Press Releases
May 2008

"There is no place in the Catholic family for racism, hatred of foreigners, exaggerated nationalism, or discrimination against immigrants," the Connecticut Catholic Bishops urge in a statement addressing the challenges of immigration

Bishop William E. Lori will ordain two men to the priesthood on Saturday, May 17, at Saint Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport

Statement of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Connecticut

TO SEE THE IMMIGRANT THROUGH THE EYES OF FAITH

May 1, 2008

CAPTION: BECOMING A U.S. CITIZEN is the dream of every immigrant to America, no matter how they arrive. Bill Hoey, vice president of Catholic Charities, discusses the barriers to citizenship with Alex Arévalo, immigration counselor, and Sister Nancy Charlesworth, S.S.M.N., director of immigration services. The Catholic Bishops of Connecticut have issued a major statement on immigration. (Photo by Pat Hennessy)

---

The Roman Catholic Bishops of Connecticut, acknowledging the current federal laws and following the failure of Congress to enact immigration reform and the continuing debate within our nation and state, feel compelled to speak from a position of faith and pastoral leadership on this contentious matter. Because migration is such a highly complex global phenomenon, people of good will can reasonably differ on what constitutes the best public policy and law. We approach the issue, however, with a focus on faith, human dignity, and natural law. We try to see immigrants through the eyes of Christ and with the help of faith to understand better what is required of us as Catholics and citizens in addressing the challenges of immigration. We recognize the God-given worth of every person, despite their legal status, and thus the basic human dignity to which they are entitled.

Welcoming the stranger - a characteristic of the Church from the beginning - remains essential to the Church and society today. When Jesus told us to love our neighbor, a lawyer asked him to clarify whom he meant by neighbor. Instead of giving him a legal distinction between who is a neighbor and who is not a neighbor, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25). Jesus teaches that our neighbor is the person who needs us.

Seeing the immigrant through the eyes of faith must begin with the explicit teaching of Christ himself: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Matthew. 25:35). Jesus identified himself personally with the alien and challenged His followers to see Him in the stranger. Care for the immigrant thus becomes more than a matter of personal kindness, tolerance, or social justice; to welcome a stranger expresses our faith in Jesus Christ.

We call on all Catholics to distance themselves from viewing immigrants to our nation, including undocumented immigrants, in terms and actions that reflect hate, racism and popular misconceptions. Most immigrants to our nation, especially those who are undocumented, flee their homeland because of extreme poverty, violence, persecution, or natural disaster. This movement of people from one place to another has remained a constant feature of human history. From a person's human dignity flow basic human rights, including the right to leave one's country and find a new place to live and work. In Catholic social teaching, these rights are not given by a government; they are inherent in the human person. In the United States, such immigration has shaped and will continue to shape significantly our economic, political, and cultural development. We are all well aware that our own nation is one built by immigrants fleeing poverty and searching for new opportunities.

To uproot oneself from a familiar nation and community is full of risks and dangers. That is why Pope John Paul II called migration a "necessary evil" (Laborem Exercens: On Human Work, para. 23, 1981). Nor should we minimize the grave problems that accompany illegal immigration: the use of criminal smuggling networks, death in the deserts, human trafficking, exploitative working conditions, the detention of immigrant children, and the separation of families.

The notion that undocumented immigrants are as human beings inferior to legal citizens can have no justification in Christian life. Consideration of human dignity should also prevent a person from being crudely reduced to the anxious status of "illegal alien" or being treated only as an economic object or a unit of labor, with no regard for family unity or the person's social, cultural, and religious needs. Supporting the dignity of the human person must begin at a very local level - in the family, in the parish, and in the community.

The Federal Government has the right to make the difficult decisions about who is allowed to enter our country. The President and Congress have a responsibility, in the name of the common good, to enforce security at our nation's borders. Politics may divide the Catholic community on specific policy choices to meet this need, but faith must unite us to the more important values of love, hospitality, keeping families together, and respecting every person's human dignity. Children of immigrants, many of whom are born in this country and have American citizenship, should not find themselves left alone and separated from their parents who are jailed or deported as part of an enforcement action. Citizens can and should press the government to temper its actions with mercy, in order to reduce suffering and humanize public policy toward immigrants.

