WASHINGTON (OSV News) — They came — to collaborate and connect; to listen and pray; to advocate and organize.
Perhaps the largest U.S. assembly of those dedicated to carrying out the social ministry and teaching of the church, the biennial Catholic Social Ministry Gathering took place Jan. 25-28 in Washington, a day after the national March for Life.
Christened this year with the theme, “Missionaries of Hope, Advocates for Justice,” the CSMG was organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Justice and Peace, 10 USCCB departments, and 20 national Catholic organizations.
A message from Pope Francis
In the Jan. 25 opening plenary — which bore the same title as the overall gathering — Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, shared a message from Pope Francis calling them in the Jubilee Year “to place the challenge of ‘organizing hope’ at the center of the pastoral mission.”
“This is what it is all about: being a ‘church which goes forth,’ being able to sustain ‘with words and actions’ the hope with which so many families have always come to these blessed lands,” the pope said in his letter, which Cardinal Pierre read to the hundreds of attendees.
Cardinal Pierre then focused upon what it means to be a prophetic Christian. He said their politics “must look different” from that of “the political messiah,” who proposes “simplistic and polarizing solutions” that do not help society discern the common good.
Noting that people suffer under many different kinds of injustice, he said, “For this reason, there are many specific areas in which Catholic social ministry is necessary to bring about greater justice.”
A vigil Mass — with Cardinal Pierre as celebrant — was offered afterward for attendees.
Hope and community
Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Latin America, began the Jan. 26 plenary session titled “Salt and Light: Building Bridges by Organizing Hope” by telling attendees it is impossible to speak about hope without linking politics and the economy.
“Hope,” Cuda said, “is the dynamo that turns fear into (an) organizing community.” She warned against the political manipulation of hope, however, explaining that is not theology but ideology, and therefore “the worst politics.”
“We must go out as church, but build bridges of communication, without leaving anyone outside or behind,” she also emphasized.
Other sessions covered Jan. 26 included discussions centered around the circle process for community and parish discussion; accompaniment of migrants; how to provide hope by understanding community needs, addressing social distrust and misinformation, foster care, the climate crisis, caring for elders and those dealing with sickness, fighting human trafficking, and community action to heal intergenerational trauma in Native American contexts.
A Jan. 27 policy plenary session delivered by Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of the Diocese of Yakima, Wa., was dubbed “Pope Francis’ Vision for Ecology, Dialogue, and the Common Good.” He focused on those the pope has described as society’s “discarded” — migrants, refugees and the poor — and called them to embrace the challenge to “see God in all people and all creation.”
Sharing stories of migrants he shepherds — including a now-seminarian — who were kidnapped, tortured, and sometimes killed, Bishop Tyson made a plea for the compassion and interconnectedness Pope Francis has so often urged, particularly in his landmark encyclicals “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home” (2015) and “Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship” (2020).
Additional presentations Jan. 27 addressed the future of refugee resettlement, the promotion of peace during an era of global conflict, human dignity and health care access, homelessness prevention, advocating for a just tax system, debt crises in the global south, policies to support families, and accompanying vulnerable migrant children.
Challenges ahead
The Jan. 27 workshop, “45 Years of U.S. Leadership: What Lies Ahead for Refugee Resettlement?” discussed the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and debated its current situation, objectives, and challenges with panelists from USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services and local Catholic Charities.
They also talked briefly about the effect of the State Department’s canceling all refugee travel to the U.S. following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order.
Jessica Estrada, director of Newcomer Services at Catholic Charities at the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, shared that an 8-year-old girl, a 10-month-old, and a “9-year-old who was coming to us with a medical escort” to meet their family members were among the canceled arrivals they were expecting.
On the final morning of the CSMG, participants gathered for a sending Mass Jan. 28 prior to making advocacy visits to representatives on Capitol Hill.
U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts — a Catholic and Republican from Nebraska — later posted a message on Instagram reporting, “Met with Nebraskans who are here for the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering.”
Ricketts — pictured engaged and broadly smiling — added, “We had a great discussion about ways to support vulnerable families.”
Kimberley Heatherington writes for OSV News from Virginia. Marietha Góngora V., who writes for OSV News from Washington, contributed to this article.