One Church, One Family: Faith Communities Across the U.S. Unite to Stand with Migrants

The Vermont Catholic Worker joins with Vermont Faith Communities for Immigration Justice, and other Catholic organizations across the country, to launch the One Church, One Family: Catholic Public Witness for Immigrants campaign, a nationwide movement calling people of faith to publicly demonstrate solidarity with migrant families, asylum seekers, and refugees.

Amid ongoing humanitarian crises at the U.S.–Mexico border and increased attacks on migrant communities by federal authorities, One Church, One Family invites parishes, schools, and faith-based organizations to host prayerful public witnesses that proclaim the dignity of every person.

“The ‘globalization of indifference,’ which Pope Francis denounced beginning from Lampedusa, today seems to have turned into a globalization of powerlessness,” Pope Leo said. “The globalization of powerlessness is the child of a lie: that history has always been this way, that history is written by the victors, which makes it seem that we can do nothing. But that is not true: history is ravaged by the powerful, but it is saved by the humble, the just, the martyrs, in whom goodness shines and true humanity endures and is renewed.”

As Catholics and people of deep faith, we reject the culture of fear and silence that dehumanizes, and we choose instead to stand with migrants. Together, our voices will send a powerful message to defend the dignity of our neighbors, family members, fellow parishioners, classmates, coworkers, and friends.

The campaign will mobilize Catholic communities to:

• Organize public prayer services, vigils, and marches that champion the dignity of migrants as siblings of the human family, especially in places where that dignity has been denied.
• Advocate for humane and just immigration policies that uphold the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.
• Build bridges of solidarity with migrant-led and immigrant-serving organizations.

The body of U.S. bishops, individual bishops, and Catholic organizations have been speaking out against the implementation of inhumane policies that go against the Catholic Church’s teaching on migration, which is informed by the Bible and Catholic moral teaching. 

This campaign is proudly sponsored by the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Sisters of Providence Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the Jesuits West province, the Jesuits East province, Kino Border Initiative, the Sisters of Saint Joseph U.S. Federation, the Sisters of Mercy, Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and the Ignatian Solidarity Network.Individuals and communities are invited to participate by registering their events and accessing resources at https://1family.us.