The Theological and Pastoral Grounding for Immigrant Integration

Refugee resettlement & integration experience and Catholic response• Local pastor and parish – St. Rose of

Lima, St. Joseph, a shared parish Diocesan – Harrisburg

• National/international – Carthage, MO

St. Joseph

Carthage, MO

Catholic response continues to play a key role in immigrant integration, the building of our human family, one community at a time

Secretariat on Cultural Diversity Subcommittee on Asian Pacific Island Affairs

Challenges to integration for Asian Pacific Islanders (API)

– Reorganization – church closure and merging• Open question on pros and cons of personal parishes• Generation gaps - identity

– Geography – API are scattered across the US still impact smaller groups to organize and gather

– Cultural sensitivity – orientation and mentorship programs, BICM with USCCB/CDC

– Access to services – Cycles of Poverty• Work with no compensations for adults• Catholic school for children - costs• Healthcare – No provision of health insurance for any member

of the family• Welfare – undocumented API• Mental Health – PTSD, suicide, stigma, diagnosis & care, system

dependent

Conclusion

Matthew 25:3534 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed meUS Church- Church of Mercy where encountering a loving God is possible and where strangers are welcomed as friends, precisely today.