By John Gonzalez, D.MIN, Director of Parish and Community Relations, Brooklyn
In his recent World Day for Migrants and Refugees message, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that immigrants have always been, and continue to be, heralds of hope. Thus, it is imperative to remind Americans that we are a nation of immigrants, especially when some deny, forget, and erase the pain and sacrifice of migration. And though the face and language of those who migrate have changed, the pain and sacrifice that brought Catholic missionaries like Mother Cabrini to these shores over 100 years ago remains.
Our Church continues to respond to the needs of the marginalized communities, restoring dignity and shaping the landscape of our immigrant city. As the world revisits themes of migration, it is time to reflect on our own stories and ask ourselves, are we too comfortable privately honoring the pain and sacrifice of our own immigrant families while ignoring those who have newly arrived?
In a 1991 film called New York: A Documentary Film, Ric Burns captured many voices of pain and sacrifice. Brooklyn-born writer Pete Hamill was featured in the documentary, and he shared his story of a time when he was a child in the 1940s, and he found his immigrant father weeping at 1:00 in the morning after a hard-working day on a hot August night. He recognized, in that moment, the pain and sacrifice that his Irish immigrant parents were going through, and as he recalled that moment, he offered the following reflection: “I had to honor that pain, and you must honor that pain! And I think that’s what the children of immigrants do, all of us. We know what they gave up. They gave up their countries. In some cases, they gave up their languages. They worked at the lousiest, rottenest jobs to put food on our tables. We have to honor that for the rest of our lives.”
As children of immigrants, we honor the pain and sacrifice our families endured to give us, their children, a better life. Their sacrifice brings us hope, hope for their children, and hope for our nation. One way we can honor the pain and sacrifice of our ancestors is to see it in the immigrants we welcome today. Mother Cabrini understood the immediate need to invest compassion and resources in the wave of Irish, Italian, and Eastern European immigrants coming to New York towards the end of the 1800s. In doing so, these migrants would help usher in a new hope for themselves and the future of our nation. Today, under the prophetic leadership of Pope Leo XIV, we have the opportunity to once again honor this tradition by taking up the Cabrini Pledge.
Our own Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop Emeritus of Brooklyn, recently reminded us of this pledge in a Tablet article, and we at Catholic Charities are doing our part to promote this campaign, offering amazing opportunities to live out this legacy. The pledge was put forward by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and we ask everyone to click the link, look it over, and see how you can be part of this initiative.
In taking the Pledge we choose to make the following Commitments that honor our immigrant families:
- To affirm, in word and deed, the inherent dignity of every person, regardless of immigration status or country of origin, seeing each as a child of God before all else.
- To engage with Scripture and the Church’s social teaching, reflecting on the role of migration in salvation history, the history of the United States, and the history of my own family.
- To listen and learn about the circumstances facing migrants and refugees, including those in my community, with an open heart and mind.
- To seek opportunities for encounter, so as to grow in deeper understanding and communion that leads to an authentic solidarity with those in need.
- To consider what it means to be a good neighbor and how I am called to reflect the love and hope of Christ to others.
- To encourage civic dialogue that places the human person and the sanctity of families at the center of policymaking, especially toward the end of meaningful immigration reform.
- To join with Pope Leo in praying for all migrants and refugees as fellow travelers on the journey to our true homeland.
The Cabrini pledge is a conscious commitment to migrants, and we invite the Catholic communities of Brooklyn and Queens to take part in this exciting initiative. We invite you to be part of Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, whether it is in donating your time, talent, or treasure, with the ongoing work to support migrant communities. We invite you all to honor your own family’s pain and sacrifice by welcoming our new immigrants the way that Mother Cabrini and the Catholic Church welcomed those that came here over a hundred years ago.
To learn more and take the pledge visit USCCB’s website at: https://www.usccb.org/cabrinipledge