WASHINGTON- The United States has a moral obligation to protect unaccompanied children and families from persecution in Central America, said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, October 21. Bishop Seitz is an advisor to the USCCB Committee on Migration and a member of the board of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC).
The humanitarian outflow, driven by organized crime in the northern triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, continues, with nearly 40,000 unaccompanied children and an equal number of mothers with children having arrived in the United States in Fiscal Year 2015.
"If we do not respond justly and humanely to this challenge in our own backyard, then we will relinquish our moral leadership and moral influence globally," Bishop Seitz said.
Bishop Seitz pointed to the human consequences of U.S. policies which are designed to deter migration from the region, including U.S. support for Mexican interdiction efforts which are intercepting children and families in Mexico and sending them back to danger, in violation of international law.
Bishop Seitz recommended an end to these interdictions and the introduction of a regional system which would screen children and families for asylum in Mexico and other parts of the region. He also called for Congress to approve and increase a $1 billion aid package proposed by the Administration.
"If we export enforcement," Bishop Seitz said, "we also must export protection."
Bishop Seitz recalled the words of Pope Francis before Congress in September, when he invoked the golden rule in guiding our nation's actions toward those seeking safety in our land.
Quoting the Holy Father, Bishop Seitz repeated to the committee, "'The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.'"
"Mr. Chairman, I pray that time, and history, will conclude that we honored this rule in meeting this humanitarian challenge," Bishop Seitz concluded.
Bishop Seitz' testimony can be found at http://www.usccb.org//about/migration-policy/congressional-testimony/upload/seitz-ongoing-migration.pdf
Keywords: Bishop Mark J. Seitz, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Congress, Senate, Committee on Migration, migration, unaccompanied children, violence, Pope Francis
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT:
Norma Montenegro Flynn
O: 202-541-3200
Catholic News 2
WASHINGTON- The United States has a moral obligation to protect unaccompanied children and families from persecution in Central America, said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, October 21. Bishop Seitz is an advisor to the USCCB Committee on Migration and a member of the board of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC).The humanitarian outflow, driven by organized crime in the northern triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, continues, with nearly 40,000 unaccompanied children and an equal number of mothers with children having arrived in the United States in Fiscal Year 2015."If we do not respond justly and humanely to this challenge in our own backyard, then we will relinquish our moral leadership and moral influence globally," Bishop Seitz said.Bishop Seitz pointed to the human consequences of U.S. policies which are designed to deter migration from the region, i...
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Matthew Stafford's accuracy and poise sparked the Detroit Lions to a big lead and helped prevent them from squandering it, too....
SHENZHEN, China (AP) -- Authorities blamed an enormous, man-made mountain of soil and waste for the collapse of nearly three dozen buildings that left 81 people missing in southern China's most prominent manufacturing city. Rescuers excavating the mud-drenched mess pulled out one body early Tuesday, the landslide's first confirmed death....
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Haitian President Michel Martelly has defended much-criticized elections in the divided country and asserted that the opposition has spread unsubstantiated allegations about widespread electoral fraud purely to strengthen its position....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump on Monday accused Hillary Clinton of lying when she said the Islamic State group used videos of his comments about Muslims to recruit militants....
SpaceX sent a Falcon rocket soaring toward orbit Monday night with 11 small satellites, its first mission since an accident last summer. Then in an even more astounding feat, it landed the 15-story leftover booster back on Earth safely....
HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) -- A grand jury decided on Monday that no felony crime was committed by the sheriff's office or jailers in the treatment of a black woman who died in a Southeast Texas county jail last summer....
WASHINGTON- The United States has a moral obligation to protect unaccompanied children and families from persecution in Central America, said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, October 21. Bishop Seitz is an advisor to the USCCB Committee on Migration and a member of the board of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC).The humanitarian outflow, driven by organized crime in the northern triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, continues, with nearly 40,000 unaccompanied children and an equal number of mothers with children having arrived in the United States in Fiscal Year 2015."If we do not respond justly and humanely to this challenge in our own backyard, then we will relinquish our moral leadership and moral influence globally," Bishop Seitz said.Bishop Seitz pointed to the human consequences of U.S. policies which are designed to deter migration from the region, i...
WASHINGTON- The United States has a moral obligation to protect unaccompanied children and families from persecution in Central America, said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, October 21. Bishop Seitz is an advisor to the USCCB Committee on Migration and a member of the board of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC).
The humanitarian outflow, driven by organized crime in the northern triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, continues, with nearly 40,000 unaccompanied children and an equal number of mothers with children having arrived in the United States in Fiscal Year 2015.
"If we do not respond justly and humanely to this challenge in our own backyard, then we will relinquish our moral leadership and moral influence globally," Bishop Seitz said.
