A statement challenging pro-life Catholic members of the House of Representatives to view immigration reform as a pro-life issue was released Tuesday.
"As Catholics committed to building a culture of life, we write to urge our fellow Catholics in Congress to support the U.S. bishops' effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform," the statement reads. "Our nation's inhumane and flawed immigration policies leave migrant women, children and families abandoned by the side of the road."
The statement was signed by a number of influential American Catholics (the full list is included below), and comes days before the March for Life, an annual pro-life demonstration expected to draw "hundreds of thousands" to Washington, D.C.
On the same day, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a bill that would ban abortions past 20 weeks, the point at which fetuses are said to feel pain.
The statement contends that America's failure to address immigration reform causes "hardship, suffering and death."
"There are more than two dozen pro-life Catholics in the House of Representatives," the statement reads. "Many of them will join thousands of people of faith, including some of us, at the March for Life in Washington later this week. As brothers and sisters in faith, we urge these elected officials and all Catholics to defend the sanctity of human lives at all stages. We recognize the image of God in the migrant at the border, in the prisoner on death row, in the pregnant woman and in the hungry child."
"The immigration crisis will not be solved by threats to shut down government agencies, enforcement-only strategies or piecemeal approaches. Breaking up immigrant families and denying protection to those fleeing gang or cartel violence, as just one example, is neither a humane or effective strategy. Comprehensive immigration reform that would create an earned path to citizenship for those in the shadows, expedite family reunification, strengthen refugee protection, address why desperate people reluctantly uproot and cross borders, deserves a vote now."
The list of signers includes:
Rev. Larry Snyder
President, Catholic Charities USA
Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza (retired)
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
John J. DeGioia
President, Georgetown University
Bishop William S. Skylstad (retired)
Diocese of Spokane
Former President, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Donald M. Kerwin, Jr.
Executive Director, Center for Migration Studies
Michael Galligan-Stierle
President, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
Rev. Michael Sheeran, S.J.
President, Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Rev. Michael J. Graham, S.J.
President, Xavier University (Ohio)
Rev. Robert L. Niehoff, S.J.
President, John Carroll University
Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
President, Loyola University Chicago
Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J.
President, Loyola University New Orleans
Thomas W. Keefe
President, University of Dallas
Rev. James J. Greenfield, OSFS
President, Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Sr. Sharon Holland, IHM,
President, Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Rev. Timothy Kesicki, S.J.
President, Jesuit Conference USA
Armando Borja
National Director, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Stephen Schneck
Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies
The Catholic University of America
Frank Monahan
Former Director, Office of Government Liaison
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Francis X. Doyle
Associate General Secretary (retired)
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS
Executive Director, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Sr. Patricia Chappell
Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J.
President, Fordham University
Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.
President, College of the Holy Cross
Rev. John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J.
President, Regis University
Patricia McGuire
President, Trinity Washington University
Antoine M. Garibaldi, Ph.D.
President, University of Detroit Mercy
Rev. Thomas B. Curran
President, Rockhurst University
John J. Hurley
President, Canisius College
Linda M. LeMura, Ph.D.
President, Le Moyne College
Sr. Candace Introcaso
President, La Roche College
Rev. Bernard O'Connor
President, DeSales University
Dr. Francesco C. Cesareo
President, Assumption College
Donna M. Carroll
President, Dominican University
Antoine M. Garibaldi, Ph.D.
President, University of Detroit Mercy
Thomas W. Keefe
President, University of Dallas
Thomas Kunkel
President, St. Norbert College
Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J.
President, Fairfield University
Moya Dittmeier
Executive Director, Conference for Mercy Higher Education
Rev. Allan Figueroa Deck, S.J.
Rector of the Jesuit Community
Loyola Marymount University
A. Gabriel Esteban
President, Seton Hall University
Nancy H. Blattner
President, Caldwell University
Br. Norman Hipps
President, Saint Vincent College
John Smarrelli Jr.
President, Christian Brothers University
Mary A. Meehan
President, Alverno College
Donald P. Taylor
President, Cabrini College
Rev. Timothy Lenchak
President, Divine Word College
Anne Munley
President, Marywood University
Sharon Latchaw Hirsch
President, Rosemont College
Jim Collins
President, Loras College
Br. John R. Paige
President, Holy Cross College
Kathleen Maas Weigert
Professor of Women and Leadership
Loyola University Chicago
Timothy Matovina
Executive Director, Institute for Latino Studies
University of Notre Dame
Rev. Daniel G. Groody
Director of Immigration Initiatives
Institute for Latino Studies
University of Notre Dame
Rev. T. Michael McNulty, S.J.
MacLean Professor of Philosophy
St. Joseph's University
Helen Alvare
Professor of Law
George Mason University School of Law
Jeannine Hill Fletcher
Professor of Theology
Fordham University
John Sniegocki
Associate Professor of Christian Ethics
Xavier University
Suzanne C. Toton, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies
Villanova University
Tobias Winright
Maeder Endowed Chair of Health Care Ethics
Saint Louis University
Paul Lakeland
Director, Center for Catholic Studies
Fairfield University
Terrence W. Tilley
Professor of Catholic Theology
Fordham University
Vincent Miller
Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture
University of Dayton
Kathryn Getek Soltis
Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics
Villanova University
Hosffman Ospino
Assistant Professor of Theology and Education
Boston College
Kelly S. Johnson
Associate Professor, Religious Studies
University of Dayton
Una M. Cadegan
Associate Professor, Department of History
University of Dayton
Charles T. Strauss
Assistant Professor of History
Mount St. Mary's University
Ron Pagnucco, Associate Professor
Department of Peace Studies
College of St. Benedict/St. John's University
Rev. Fred Kammer, S.J.
Director, Jesuit Social Research Institute
Loyola University New Orleans
Alex Mikulich
Jesuit Social Research Institute
Loyola University New Orleans
Leadership Team, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sr. Pat McDermott, RSM President
Sr. Eileen Campbell, RSM
Sr. Anne Curtis, RSM
Sr. Deborah Troillett, RSM
Sr. Mary Pat Garvin, RSM
Rev. Raymond Finch, MM
Superior General, Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers
Thomas Allio, Jr.
Diocesan Social Action Director (retired)
Diocese of Cleveland
Rev. Sean Carroll, S.J.
Executive Director, Kino Border Initiative
Nogales, AZ
Charles C. Camosy
Associate Prof. of Theological and Social Ethics
Fordham University
Peter H. Beisheim
Director, Catholic Studies Department
Stonehill College, MA
Christopher G. Kerr
Executive Director, Ignatian Solidarity Network
Gerry Lee
Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.
Karen Clifton
Executive Director, Catholic Mobilizing Network
Patrick Carolan
Executive Director, Franciscan Action Network
Kerry A. Robinson
Executive Director, National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management
John Gehring
Catholic Program Director, Faith in Public Life
Walter Grazer
Former Policy Advisor for International Religious Freedom and Human Rights, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Christopher Hale
Senior Fellow, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Richard R. Gaillardetz
Joseph Professor of Catholic Theology
Boston College
Mark J. Allman
Chair of Religious and Theological Studies
Merrimack College
Dolores Christie
Executive Director (retired)
Catholic Theological Society of America
Christopher Pramuk
Associate Professor of Theology
Xavier University
Kevin Ahern
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Manhattan College
Daniel Finn
Professor of Economics and Theology
St. John's University (MN)
M. Shawn Copeland
Professor of Theology
Boston College
Rev. John A. Coleman, S.J.
Associate Pastor, St. Ignatius Church (San Francisco)
Rev. Joseph Nangle, OFM
Washington, DC
Eugene McCarraher
Associate Professor of Humanities
Villanova University
Sr. Paulette Skiba, BVM
Professor of Religious Studies
Clarke University
Thomas Ryan
Director, Loyola Institute for Ministry
Loyola University New Orleans
Billy Kangas
Writer, Patheos Catholic
Peter H. Beisheim
Director, Catholic Studies Department
Lisa Sowell Cahill
Monan Professor of Theology
Boston College
[Vinnie Rotondaro is NCR national correspondent. His email address is vrontodaro@ncronline.org.]
