Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, including those who celebrated Mass at the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona on April 1, will travel to Capitol Hill May 29, to urge lawmakers in the House of Representatives to act on immigration reform legislation.
“Our trip to the border opened our eyes, even more than previously, to the human tragedies generated by our immigration system,” said Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of Seattle, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration. “Bringing our experience, as well as the solidarity and spirit we felt with residents on both sides of the border, to our lawmakers in Washington is a natural next step.”
Bishops participating in the day include Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami; Bishop Elizondo; Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City; Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona. The day will include a Mass at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill.
“The only real solution to this broken system is action by Congress,” Bishop Elizondo said. “We need a debate and vote on this issue. Inaction is equivalent to supporting the status quo, which Americans agree needs to be changed.”
The “Mass for Immigrants and Immigrant Families” will take place on May 29, at 8:30 a.m., at:
St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church
(Capitol Hill House side)
313 2nd Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20003
