‘Share the Journey’

PATERSON  Bishop Serratelli, along with bishops in the United States and around the world, joined Pope Francis on Sept. 27 in launching a global campaign, called “Share the Journey,” to support people who are fleeing their homelands and seeking safety and a new life for their families. Also participating in the program are Catholic Relief Services, where Bishop Serratelli is a member of the Board of Directors; Catholic Charities USA and local Catholic Charities agencies in the Diocese of Paterson, and the Church’s global charitable network, Caritas Internationalis.

Pope Francis opened the campaign yesterday with a symbolic gesture of “reaching out” to migrants and immigrants, inviting others around the world to join him in doing the same. The two-year campaign calls on Catholics to help shape conversations and actions to answer the Gospel call to love their neighbors by “encountering” migrants, immigrants and refugees in an effort to break down barriers of fear and suspicion and build bridges of understanding and hospitality.

The Pope has also designated Oct. 7–13 as the campaign’s “Week of Prayer and Action” across the United States and the world.

To raise awareness of the campaign locally in the Diocese of Paterson, Bishop Serratelli visited the food pantry at Catholic Family and Community Services, an agency of diocesan Catholic Charities in Paterson, where he met with Chris Barton, the agency’s executive director, and toured the food pantry with Carlos Rodan, its director.

“When immigrants to the United States arrive here they face challenges on so many different levels: legal issues that include legal status, documents and employment eligibility, language barriers, employment and marketable skills, living wages, child education and childcare needs, housing and other very basic needs like food and clothing,” Barton explained during the Bishop’s visit. “Catholic Family and Community Services, (CFCS) endeavors to support all people in need, especially those who have immigrated to our Diocese, to address these challenges.”

According to Barton, programs specifically intended to support the immigrant population include CFCS’s Immigration Legal Services Department, which supports clients in completing paperwork and documentation requirements to maintain legal status, and the Migrant Ministry of Catholic Charities, an important human-rights endeavor that works to assure that migrant workers and their families are treated humanely and with dignity. In addition, CFCS meets some of the most basic needs for housing, food and clothing for immigrants who are struggling financially. “Whether a U.S.-born citizen, an immigrant or a migrant worker, the clients served through CFCS and Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Paterson are often among the poorest of the poor, even when they are working full-time,” said Barton.

Anna Huth, a representative with Catholic Relief Services, said there are more refugees now than at any other time in history. Migration as a whole is at an all-time high, Huth said, and countries all over the world, struggling with integrating migrants, are too often coming up with responses that disrespect the life and dignity of these persons who have fled their homelands. Every Catholic can help their diocese, parish, school or other organization participate in the “Share the Journey” campaign through prayers and acts of compassion and support, Huth said.

[For ways to participate in “Share the Journey” go to sharejourney.org.]