At the recent triennial Provincial Assembly in Perryville, MO, members of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), Western Province, adopted a resolution concerning the current crisis of immigrant women and children at our nation’s borders. The resolution is below. Please feel free to disseminate this statement to your Catholic readership as you see fit, whether as a Letter to the Editor, a mention in a story about the immigration issue, or on social media, for example.

Vincentian Priests and Brothers Urge Protection for Immigrant Women and Children

“The Western Province of the Congregation of the Mission supports the statements of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Sisters of Charity Federation and other groups that separating immigrant children from their parents at the United States/Mexico border is immoral.

We also oppose the recent decision of the U.S. administration that potentially strips asylum protections for women who are victims of domestic violence, and others fleeing violence in their homeland.

We urge the U.S. Attorney General, Congress, the courts and policy makers to protect the integrity of families and respect the dignity of every human person. We stand with our immigrant sisters and brothers in support of their human rights.”

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The Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) of the Western Province serve in more than 20 parishes, run one retreat center and sponsor the largest Catholic university in the United States. We lead dozens of parish missions each year, console patients and their families as hospital chaplains, and assist with the formation of future priests in seminaries across the country. In our ministry, we work to serve the poor, educate young people, form holy priests and spread the Gospel to the world. We honor the dignity of each person we meet. By our words and the example of our lives, the Vincentians of the Western Province share the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone who seeks His saving grace.