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Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down That Wall; Mr. Bush, Tear Down That Wall

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

Young Woman from Spain Visits Casa Juan Diego: An Unforgettable Month

Summer began again and I got on a plane to Houston, Texas, USA, to work with my father at Casa Juan Diego, a house of hospitality and part of the Catholic worker Movement, founded by Mark and Louise Zwick in 1980. It is dedicated to housing immigrants, mostly from Latin America. I decided to go… continue reading

The Bones of Immigrants Crushed on the Journey, in Attacks, or in Work Accidents Will Rise Again

“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

Irrational Animosity Towards Immigrants

This article was written after hearing very negative comments about immigrants from the media. The animosity and hostility towards immigrants in today’s world is very hard to fathom. It is as if the Ku Klux Klan is in charge of Public Relations, spitting out untruths and half-truths about immigrants as they did in 1927 ridiculing… continue reading

Reaction to Benedict XVI in Brazil: Our Lady of Guadalupe Bridges the Gap

Pope Benedict XVI was criticized when he said at the V General Conference of CELAM in Aparecida, Brazil, that the evangelization of Latin America did not impose a foreign culture, but brought to fullness and purified the indigenous religions, where God had already been present. While there has been in recent years an emphasis on… continue reading

Declaration of Catholic Martyrdom of Franz Jagerstatter, Beheaded by the Nazis, Will Support Conscientious Objectors to War

“Jump out before the train reaches its destination, even it it costs you your life” -Franz Jagerstatter At the beginning of June the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI had authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to publish his declaration of the Catholic martyrdom of Franz Jagerstatter. The date for his beatification had… continue reading

Mistreatment of Laborers Leads to Abuse of Workers and Children, Including Immigrant Workers and Children

A priority in the Catholic Worker movement in the time of Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day was the defense of workers against mistreatment and exploitation. Dorothy often quoted the encyclical Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII in regard to workers not getting paid, or being paid a pittance for their work: “To defraud anyone of wages… continue reading

Prayers for Immigrants/Oraciones por los inmigrantes

1             July        2007 We pray to the Lord: For the most persecuted, The most hated, The most despised, The most rejected,  of us all The  “Immigrants.” That we show them our love To help them overcome their poverty With their willing work And in the process that we learn from their Boundless faith, hope, charity,… continue reading

Migration and Migrants in the Time of Globalization

Cardinal Poupard, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, addressed the Third National Congress of the Episcopal Commission for Culture in Mexico, particularly related, he said, “to the Fifth General Conference of CELAM in May of 2007 in Aparecida, Brazil, toward which all the Church in Latin America is preparing.” Excerpts from his talk, translated by… continue reading

Raids and Deportations Create New Terror for Immigrants and Their Families

At the beginning of April, on the steps of one of the first Franciscan missions (founded by foreigners), a foreign-born Roman Catholic Bishop complained of the treatment of his fellow immigrants. He was responding to the arrest and deportation of many immigrants, especially mothers and fathers of children. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wong, born… continue reading