Bishop Seitz pointed to the human consequences of U.S. policies which are designed to deter migration from the region, including U.S. support for Mexican interdiction efforts which are intercepting children and families in Mexico and sending them back to danger, in violation of international law.
Bishop Seitz recommended an end to these interdictions and the introduction of a regional system which would screen children and families for asylum in Mexico and other parts of the region. He also called for Congress to approve and increase a $1 billion aid package proposed by the Administration.
"If we export enforcement," Bishop Seitz said, "we also must export protection."
Bishop Seitz recalled the words of Pope Francis before Congress in September, when he invoked the golden rule in guiding our nation's actions toward those seeking safety in our land.
Quoting the Holy Father, Bishop Seitz repeated to the committee, "'The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.'"
"Mr. Chairman, I pray that time, and history, will conclude that we honored this rule in meeting this humanitarian challenge," Bishop Seitz concluded.
Bishop Seitz' testimony can be found at http://www.usccb.org//about/migration-policy/congressional-testimony/upload/seitz-ongoing-migration.pdf
Keywords: Bishop Mark J. Seitz, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Congress, Senate, Committee on Migration, migration, unaccompanied children, violence, Pope Francis
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT:
Norma Montenegro Flynn
O: 202-541-3200
Denver, Colo., Dec 21, 2015 / 05:45 pm (CNA).- Luke Spehar was an aspiring musician with a girlfriend when he couldn’t shake the feeling that God was calling him to enter the seminary and consider the priesthood.He turned the painful (but inevitable) breakup into a song (what are painful breakups for?) but said there was still an uncertainty at the beginning – how would his gifts and talents as a musician be used if he were called to be a priest? He had already recorded his first album, “Be Still,” before graduating high school, and had dreams about where music could take him.“Entering seminary, that was a huge choice that kind of pushes you off the fence in regards to faith, and I think because of that level of extreme expression of faith, that actually helped my music deepen and grow,” Spehar told CNA.“So there was a tension there because of what I wanted to do in regards to music, but then there was also the gift of it being purified so t...
Denver, Colo., Dec 21, 2015 / 05:45 pm (CNA).- Luke Spehar was an aspiring musician with a girlfriend when he couldn’t shake the feeling that God was calling him to enter the seminary and consider the priesthood.
He turned the painful (but inevitable) breakup into a song (what are painful breakups for?) but said there was still an uncertainty at the beginning – how would his gifts and talents as a musician be used if he were called to be a priest? He had already recorded his first album, “Be Still,” before graduating high school, and had dreams about where music could take him.
“Entering seminary, that was a huge choice that kind of pushes you off the fence in regards to faith, and I think because of that level of extreme expression of faith, that actually helped my music deepen and grow,” Spehar told CNA.
“So there was a tension there because of what I wanted to do in regards to music, but then there was also the gift of it being purified so that I could really actually do what I was meant to,” he said.
After four years, Luke discerned out of seminary, and began praying about the next right step. He started going on tour throughout the country with his second album, “No Other Way,” which started naturally morphing into a sort of music ministry.
“I realized I was telling my conversion story,” he said. “It has a lot of ups and downs and it has a lot of questions and answers. I’m just sharing what’s happened to me and how the Lord’s worked in my life”
Music interested Spehar from an early age – whether it was violin lessons, or picking up the drums or guitar and learning from family friends. Some of his earliest influences included folk singers like Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkle and Cat Stevens, which is reflected in his own acoustic, folky style.
Spehar attributes the inspiration and motivation for most of his songs to three things: His relationship with God, boredom, and anxiety.
“I had a lot of questions in regards to my faith and then answers that came to me, so (songwriting) was a form of prayer for me,” he said. “And especially when I was younger I would play a lot of music when I got bored or stressed out, that really influenced my style.”
Several of Spehar’s songs also reflect his Midwest childhood in Minnesota, where he grew up with two brothers and two sisters in the woods just north of the Twin Cities. In much of Spehar’s music, he essentially pulls a Bon Iver, a band whose lead musician wrote an entire album while spending three months in a cabin in Wisconsin.
Many of Spehar’s songs evoke memories of times spent in the forests and hills of Minnesota, and of crazy antics with his brothers and sisters, including smashing into a tree while testing a treehouse rope.
“It was just kind of us to entertain each other, so we got tight,” he said.
Because his music was so personal, Spehar said he was hesitant to record, at least at first.
“In a lot of ways I just wrote them because that’s what was in my heart to write,” he said. “I really didn’t have much more intention behind a lot of my earliest music, and I was hesitant to record kind of for that reason, these were just kind of my songs and my thoughts.”
“Then I realized that it’s maybe not just for me,” he said. “I’m sharing what’s happened to me and how the Lord’s worked in my life, and people can just relate to it, so that’s what’s been really exciting to me.”
