And You Welcomed Me: Migration and Catholic Social Teaching

(Paperback)

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Human beings leave their homelands for many reasons and they are called by many names: illegal aliens, strangers, asylum-seekers, displaced persons, economic migrants, lawful permanent residents, refugees, temporary workers, and victims of trafficking. Some are forced to flee because of violence, persecution, natural disaster, or intense economic privation. Most migrate in search of a better life, many as part of a family survival strategy. The movement of people from one place to another has remained a constant feature of human history. In an era characterized by the fast and cheaper movement of goods and services around the globe, migrants are the face of globalization. The world's two hundred million migrants often find themselves at the center of economic, social, and political debates. This book describes the distinctive way in which Catholic social teaching looks at migrants. It analyzes migration from the legal, social science, and cultural perspectives, and gives special consideration to the lived experience of immigrants themselves and their host communities. The book identifies gaps and opportunities to improve government and non-governmental responses to migration on a local, national, and international level. And You Welcomed Me aims to reframe perspectives on migration by focusing on the human beings at the heart of this phenomenon. It analyzes trade, immigration, labor, national security, and integration policies in light of the core Catholic commitment to the common good, human dignity, authentic development, and solidarity.

Reviews

I am very taken by this beautiful volume as a whole, embedded in the American reality and at the same time faithful to the Catholic social doctrine and to the immigrants themselves. . . . Several of the expressions from this book resonated very powerfully with me. They are rays of light from our Catholic tradition. -- Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
In an era of global migration, a challenge to all of us is how we uphold human rights and create immigration policies that respect the basic dignity of those impacted by migration. This book provides a framework based on Catholic social teaching that humanizes the migration process and shifts our attention to the urgent need to protect immigrants living and working amongst us. I hope that our policymakers tasked with reforming our immigration laws read this important work. -- Angelica Salas, executive director, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
These essays provide a valuable contribution to the ministry of the Church and to the broader immigration debate in the United States. They combine theology, ethics, law and social policy; the book will enhance pastoral care and the policy voice of the Church on a vitally important issue. -- J Bryan Hehir, Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
By bringing together such excellent analysis from several disciplines, this volume fill the gap in scholarship surrounding migration. In a package that could be used to good effect in many college courses on social ethics, it provides a satisfying theological perspective on the global forces that push and pull migrants across borders. While And You Welcomed Me deserves praise for its attention to detail, its relentless focus on the "big picture" is its greatest contribution. Withou the type of scholarship found here, the world may never grow beyond the mistrust and hostility that all too often characterize discussions of migration. -- Thomas Massaro, SJ, Professor of Moral Theology, Fordham University; author of Living Justice * America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture *
While And You Welcomed Me deserves praise for its attention to detail, its relentless focus on the 'big picture is its greatest contribution. Without the type of scholarship found here, the world may never grow beyond the mistrust and hostilitythat all too often characterize discussions of migration.... * America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture *
And You Welcomed Me offers a clear, accessible treatment of the complex phenomenon of migration. Covering contemporary issues as diverse as economic development, human rights, sovereignty, and immigrant integration, it explains why migration has emerged as a centerpiece of Catholic social teaching and demonstrates the importance of religious language in a highly polarized public debate. Most of all, it never loses sight of the self-sacrificing human beings who are at the heart of this phenomenon. And You Welcomed Me should be required reading for all people seeking to further their understanding of what it means to be Catholic in the 21st century. -- Sr. Helen Prejean, leading advocate for the abolition of the death penalty
While And You Welcomed Me deserves praise for its attention to detail, its relentless focus on the 'big picture" is its greatest contribution. Without the type of scholarship found here, the world may never grow beyond the mistrust and hostility that all too often characterize discussions of migration. * America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture *

Author Bio

Donald Kerwin is vice-president for programs at the Migration Policy Institute. Jill Marie Gerschutz is migration policy director and outreach coordinator of the Office of Social and International Ministries at the Jesuit Conference, USA.