U.S. Bishops express solidarity with Muslim community
(Vatican Radio) Expressing solidarity with the Muslim
community, U.S. Bishops have expressed deep concern over religious freedom
issues raised by President Trump’s Executive Order on refugees.
In a statement published Tuesday, January 31, on the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website and signed by Bishops
Mitchell Rozanski, William Lori and Oscar Cantù, the Bishops respond to the
Order and join other faith leaders to stand in solidarity with those affected
by it.
Please find below the full USCCB statement:
WASHINGTON—On January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump
issued an executive order that, among other things: suspends issuance of visas
and other immigration benefits to nationals of seven predominantly Muslim
countries for 90 days; indefinitely suspends resettlement of refugees from
Syria, which is also predominantly Muslim, subject to a possible exception for
those who are "religious minorities" in their home countries and facing
religious persecution; and suspends virtually the entire U.S. refugee
resettlement program for 120 days, also subject to a possible exception for
such "religious minorities."
Most Reverend Mitchell T. Rozanski, Bishop of Springfield
and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs,
Most Reverend William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore and Chairman of the
USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, and Most Reverend Oscar Cantú,
Bishop of Las Cruces and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on International
Justice and Peace, jointly issued the following statement in response to this
action:
We recognize that Friday evening's Executive Order has
generated fear and untold anxiety among refugees, immigrants, and others
throughout the faith community in the United States. In response to the Order,
we join with other faith leaders to stand in solidarity again with those
affected by this order, especially our Muslim sisters and brothers. We also
express our firm resolution that the Order's stated preference for
"religious minorities" should be applied to protect not only
Christians where they are a minority, but all religious minorities who suffer
persecution, which includes Yazidis, Shia Muslims in majority Sunni areas, and
vice versa. While we also recognize that the United States government has a
duty to protect the security of its people, we must nevertheless employ means
that respect both religious liberty for all, and the urgency of protecting the
lives of those who desperately flee violence and persecution. It is our
conviction as followers of the Lord Jesus that welcoming the stranger and
protecting the vulnerable lie at the core of the Christian life. And so, to our
Muslim brothers and sisters and all people of faith, we stand with you and
welcome you.
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