Life looks a little different now for Spehar than when he first started writing songs. In September 2014, he released his third album, “All is Gift,” which he has been taking on tour ever since, minus a small break to marry his wife Elizabeth in January.
Since then, they’ve put some 30,000 miles on their Honda Odyssey minivan and have been as far north as Maine, as far south as Texas, and as far west as Hawaii. Spehar had concerts in over 20 states, and travelled through at least 40.
“We’ve really enjoyed it, and come to have a new respect and love for America,” Spehar said. “That was really neat to show her America, to see it together.”
Spehar said it was a “dream come true” to have his wife with him on tour, after experiencing three tours on his own.
And although Living in a van with your pregnant wife for over 6 months can create a lot of opportunities for “conflict management,” Spehar joked, the tour proved to be full of adventures and opportunities, which they blogged about on lukespehar.com.
They even came up with their best road trip advice, including: always do a head count when you leave a rest stop, even in a party of two.
Luke had been sleeping in the back of the van when Elizabeth pulled up to a rest stop and hopped out to use the bathroom. When she got back, she thought Luke was still sleeping in the back and drove off.
“She jumped back in the van thinking she was being efficient and drove off, while I groggily walked out of the bathroom to see my wife driving off onto the 80 mph Texas highway leaving me without a cell phone!” Luke wrote.
“She did come back 40 minutes later after I figured out how to get in touch with her without a cell phone. I highly recommend memorizing your wife’s phone number. I had to borrow the rest stop attendant’s phone to call my dad for Elizabeth’s number and wrote her number in the sand. Oh the practical lessons you learn from Jesus…”
Something that stood out to Spehar about the tour was how ecumenical of an endeavor it was. He played for a wide range of audiences and denominations; Catholics and non-Catholics.
“It was really exciting to me to be welcomed in and to feel that music was a way we could connect and to remember that it’s all about Christ…and people that are singing and praising him are welcome anywhere.”
He said it was also encouraging to meet other Catholic musicians while he was on the road, and to realize that the genre was growing.
“(There’s) a surge of Catholic musicians that are picking up on an earthy, acoustic singer-songwriter style, I like that type of music so I was excited to see that grow, and it’s exciting to me to see young adults and Catholics and non-Catholics really relate to it and really get into it and find a connection to Christ that way.”
Spehar already has another album that’s in the works, though there’s not a set release date yet. It’s going to have a different tone than his other three albums that will reflect some of the recent changes in his life.
“Since my three albums I’ve grown and there’s been a lot of fun stuff that’s happened, and I hope my newest album will reflect the excitement of getting married and being on the road.”
The Honda Odyssey will be putting on less miles in the near future, with baby's arrival, but the traveling will continue.
“We’ll continue to pursue it as long as God wants to bless it, so we’re really hoping that it will grow into something that could sustain us and hopefully grow into something that will really bless a lot of people.”
Spehar’s music can be found on his website, lukespehar.com or on iTunes.
This article was originally published on CNA Aug. 20, 2015.
IMAGE: CNS photo/Alberto Pizzoli, pool via ReutersBy Carol GlatzVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- If PopeFrancis sees the church as a field hospital after battle, then his annualChristmas address to the Roman Curia often looks like the triage tent, with himholding the charts. Instead of a typical gathering toexchange just thanks and best wishes, Pope Francis uses this year-end momentwith cardinals and top officials to offer "fraternal correction," spiritualdirection and his clear expectation of their role as servants, not masters, ofthe church.After diagnosing last year whatwas ailing the Vatican, this year he prescribed a strong dose of medicine -- along list of "antibiotics" or virtues -- to fight the disease of badleadership. In Pope Francis' first Christmasspeech in 2013 to cardinals in Rome and heads of Vatican offices, he extolledthe qualities they should possess, pointing to the figure of St. Joseph as themodel to live up to. Holiness, quiet professionalism and a spirit of humble servic...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Alberto Pizzoli, pool via Reuters
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- If Pope Francis sees the church as a field hospital after battle, then his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia often looks like the triage tent, with him holding the charts.
Instead of a typical gathering to exchange just thanks and best wishes, Pope Francis uses this year-end moment with cardinals and top officials to offer "fraternal correction," spiritual direction and his clear expectation of their role as servants, not masters, of the church.
After diagnosing last year what was ailing the Vatican, this year he prescribed a strong dose of medicine -- a long list of "antibiotics" or virtues -- to fight the disease of bad leadership.
In Pope Francis' first Christmas speech in 2013 to cardinals in Rome and heads of Vatican offices, he extolled the qualities they should possess, pointing to the figure of St. Joseph as the model to live up to. Holiness, quiet professionalism and a spirit of humble service were the main job requirements, he said.
