In response to the arrival of federal agents in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area, Bishop Michael Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte issued a pastoral message Nov. 18 urging Catholics to stand with migrants in solidarity and faith.
As CatholicVote previously reported, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested more than 130 people over the weekend in an effort dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” according to a Department of Homeland Security statement.
“While I have no words to practically address the fear and uncertainty that many are feeling with the increased presence of federal immigration officials in the Charlotte metro area,” Bishop Martin wrote, “I want to call upon all Catholics and people of goodwill to give witness to the message of Jesus.”
Quoting Matthew 25:35 — “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” — Bishop Martin emphasized that the Church is called to defend and accompany the vulnerable.
He asked the faithful to take four specific actions:
- Reach out to those living daily with this uncertainty and assure them of our love and care for them.
- Observe this Friday, Nov. 21, as a day of prayer and fasting in solidarity with all migrants around the world.
- Do not vilify federal agents who have been sent to our community.
- Contact your elected representatives in Washington and let them know that comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue, and, given that both political parties have repeatedly called for this, it is their responsibility to get it done for the common good.
To undocumented immigrants fearful of attending Mass, Bishop Martin offered words of pastoral reassurance: “You are not obligated to attend Mass when you are inhibited from doing so by circumstances beyond your control, as the Church has always taught.”
He added an encouragement drawn from the Gospel: “Do not be afraid!” (Matthew 14:27). “Your brothers and sisters are praying with you, and on your behalf, to God who desires our citizenship together in heaven and longs to see us live in harmony with each other on earth.”
Bishop Martin, who is currently in Rome, shared that he would be meeting Pope Leo XIV during the weekly papal audience in St. Peter’s Square Nov. 19 and said he will ask the Pontiff “to continue to remember in prayer the people of our diocese and all migrants, especially during this challenging time.”
The bishop’s statement concluded with a call to unity: “Please be assured that we will get through this together, if we focus our attention on the only One, Jesus Christ, who can save us all.”
>> North Carolina bishops reaffirm Church teaching on immigration <<
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