Launching its Supporting Irish Abroad campaign for 2005 next week, the bishops highlight the plight of the undocumented Irish living in the United States and call awareness to the difficulties that they face in regularizing their status.
Bishop Seamus Hegarty of Derry, and chairman of the bishops’ campaign, is directing the project that is working with the Migration and Refugee Service of the U.S. conference of bishops to address the issues of the immigrants.
Bishop Hegarty said that he will visit the United States «to meet with our chaplains and those working with Irish people,» and with the U.S. bishops’ conference.
«This year we will raise funds to support our outreach services for vulnerable Irish emigrants,» said the bishop. «These services include volunteer outreach programs to elders, supporting members of the Irish traveling community in the U.K., increase frequency of visitations to Irish people in prisons abroad, a program to support immigration reform in the United States and in assisting other agencies to outreach to Irish people in need.»
