In early 2008 major protests by landowners throughout south Texas have been featured regularly in the press. Thirty counties in Texas have protested the seizure of hundred of thousands of acres of prime agricultural land by the Texas Department of Transportation for NAFTA traffic for a four football fields-side complex of tollways and high-speed rail… continue reading
Church and State and the New “Serfs”
April 1, 2008 by
We have three men living at Casa Juan Diego’s Houses of Hospitality with such serious injuries that they shuffle instead of walk. We have three men in wheel chairs who don’t walk at all We have three men who have lost a leg and await protheses so they can walk and work. We have three… continue reading
Is Houston a Sanctuary City?
February 1, 2008 by
Accusations have been made that Houston is a sanctuary city which harbors and supports immigrants instead of running them off and deporting them. Houston is a sanctuary, they say, a holy place for immigrants seeking employment and a new life, a place of protection. If Houston is a sanctuary city, it has escaped us. This… continue reading
Catholic Bishops Resist Anti-Immigrant Laws: Christ is Present in the Suffering Poor
February 1, 2008 by
Recent events surrounding immigration “enforcement” have drawn the attention, the concern, the ire, and the resistance of Catholic Bishops in the United States. The anti-immigrant prejudice in the United States has been seized upon by legislators in some states in order to enact awful laws. These laws in states such as Oklahoma and Georgia are… continue reading
Ordination Demands Deaconal Commitment: Bishop Flores Invites Deacons in Galveston-Houston Archdiocese to Live Matthew 25
February 1, 2008 by
We recently attended the ordination of transitional deacons for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, especially for Miguel Alvizures, whose story was in the last issue of the Houston Catholic Worker. Six deacons were ordained, including one for the Diocese of Dallas and one for Victoria; seminary students from those Dioceses also study at St. Mary’s Seminary for… continue reading
The Cardinal Flies South: Immigrants from the South and North Bring Cardinal to Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
December 1, 2007 by
The great influx of Catholic immigrants from all different directions, from Latin America, from Asia, and from Africa, and including Yankees from the North, has contributed to the election of Archbishop Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston as a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. In his press conference when his elevation to a Cardinal was announced, Archbishop… continue reading
She is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, as Are the Poor, the Immigrants
December 1, 2007 by
An old, old, fairy tale from Russia tells the story of a young boy (or sometimes told from the point of view of a young girl) who was lost. He couldn’t find his mother. Villagers who wanted to help asked the child, “What does your mother look like?” Tell us, so that we can help… continue reading
God will say, “Where are the Others?”: Stories of Finding Relatives and Friends at Casa Juan Diego
December 1, 2007 by
Dorothy Day wrote in the “Aims and Purposes of the Catholic Worker Movement,” (published in 1940 in The Catholic Worker) : “We cannot live alone. We cannot go to Heaven alone. Otherwise, as Péguy said, God will say to us, ‘Where are the others?’” This can be understood on several levels. For Péguy and Dorothy and… continue reading
Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down That Wall; Mr. Bush, Tear Down That Wall
October 1, 2007 by
Rio Grande Valley cities and citizens are joining with Mexican citizens to protest the wall being built through their territory. As we write, an event called Hands Across El Rio is taking place all along the border (August 27 to) September 9). Texas activists, environmen-talists, the religious community, the University of Texas at Brownsville, Latina… continue reading
The Bones of Immigrants Crushed on the Journey, in Attacks, or in Work Accidents Will Rise Again
October 1, 2007 by
“Them Bones,” the traditional spiritual based on the book of Ezekiel in the Bible about the Lord bringing dry bones to life, has a special meaning for Casa Juan Diego, the Houston Catholic Worker, because so many people come to us who have lost their limbs, whose bones were crushed on a terrible journey trying… continue reading
