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How can a “culture of encounter” with undocumented immigrants be realized in our community, especially considering barriers of language, class, location, and privilege?
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<p>by Susan Weishar, Ph.D.</p>
<p>As migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea continue to mount and U.S. politicians persist in hardline rhetoric opposing immigration reform, Pope Francis’s 2014 Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees takes on greater urgency: “A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization—all typical of a throwaway culture—towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world.”[1]</p>
<p>How can a “culture of encounter” with undocumented immigrants be realized in our community, especially considering barriers of language, class, location, and privilege? Perhaps by creating a welcoming space of equals, where respect and dialog are nurtured and facilitated and the deepest values of our faith traditions are recognized and affirmed. These were the goals of the Catholic Teach-In on Migration for Young Catholics, held this past semester in the Audubon Room at Loyola.</p>
<p>Participants included fifteen immigrant teens and their parents—all members of the Congress of Day Laborers, sixty juniors and seniors from Jesuit, St. Mary’s Dominican, Cabrini, and Brother Martin High Schools, and twenty chaperones. Eleven Loyola students from Honors, the Spanish Department, and LUCAP’s Loyola Immigration Advocates served as small group discussion leaders. Simultaneous and consecutive interpretation were provided by sixteen students with Loyola’s Interpreting and Translation program.</p>
<p>The Teach-In began and ended in prayers for love and hospitality for those who migrate. Participants were asked to follow “ground rules”, i.e. treat each other with respect and aim to understand one another’s points of view. After brief overviews from JSRI staff on the Church’s teachings on migration and the U.S. role in undermining healthy economies and democracy in Central America, local Catholic high school students listened intently as young immigrants bravely told their migration stories in small group discussions, including why they and their families fled Central America, what their migration journeys were like, and the challenges they face in our community living undocumented. The small group discussions were led by Loyola students, who were trained by JSRI for this task. </p>
<p><a href="https://t.e2ma.net/webview/zqihi/308b5d9d7f9aed2139ac52b426411679">MORE>></a></p>
<p>As migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea continue to mount and U.S. politicians persist in hardline rhetoric opposing immigration reform, Pope Francis’s 2014 Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees takes on greater urgency: “A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization—all typical of a throwaway culture—towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world.”[1]</p>
<p>How can a “culture of encounter” with undocumented immigrants be realized in our community, especially considering barriers of language, class, location, and privilege? Perhaps by creating a welcoming space of equals, where respect and dialog are nurtured and facilitated and the deepest values of our faith traditions are recognized and affirmed. These were the goals of the Catholic Teach-In on Migration for Young Catholics, held this past semester in the Audubon Room at Loyola.</p>
<p>Participants included fifteen immigrant teens and their parents—all members of the Congress of Day Laborers, sixty juniors and seniors from Jesuit, St. Mary’s Dominican, Cabrini, and Brother Martin High Schools, and twenty chaperones. Eleven Loyola students from Honors, the Spanish Department, and LUCAP’s Loyola Immigration Advocates served as small group discussion leaders. Simultaneous and consecutive interpretation were provided by sixteen students with Loyola’s Interpreting and Translation program.</p>
<p>The Teach-In began and ended in prayers for love and hospitality for those who migrate. Participants were asked to follow “ground rules”, i.e. treat each other with respect and aim to understand one another’s points of view. After brief overviews from JSRI staff on the Church’s teachings on migration and the U.S. role in undermining healthy economies and democracy in Central America, local Catholic high school students listened intently as young immigrants bravely told their migration stories in small group discussions, including why they and their families fled Central America, what their migration journeys were like, and the challenges they face in our community living undocumented. The small group discussions were led by Loyola students, who were trained by JSRI for this task. </p>
<p><a href="https://t.e2ma.net/webview/zqihi/308b5d9d7f9aed2139ac52b426411679">MORE>></a></p>