Nationally, our immigration policies and procedures must be comprehensively reconstructed in a manner that (1) secures our borders from the entry of undocumented migrants, (2) greatly improves the visa process for people seeking legal entry into our country, and (3) creates a path toward the legalization of undocumented workers currently living and working in the United States. Our federal government should also take stronger steps to encourage positive social, economic, and political changes within the nations that are a major source of undocumented immigrants. If the causes of illegal immigration are reduced, so will be the number of undocumented immigrants.

We believe that all legal action, legislatively or in the area of law enforcement, should respect the dignity of the millions of undocumented men, women, and children within our borders. Federal authorities, not state or local law enforcement personnel, should be responsible for the enforcement of immigration laws. State and local law enforcement should be primarily concerned with maintaining order in our cities and towns. Undocumented immigrants within our communities should not be fearful of local and state authorities should a need arise to report a crime, a case of domestic abuse, or other illegal activities. Our state and local governments should act to ensure that a "shadow" community does not continue to grow within our state, due to the fear of immigration enforcement, where a segment of our population remains fearful of cooperation with state and local authorities. Criminal activities would surely flourish in such an environment. State authorities should also halt the exploitation of undocumented immigrants by employers when and wherever it may occur.

A valid concern does exist about the ability of our nation to secure its borders against those who wish us harm. The vast majority of undocumented immigrants, however, seek only a better life for themselves and their families, and pose no threat to our national security. They seek to be law abiding and contributing members of our society. They enrich our society culturally and share many of the same values most Americans hold in high regard: family, faith, the importance of education, and entrepreneurship. Activities that seek to deny undocumented immigrants basic human rights; for example, the arrest of workers seeking employment to sustain themselves, and the denial of housing and fuel assistance based on immigration status, do not reflect the understanding and compassion our Catholic faith calls us to practice.

As Bishops of Connecticut, our main task is to help our people follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. There is no place in the Catholic family for racism, hatred of foreigners, exaggerated nationalism, or discrimination against immigrants. In the name of Jesus Christ, we must welcome the stranger at our door. He or she is a reflection of Jesus himself. We close with the words of Saint Paul, who urged the Christians of Rome to "welcome one another then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God." (Romans 15:7).

 

Most Reverend Henry J. Mansell
Archbishop of Hartford

Most Reverend William E. Lori
Bishop of Bridgeport

Most Reverend Michael R. Cote
Diocese of Norwich

Most Reverend Paul P. Chomnycky
Bishop of Ukrainian Diocese of Stamford

Most Reverend Peter A. Rosazza
Most Reverend Christie A. Macaluso
Auxiliary Bishops of Hartford

-30-

CAPTION: TWO SEMINARIANS OF THE DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT, Ian Jeremiah (center) and Samuel Kachuba (right), will be ordained to the priesthood on May 17. They are shown here preparing for their ordination as transitional deacons last year in Saint Augustine Cathedral. (PHOTO BY KAREN LEFFLER)

BRIDGEPORT - On Saturday, May 17, Bishop William E. Lori will ordain Deacon Ian Jeremiah and Deacon Samuel Kachuba as priests for the Diocese of Bridgeport.

The 10 a.m. Mass will be celebrated at Saint Augustine Cathedral, 359 Washington Avenue, Bridgeport. All are welcome to attend.

God's Call

"The Diocese of Bridgeport is very excited that these men have responded to God's call," says Father Peter Lynch, director of vocations for the Diocese of Bridgeport. "They're fine young men who are loved in every pastoral assignment where they served."

Serving as deacons at the Ordination Mass were four seminarians who were ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Lori on May 10: Deacon Frank Gómez, Deacon Ignacio Ortigas, Deacon Bruce Roby, and Deacon Sebastine Ukwandu. Ordination as transitional deacons is the last step on the journey to priestly ordination.

Deacon Ian Jeremiah

Deacon Jeremiah, 44, the youngest of a family of four girls and three boys, was born and raised in Malaysia, in the town of Ipoh. His father, Allan, is deceased; his mother, Freda, now lives in Massapequa, NY. He attended La Salle Primary School and Saint Michael's Institution (a secondary school, the equivalent of high school here), and graduated from the National University of Malaysia with a degree in accounting.

