Amid prospect of mass deportations, remember love of neighbor, Oklahoma archbishop says
January 23, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City reflected on deportations in a January 22 statement.
“Pope Benedict XVI once famously reminded us that Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary, fled their own country in order to save the life of their child,” he said. “As Christians, we must reflect on this again as the conversation concerning ‘mass deportation’ takes hold, creating fear and even distress for our immigrant, migrant and refugee neighbors who have arrived in search of the same dreams that awaited many of our ancestors at a different moment in time,”
After quoting from US bishops’ statements on immigration, Archbishop Coakley said that “the majority of undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma are upstanding members of our communities and churches, not violent criminals ... They are our friends and neighbors. They happen to be some of the most vulnerable in our midst.”
He added:
As our nation struggles to address serious and complicated issues surrounding immigration, the Church must be a leader in embracing diverse newcomers and providing assistance and pastoral care to immigrants, migrants, refugees and people on the move ...The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
Jesus Christ continues to call us to the second great commandment, the importance of loving our neighbor as thyself. Such love is of serious consequence, for these neighbors and for ourselves.
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