Like our followers, many of us at Goodfaith have been carrying a deep sense of grief and escalating anxiety over the presence and activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in our communities. Every day, we hear unthinkable stories of parents separated from their children and children taken from their classrooms to be used as “bait.” We read about the consistent denial of human dignity and due process.
The unrest in Minneapolis and the violent, unethical actions of ICE weigh heavily on us. We grieve the lives lost, we stand with families and loved ones, and we pray for all who are living in fear, division, and harm.
The stories have started to hit closer to our organizational home in Mercer County, NJ. Recently, a father was taken from the school drop-off line in Princeton. Just last week, two people were abducted from the steps of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Trenton. These aren’t distant or hypothetical events. They are happening right now to our brothers, sisters, and God’s children across the country.
At Goodfaith, our foundational belief – and our guiding beacon – is Imago Dei. This is an understanding that we are all – every human person, without exception – is made in the image and likeness of God. This is not an abstract theological concept. As Catholics, this truth is intended to underscore everything in our lives – our words, our actions, and our relationships, including with those we know and even (especially!) those we don’t. It’s what calls into communion with our one sacred human family across the globe.
As Catholics, it is more important than ever to remain steadfast in our Gospel call – to mercy, peacemaking, and solidarity, especially with those who are poor, vulnerable, and marginalized. We applaud the public stances of clergy – including Pope Leo, along with several Cardinals and Bishops – who have condemned ICE actions as “inhumane,” “indiscriminate,” “unacceptable,” and “incompatible with Church teaching.” We must continue to bear witness to and remind our fellow Catholics of the Church’s consistent teaching against policies and practices that dehumanize, including mass deportation, family separation, and militarized enforcement. We must reject and decry reductionist and hateful rhetoric that reduces human persons to nameless statistics.
And, we must take action. Speaking earlier this week to more than 8,000 participants on an interfaith webinar sponsored by Faith in Action, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark asked, “How will you say ‘no’ to violence? Will you contact your representatives and senators from your district? Will you ask them, for the love of God and the love of human beings, which can’t be separated, to vote against renewing funding for such a lawless organization? … How will you help restore a culture of life in the midst of death?”
At Goodfaith, we work every day to create programs, resources, and partnerships that help people to do this with courage and tenderness in the real world. In times like this, we return to a simple but forceful truth: “If you want peace, work for justice” (Pope Paul VI). Justice requires clear-eyed truth, accountability, restraint, and a commitment to a common good that lifts up the most vulnerable among us.
So we commit ourselves – and believe Christ calls all of us – to:
- Pray for those harmed and those living in fear
- Stand with immigrant and refugee neighbors in solidarity and accompaniment
- Support nonviolent efforts that protect human dignity and build beloved community
- Advocate for immigration policies rooted in compassion, due process, and the flourishing of families
May our hearts not be hardened and instead choose the “revolution of tenderness” that our faith demands.
