January 20, 2010

Interfaith rally to support immigration reform draws hundreds

By John Gleason

Some 400 people filled St. Therese Church in Aurora for an interfaith rally the evening of Jan. 12 to be encouraged in their quest for comprehensive immigration reform.

“Thank you for calling us together in the spirit of prayer,” said Father Bert Chilson, pastor of St. Therese, as he invoked God’s blessing on the gathering. “Send that same spirit upon us now and upon our leaders as we discern immigration reform.”

The event, informally called “Welcome the Stranger,” was sponsored by the Metropolitan Organization for People, the Campaign to Reform Immigration for America, and the Colorado Catholic Conference.

Father Chilson reminded the crowd that although people may have different customs and traditions, they are all one in God.

“Our county is seeing new faces because of the massive universal migration,” said.  “And we cannot reject or expel these children of God or seek measured immigration.  Living with people who have different cultures and languages may be challenging, but it’s now the reality in the world in which we live.”Jennifer Kraska, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, the state-level public policy arm of the Catholic Church, told the Denver Catholic Register the good

turnout for the rally shows how significant the subject is.

“People know what an important issue immigration is for our state and our country,” she said.  “These events attract hundreds of members of the faith community who demonstrate their resolve and support reform.  It may be a controversial subject, but it isn’t going to simply go away.”

Julie Gonzales of the Campaign to Reform Immigration for America congratulated the audience for the wonderful turnout and noted that the rally was one of dozens being held that evening.

“We want our elected leaders to know that comprehensive immigration reform must include a path to legalization for the currently undocumented,” she said, “as well as include a path to reunite the families which are separated due to this broken immigration system we currently have.”

Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley conveyed a greeting for the audience from Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.

“The topic of immigration is a subject that is near to his heart,” he said, “and is one on which he’s written about frequently.”

Speaking about his own priesthood experience, Bishop Conley shared that he ministered many years in Rome, which gave him first-hand knowledge of what it is like to go to a place where you don’t know the language or the customs.  That experience, he said, opened his eyes to some of what it must be like for immigrants who leave their homeland to come to the United States.

“A wise person once said that a nation will ultimately be judged on how well it treats its weakest and most vulnerable members,” he said.  “We need immigration reform.  We need it to once again establish in America a culture of life and respect for every human person no matter how small, how dependent or how powerless.”

Calling again for comprehensive immigration reform, he said, “We can do better and we need to do it now.”