In 2014 -- and well into the start of the reform of church governance -- the pope took it up a notch, going from good role models to red-flag warnings.
Choosing clarity and color over vague politeness, that year the pope listed 15 "illnesses" the curia is often prone to, such as "spiritual Alzheimer's," "existential schizophrenia," "hypocrisy typical of the mediocre," the "terrorism of gossip" and even a poor sense of humor.
The pope showed his own sense of humor this year when presenting his new verbiose list of virtues, like "innocuity" and a rare Italian term for "plethora."
"My vice is neologisms," he admitted.
Diseases need "prevention, vigilance, care, and sadly, in some cases, painful and prolonged interventions," he said in this year's talk Dec. 21.
The spiritual problems he highlighted last year are still lingering, he said, and were "evident in the course of the past year, causing no small pain" to the whole body of the church and "harming many souls, with scandal, too," he said in his 30-minute talk.
Treatment is necessary and the regimen entails getting back to basics, he said, for which he offered a "catalogue of needed virtues."
This constant examination of what Christ demands of his disciples always will be necessary, he said. "The reform will move forward with determination, clarity and firm resolve," since the church is always to be reformed, he said.
The papal catalogue was actually an acrostic, a list in which the first letter of each word spells out another word. In this case the word was "misericordia," Italian for mercy. In an aside explaining his poetic format, he told his learned audience that Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci used to do acrostics when he evangelized in China.
Mercy, the pope explained, isn't some "fleeting sentiment." It's the core teaching of the Gospel, the living "heart of Jesus" and, therefore, the light that needs to guide one's life, reforms and decisions.
"May it be the basis of all our efforts. May it teach us when to move forward and when to step back. May it also enable us to understand the littleness of all that we do in God's greater plan of salvation and majestic and mysterious working," the pope said.
The list of 24 virtues, listed as one dozen pairs, reiterate the pope's approach since the start of his pontificate: honesty, humility, open doors, trust in God and others as well as his Jesuit focus on mission, community and discipline.
The "practical guide" of essential virtues to cultivate, the pope said, includes being or having:
-- Missionary and pastoral spirit: Show the joy and your belief in the Gospel with your lives and work.
-- Appropriate and wise: Work hard, be creative and smart to get good at what you do; don't rely on "connections" and "bribes" to get ahead or face situations.
-- Spiritual and human: Let the Spirit protect you from human frailty, but don't become a "robot." If you can no longer laugh or cry with sincerity, "we have begun our decline." Show tenderness, kindness and courtesy to everyone.
-- A good model and faithful: Avoid scandals that harm souls and hurt the church's credibility. "Woe to the world because of things that cause sin."
-- Reasonable and gentle: Avoid being too bureaucratic or too lenient. Find balance between rationality and kindness.
-- Harmless and determined: Don't be hasty or impulsive; be cautious in your judgments; act carefully, but with determination, clear vision, obedience to God and for the spiritual welfare of the faithful.
-- Charitable and truthful: Speak the truth with charity and practice charity in truth, otherwise charity without truth is "a destructive ideology" of do-goodism and "truth without charity becomes blind legalism."
-- Open, honest and mature: Don't be good only when you know people are watching. Don't lord over people, never deceive. "Honesty is the foundation on which all other qualities rest."
-- Respectful and humble: Show respect to everyone as well as for documents, dossiers, confidentiality and privacy. Listen carefully, speak politely. You are and can do nothing without God and his grace.
-- Generous and stand guard: What good is it to open all the Holy Doors around the world if our hearts, homes and hands are closed to others? Do your best and never let your guard down with vices and weaknesses.
-- Fearless and ready: Be proactive; face troubles boldly with determination and resolve. Don't get bogged down by ambition and material things; be ready and free to pick up and go where God calls.
-- Accountable, trustworthy and sober: Honor your commitments, renounce the superfluous. Practice prudence, simplicity, balance, temperance, live the essentials. Put God and others first; cut back, salvage, "recycle, repair, and live a life of moderation."
The pope ended his call with a prayer recited by the late-U.S. Cardinal John Dearden, who was influential in drawing up and implementing the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
The long prayer seeks to console and encourage the perhaps lonely and tired laborer in the Lord's enormous vineyard, planting "seeds that one day will grow."
"We cannot do everything, yet it is liberating to begin," the pope read. "It may remain incomplete," he said, but it is a step along the way -- another sign the pope, the doctor of souls, knows the journey of reform has another checkup scheduled next year.
- - -
Editors: An English translation of the pope's talk can be found at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/december/documents/papa-francesco_20151221_curia-romana.html
In Spanish: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/speeches/2015/december/documents/papa-francesco_20151221_curia-romana.html.
- - -
Copyright © 2015 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
