January 05, 2018

Catholic University, Bishops’ Conference host Panel Discussion

A panel discussion on immigration — “On the Margins: At the Intersection of Catholic Thought and Migration” — will take place Thursday, Jan. 11, at 3 p.m. in the Law School auditorium at The Catholic University of America.

Co-sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Migration and Refugee Services and Catholic University’s Institute for Human Ecology, the panel discussion features a number of experts in the fields of Catholic social teaching and immigration. The discussion is taking place during National Migration Week.

The first panel, “Let the Children Come to Me: Stories of Migrant Children, U.S. Migration Policy, and the Catholic Church,” will look at the experience of child migration in its various manifestations, including that of unaccompanied migrant and refugee children, and that of DREAMERs and DACA recipients. Attendees will hear their stories, including the reasons why these people left their homeland, their experience in transit, and their reception here in the United States following their arrival.

Panelists include:

  • Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
  • Ashley Feasley, director of Migration Policy and Public Affairs for the USCCB

The second panel, “The Globalization of Indifference: Pope Francis and the Catholic Response to Migration,” will examine Pope Francis’ teaching on migration in the context of the larger Catholic social teaching tradition, and look at some of the ways in which this tradition has influenced the bishops’ development of migration-related policy here in the United States. Pope Francis has repeatedly called on people to open their hearts to migrant populations who often experience great suffering throughout their migration process.Last spring, he commented, “We must never forget, however, that migrants, rather than simply being a statistic, are first of all persons who have faces, names and individual stories.”

Panelists include:

  • V. Bradley Lewis, associate professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America, and faculty fellow at the Institute for Human Ecology
  • Fr. Richard Ryscavage, S.J., Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

This event is free and open to the public. Attendees should RSVP at www.marginsevent.org. It will be livestreamed.

MEDIA: To attend this event, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at communications@cua.edu or 202-319-5600.

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ABOUT: The Catholic University of America is the national university of the Catholic Church and the only higher education institution founded by the U.S. bishops. Established in 1887 as a papally chartered graduate and research center, the University comprises 12 schools and 26 research facilities and is home to 3,241 undergraduate and 2,835 graduate students.

Need an expert? The University Experts Guide features faculty from more than 100 disciplines.

ABOUT: The Institute for Human Ecology (IHE) at The Catholic University of America is the nation’s leading academic institute committed to increasing scientific understanding of the economic, cultural, and social conditions vital for human flourishing. Drawing on the Catholic intellectual tradition, the mission of the IHE is to educate students, sponsor multidisciplinary and social scientific research, advise Church leadership and policy-makers, and organize symposia, conferences, and lectures for the academy and the public square. IHE programs challenge the deterministic and reductive institutions and arguments that thwart the pursuit of greater freedom and prosperity for all.