Easter Sunday 2006

My Dear Friends in Christ,

            We celebrate today the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ—who laid down his life out of love and compassion for the human family.  As followers of Christ, who are called to build a world based on justice and love, I call to your attention today the plight of the immigrants in our midst.

Today in our country and our state, we are facing the reality of some 11-12 million people living in our country without proper legal status.  Many people of good will analyze this situation merely from a legalistic ethic—if people do not have legal status they should not be here. The Church has always taught respect for the law, and honors the sovereign right of countries to protect their borders, but the Church has also taught that we have a moral obligation to work to change unjust laws and to have the faith to protect ourselves without closing our doors to the needy in our world. In keeping with the teaching of the last judgment (Matthew 25:1-46), we judge the morality of a nation’s laws by how they treat the least among us, including by whether or not we welcome the strangers among us. 

The current immigration system is profoundly broken, separates families and facilitates exploitation.  The Church knows this from our daily pastoral experience. We minister to people defrauded or cheated by people who know the workers cannot complain to authorities. We work with families where spouses are separated for as much as ten years, while they await the legal process to get a green card. We work with honors students who have lived here most of their lives but who have no future after high school, because they do not have proper documents. In the worst cases, we see the human trafficking that occurs when smugglers can make great profit doing what the law does not allow poor people to do easily: to migrate in order to help feed their families. We know the fear, violence, and victimization that occur in a system in which legal avenues are not available for matching willing workers to willing employers for many of Florida’s key industries. 

            I ask all Catholics in our diocese to become informed about the moral imperative for just and comprehensive immigration reform.  I urge all people of good will to put aside the myths and misinformation that keep us from hearing our brother and sister immigrants’ cries for justice.  Please refer to the diocesan website at www.ptdiocese.org and click on the reference to immigration reform which examines economic, social and political—and references the texts of Scripture and Catholic social teaching that call each of us to action.

            I pray that you and your families will enjoy the blessings of Easter and I am grateful to you for the opportunity to bring this to your kind attention.

                                                                                    Sincerely in Christ,

                                                                                    Most Reverend John H. Ricard, SSJ

                                                                                    Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee