Media Advisory-“The Catholic Church and Immigration: Pastoral, Policy and Social

Perspectives” conference at The Catholic University of America (CUA) is being live-streamed today, March 21, at https://live.cua.edu/,9:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The conference features three separate panel discussions on:

·Immigration and the Church: Historical Impact and Future Responses.” Speakers include: Timothy Meagher, CUA associate professor of history; Virgil Elizondo professor of pastoral and Hispanic theology at the University of Notre Dame; and Rev. Alan Deck, S.J., executive director of the Office of Cultural Diversity in the Church, USCCB.

·“Catholic Social Teaching and Immigration Policy.” Speakers include: Todd Scribner, education outreach coordinator at the USCCB; Kevin Appleby, director of the Office of Migration Policy and Public Affairs, USCCB; Don Kerwin, vice president for programs at the Migration Policy Institute and associate fellow at the Woodstock Theological Union; and Maria Mazzenga, CUA archivist.

·“The Role of the Catholic Church in the Immigration Debate.” Speakers include: Margaret Steinfels, co-director of the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture; Amy Sullivan, senior editor at Time Magazine; John Thavis, Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service; and Kathryn Lopez, editor at National Review Online.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, D.C., and a consultant to Catholic Relief Services, will deliver a lunchtime keynote address titled “The Universal Church as a Defender of Migrant’s Rights.”

In the evening, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, and Archbishop Rafael Romo Muñoz of Tijuana, chairman of the Mexican Episcopal Conference’s Migration Commission, will highlight the international dimension of migration with a presentation on "U.S.-Mexican Migration: A Catholic View."Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan of Mexico and Eric P. Schwartz, Assistant Secretary of State for the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration will respond.

For more information about the conference, view the program (https://ipr.cua.edu/res/docs/Conference-Program-1-2.pdf ) or call the Institute for Policy Research "& Catholic Studies at 202-319-5999.

“The Catholic Church and Immigration: Pastoral, Policy and Social Perspectives”conference is sponsored by The Institute for Policy Research "& Catholic Studies and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Keywords: immigration, policy, Cardinal McCarrick, the Institute for Policy Research "& Catholic Studies, The Catholic University of America, U.S. bishops, USCCB

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