the others. He reminds us that our
Christian witness must stem from a grateful heart rooted in this sense of awareness that all life is gift
from God.
One of the greatest plights undermining this sense of human dignity, sacredness of life, is
the scourge of poverty. This is certainly true for many immigrants and victims of human
trafficking, as Archbishop Wenski will later discuss with us. Poverty takes on various rather
interrelated forms—emotional, material, psychological and spiritual—leading to a means of
salvation for some and a cause of despair for others. While there are those who choose a
particular life of poverty, living in simplicity and humility, many others seem to be thrust or
imprisoned in a vicious cycle of poverty that renders human existence as seemingly void of
meaning, purpose or hope. This is particularly disturbing with regard to multigenerational
poverty.
There are ways to address these concerns. In fact, there is a rich array of means to
promote and defend the sacredness of life and dignity of humanity. In the Indiana Bishops’
Pastoral Letter, Poverty at the Crossroads: The Church’s Response to Poverty in Indiana,
published on February 18 (Ash Wednesday) of this year, we noted four key components
fundamental to ending the cycle of poverty; namely, family life, employment, education and
healthcare. As we gather to celebrate tonight’s program, the Synod on the Family is underway in
Rome. The notion of family is particularly pertinent to our understanding of the value, the worth
of each and every human life. In Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis states that “the family is the
fundamental cell of society, where we learn to live with others despite our differences and to
belong to one another; it is also the place where parents pass on the faith to their children.” (EV,
#66)
Prayer, study, reflection, dialogue and active engagement with culture and society are the
means by which we make a difference in the lives of others, especially on behalf of the poor and
vulnerable. In our gospel passage from Luke, Jesus impressed upon his disciples the
indispensable value of prayer and the need to be persistent in prayer. In declaring the upcoming
Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has noted that our world is in great need of experiencing
mercy. Pointing out that Jesus Christ is the very face of divine mercy, our Holy Father has made
clear that no one is excluded from the call of mercy…whether as recipient or instrument of
mercy. Using the formula provided by the Indiana Bishops’ Pastoral on Poverty, let us SEE,
JUDGE and ACT with the eyes, ears, heart, mind, voice and personal conviction of God’s mercy
for each person and every creature. Each life matters. Every life is worth living. This is the
heart of gospel joy, the Good News of Salvation, the core of the Paschal Mystery, the message of
Jesus Christ.
