As the universal church contemplates the message of “Widening the We” from Pope Francis — at the end of National Immigration Week and the World Day for Migrants and Refugees — Mary Lou Matheke, IPC Coordinator of Immigration Ministry in the Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity with the Archdiocese of Chicago offers these actions regarding the Afghans:

National/International

  • Learn about the Afghans from the Afghans themselves. USCCB is engaged in an oral history project with refugees that has an Afghan focus. You can connect to this site at: Voices of Afghanistan.
  • Support Catholic Relief Services: Afghanistan | CRS
  • Sign up for the Justice for Immigrants listserv as a way to keep apprised of developments related to migration – new policies implemented, calls action, webinar announcements, etc. You can do so at https://justiceforimmigrants.org/take-action/join-us/

Catholic Charities, Chicago

  • Your parish can support a refugee family—contact me directly if you would like to do this; I will put you in contact with individuals who can help you with this.
  • You can donate directly to Catholic Charities:

To learn more about the Immigration Ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago, click here: https://pvm.archchicago.org/human-dignity-solidarity/immigration-ministry/about-us

Also, Priests for Justice for Immigrants has created the following videos for National Migration Week: