Category Archives: Christmas & Lent

St. John’s Service Commission has identified the current refugee crisis as the focus of our Lenten Gift this year. Caring for refugees is rooted in the Gospel and Catholic social teaching, calling us to respect life and dignity of the human person and provide for the poor and vulnerable. More recently, Pope Francis has stressed these themes and powerfully connected them with a response to the Gospel of Mercy.

Many of us can relate to the plight of the refugees, as our own ancestors were among those who came to this country to escape war, famine and hardship. In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, let us show the mercy of God by supporting those people who are now forced to leave behind everything they have ever known and loved.

Instead of using ‘collection baskets’ this year, the Service Commission invites parishioners to perform an individual act of mercy by going to the front entrance/foyer of the Church, to the large container, clearly marked and waiting for your contribution throughout the weekend of March 19-20. You may also make your donation through ParishPay, our online giving program. May we offer this Lenten Gift with compassion and prayer. It is a blessed Act of Mercy for St. John Parish.

For the past three fiscal years, the United States has capped the annual number of refugees it will accept to 70,000 people. There are plans to increase this number to 85,000 people in 2016 and to 100,000 people by 2017. The existing refugee screening processes are rigorous and effective. The vetting process can take up to 24 months and involves several Federal Government agencies including Departments of State, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services.

In partnership with its affiliates, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), through its Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) resettled close to 30% of all refugees coming into the U. S. in 2015. The Catholic refugee resettlement network includes over 100 Diocesan offices across the country, one of which is Catholic Charities/Boston (CC/B). Without volunteers and resources from the community and parishes, USCCB/MRS and its Diocesan resettlement offices would not be able to undertake this tremendous task.

In recent years, CC/B has had to suspend its resettlement of refugee families because housing costs in Massachusetts are prohibitively high. CC/B receives a one-time cash stipend per refugee from the Federal government but it is insufficient to support a family as it gets established in the U. S. CC/B estimates that it needs to raise approximately $5,000 per refugee family to subsidize rent expenses for 6 months. Our Parish Lenten Gift would allow CC/B to restart the resettlement of refugee families.

The resettlement efforts focus on ensuring that refugees attain economic self-sufficiency. According to CC/B the first three months after a refugee family’s arrival are critical: the family needs to secure social security cards, enroll in the food stamp program, sign up for Mass Health and get the children enrolled in school. CC/B has case managers who handle these requirements with each family. At the same time the family must enroll in ESOL classes and job placement services. The goal for each family is to be self-sufficient by 6 months.

But even if a refugee family achieves economic self-sufficiency by 6 months, it takes much longer to acculturate and this is where our Parish can also help. CC/B needs volunteers to help refugee families learn ‘soft’ skills including employment coaching, English language conversation, and life skills such as grocery shopping (how to use coupons, for example), financial literacy, and how to negotiate public transportation among other things.

Just imagine what a refugee family’s experience entails: it starts in fear, with the trauma of having to leave behind family, a profession and possessions, and entails suffering along the way as well as a sense of disorientation before an uncertain future.

So this year’s Parish Lenten gift could have a one-two punch. First, we will raise funds for CC/B in order to subsidize the expenses of resettling refugee families in the U. S. But we could also develop long-term relationships with these families not only to help them learn ‘soft’ skills but also to “welcome the stranger” as Matthew’s Gospel instructs us.

Next week we’ll follow the journey of a refugee family from Somalia.

Like many of you, we have been moved by what we’ve seen and read about in the media: the chaos at border crossings, the wretched conditions in makeshift refugee camps, and reports that in 2015 alone, as many as 3,000 people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to escape civil war and persecution in their own country. The full horror of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding on the shores of Europe was revealed late last year in the heartbreaking photograph of a drowned Syrian toddler, on a Turkish beach, after two boats bound for the Greek island of Kos sank.

In fact, caring for refugees is based on Catholic social teaching. Think of Christ’s life: the baby Jesus was a refugee who, along with the Holy Family fled the terror of Herod into Egypt (Mt 2:14-15). In his public ministry Jesus was itinerant, moving from place to place “with nowhere to lay his Head…” (Mt 8:20).  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs us to welcome the stranger: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Mt 25: 35-40)

In any discussion of displaced persons it is important to understand the distinctions between refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and immigrants. A refugee is a person who has fled armed conflict or persecution and who is recognized as in need of international protection because it is too dangerous for them to return home. Refugees are protected under international law by the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines what a refugee is and outlines the basic rights afforded to them. Refugees must secure refugee status while still outside the United States. After a comprehensive screening process, refugees are admitted to the U.S. legally with work authorization and limited benefits. Eventually, refugees may apply for permanent residency and citizenship in the United States.  For example, those fleeing Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria and Iraq are considered refugees.

An asylum seeker is a person who has applied for asylum on the grounds that if he is returned to his country of origin he has a well-founded fear of persecution. An asylum seeker is already present in the United States or is seeking admission at a port of entry. A migrant is someone who moves either temporarily or permanently from one place to another, generally for economic reasons. For example, those fleeing poverty in Nigeria would be considered migrants. An immigrant is a person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.

Next week we’ll discuss how the U. S. Catholic community is helping refugees to resettle in the United States.