Deacon Jeremiah came to America and worked as an accountant at Daytop, Inc., a not-for-profit organization in New York City, while getting an M.B.A. from Columbia University. He was living in Stamford and attending Mass at his home parish of Saint Maurice when he saw a pamphlet on vocations published by the Knights of Columbus. He subsequently entered the Saint John Fisher Seminary Residence in 2002. He completed his seminary studies at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD.

Deacon Jeremiah has held summer assignments at Saint Mary Parish in Ridgefield; Saint Joseph Parish in Shelton; Saint Rose of Lima Parish in Newtown; and Saint Joseph Parish in Danbury.

"Looking back over my life, God's guiding hand is now obvious to me when I consider the countless people who have been instrumental in strengthening my faith, increasing my humility, and helping me discern God's call to the priesthood: my loving parents; my brothers and sisters; my teachers and principals; a Redemptorist priest, Father Ryan; and countless others, both priests and the lay faithful, both young and old," Deacon Jeremiah says.

"As a priest, I hope to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the many people who are in search of God, in search of hope, in need of encouragement, direction, truth, and love, and to share this message with them: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him,'" he continues. "It is as if my heart hears Christ saying, 'Yes, my sheep need to hear the gospel preached, they need to have their sins forgiven, they need to be nourished on the Eucharist, they need to have someone show them my love and charity.' To me, the word 'priest' is not just a noun, it's a verb - a call to action. By the grace of God, I want to be that instrument of God who loves and can bring the love of Christ to others."

The newly-ordained Father Jeremiah will celebrate his first Mass on Sunday, May 18, at 12:00 noon at Saint Rose of Lima Parish in Newtown. Msgr. Robert Weiss, pastor of Saint Rose, will be the homilist.

Deacon Samuel Kachuba

Deacon Kachuba, 24, the son of Michael and Mary Ellen Kachuba, grew up in Stratford, where three parishes can proudly claim him as their own. He was baptized in Our Lady of Peace Parish, attended Saint James Elementary School, and was an altar boy in his home parish of Saint Mark's, where his parents and brother, Gabriel, are still parishioners. He attended Saint Joseph High School in Trumbull, during which time he explored a vocation to the priesthood at Youth 2000 New England and retreats at Saint John Fisher. He entered Saint John Fisher following his graduation in 2001.

Deacon Kachuba attended Fordham University in Bronx, NY, while at the Saint John Fisher Residence, graduating in 2004 magna cum laude, with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. He obtained his S.T.B. degree, also magna cum laude, from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, living at the Pontifical North American College. He is currently studying for a licentiate in dogmatic theology at the Gregorian University, which he will complete in the spring of 2009.

Deacon Kachuba spent two summers in Mexico studying Spanish, and worked one summer in Madrid, Spain, with the Missionaries of Charity. He has served at Saint Ann Parish in Bridgeport, Saint Pius X Parish in Fairfield, and Saint Mary Parish in Norwalk.

"I thank God every day for the graces He has given me and for the blessing of this vocation," Deacon Kachuba says. "It will be a real privilege to serve Christ and all His people. I pray that the ministry entrusted to me will be a source of grace and inspiration for those I will serve."

"The Lord called me through the voices of many people - friends, teachers, family - who encouraged me to discern a vocation to the priesthood," Deacon Kachuba continues. "The more I prayed about the idea of being a priest, the more I fell in love with Christ, with the priesthood, and with the People of God. My hope and prayer in priestly ministry is that I can help people to see how Christ is active in their daily lives, how He loves them in every moment, and help them see that holiness, a relationship with God, and real, lasting joy is not only possible, but is being given to them by our merciful and loving God."

The newly-ordained Father Kachuba will celebrate his first Mass at Saint James Parish on Sunday, May 18, at 3 p.m. Msgr. Kevin Royal, episcopal vicar for clergy for the diocese, will deliver the homily.

(For more information on the Vocations program of the Diocese of Bridgeport and how to become a priest, visit www.HearTheCall.org.)

-30-