• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
"Immigrants' Dining Room," A photo taken at Ellis Island, c. 1910, by an employee of the National Park Service. The World Day of Migrants and Refugees concludes National Migration Week on September 24, 2023. (OSV News photo/public domain)

Celebrate migration as the ultimate free choice a human can make

September 7, 2023
By Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
OSV News
Filed Under: Commentary, Immigration and Migration

At the height of the great migration from Europe 109 years ago, the church universally established a Sunday on which we can celebrate the phenomenon of migration. But is migration something to celebrate or is it something to understand and commemorate?

The theme for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, chosen by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, is “Free to Choose Whether to Migrate or to Stay.” This theme shines a light on the root causes that drive migration and that need to be understood by conscientious Christians. Hopefully, this year’s celebration can help us understand why people migrate and how we can help them.

A boy dressed as St. Juan Diego is held aloft following a Spanish-language Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Staten Island, N.Y. Dec. 11, 2022. The parish serves a large population of immigrants from Mexico. The World Day of Migrants and Refugees concludes National Migration Week on September 24, 2023. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

This year, Sept. 24 is the Sunday chosen for this celebration as it ends National Migration Week. It is a time when we are asked to reflect not only on the spiritual, but also on the sociological phenomenon of migration.

There are many theories on why people migrate. Perhaps the most simple one to understand is what is known as the “push and pull” theory of migration, which describes the forces that encourage people to migrate in the sending countries, as well as certain forces that attract in the receiving countries.

While these factors do interface with one another, we cannot forget the human factor. People migrate not because they are pushed and pulled as magnets might be from one source of attraction to another. Rather, they have to weigh the risks of migrating against remaining in their home country, where they may face poverty and violence. There also are torturous human decisions that are made during every migrant journey. Seldom is it a spur-of-the-moment decision, but one that demands much soul searching and prayer.

Key to our understanding of migration is the freedom that is necessary for good human decisions. Hopefully, people will not be forced to leave their country of origin because of persecution, but rather that they are able to make a free decision to leave for better living conditions or for family reunification. If all things were equal in the world, most people would decide to stay in their country of their origin. Unfortunately, it is inequality that sometimes forces people to make difficult decisions.

This year, we also commemorate the 20th anniversary of a joint pastoral letter between the bishops of the United States and Mexico titled, “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope.” I was chairman of the USCCB Migration Committee when we issued this statement, for which we had to obtain the permission of the Holy See, since it is rather rare that two bishops’ conferences would join in a pastoral letter.

Certainly, it was clear in 2003 the majority of migration to the United States was coming from Mexico, with much of that migration being irregular, or undocumented. It was necessary for the bishops of both countries to join in solidarity to give a pastoral letter to our people. The letter is still very pertinent and accurate, since the migration between our nations has changed very little.

Why celebrate migration? We do so because it is one of the ultimate free choices that a human being can make. If Abraham had not migrated from Ur of the Chaldeans, a new faith in the one God would not have been established. If Jesus had not migrated to Egypt with Mary and Joseph, there would have been no redemption to be celebrated.

When we look to Matthew’s Gospel in Chapter 25, we find the Lord clearly giving definite criteria on which someday we will all be judged, especially when He asks us, Have you welcomed the stranger?

Every migrant is a stranger in a new land, and the degree of welcome we offer will be the degree on which we may be judged. We are encouraged to use this National Migration Week and the World Day of Migrants and Refugees as an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the complex issues that drive forced migration, and to renew our commitment to building a more just and inclusive world.

Read More Commentary

Question Corner: Does insufficient faith keep us from being healed?

Archbishop Wenski: ‘Change the narrative about migration’

Reasons why St. Francis is a model of synodality

Cardinal Dolan: Are Sunday Masses just too long?

A taste of a child’s birthday joy

Grandma still uses cash, but updates when it’s truly necessary

Copyright © 2023 OSV News

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is the retired bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y. He writes the column "Walking With Migrants" for Catholic News Service and The Tablet.

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Question Corner: Does insufficient faith keep us from being healed?

Archbishop Wenski: ‘Change the narrative about migration’

Reasons why St. Francis is a model of synodality

Cardinal Dolan: Are Sunday Masses just too long?

A taste of a child’s birthday joy

| Recent Local News |

Radio Interview: Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage

St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore awarded $2 million VA grant

‘The Following of Christ’: The ‘hidden’ book that helped make Mother Seton a saint

St. Maria Goretti High School faces uncertain future after difficult decision by archdiocese

Compensating all claims of abuse: Archdiocese considers Chapter 11 reorganization

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Question Corner: Does insufficient faith keep us from being healed?
  • U.S. Border Patrol records sharp increase in arrests; situation of migrants in Mexico deteriorates
  • English police apologize to woman arrested for silently praying outside abortion facility
  • Papal commission incorporates global feedback in safeguarding guidelines
  • U.S. bishops, advocacy groups caution against government shutdown
  • Para compensar todos los reclamos de abuso: la Arquidiócesis considera reorganización
  • Radio Interview: Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage
  • God has the same love for all, pope says at Angelus
  • Take leap of faith and dare to love your family, those in need, pope says

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED