Diocese publishes Guide for Persons with Immigration Needs

Diocese of Salt Lake City

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The Catholic Diocese has published a Guide for Persons with Immigration Needs. It is available in English and Spanish on the diocesan website at https://www.dioslc.org/the-diocese/ministries/guia-para-personas-con-necesidades-migratorias (scroll down the page for the English version.)

A letter from the Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, 10th Bishop of Salt Lake City, accompanies the guide. The text of the letter is below.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Our Catholic faith is founded on the love and charity of our Lord, expressed in his sacrifice for us on the Cross and carried on in the world today through his Church. This Church community, the Mystical Body of Christ, can only live out our calling when we work together as one community, united to each other regardless of who we are or where we come from.

Just as Christ went out to the peripheries, ministered to the Gentiles, and opened his arms to everyone, we must practice our Catholic faith fully and do the same for our neighbors. Our Christian vocation to love and serve one another extends beyond those only in our faith community, especially when we may find it difficult.

Christ shared the story of the Good Samaritan, teaching us to reach out and help anyone in need, without asking for the victim’s background, ethnicity, or social group. The essence of the Great Commandment of love requires us to show mercy, and we must obey Christ’s directive to its fullest: “Go and do likewise.”

This is our sacred responsibility: to love and care for our neighbors. Catholic Social Teaching requires that the faithful be obedient to the law while maintaining the dignity of each person. The immigration situation in our country is complex and the root cause of the issue must also be studied further. But we cannot remain indifferent, blind and deaf to the sufferings of those in need, especially the undocumented and the refugees.

As your bishop, I stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are feeling frightened or threatened. Our Church prays for you, offers you hope, and helps you find paths for healing. Through the help of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Salt Lake City and St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, I am pleased to offer this Guide for Persons with Immigration Needs as the diocese’s support for our immigrant community. Thanks also to Fr. Langes Silva, JCD, Fr. Rogelio Félix-Rosas, and Fr. Christopher Gray for their efforts in the production of this guide.

May we as a diocese, united in charity and prayer, be the hands, the feet and the sacred heart of Christ to those in most need.

The Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis

Bishop of Salt Lake City