June is Refugee Awareness Month with World Refugee Week taking place June 14-20, leading to World Refugee Day on June 20. In honor of the courage, strength and determination of women, men, and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict, and violence, we interviewed Father Dan Groody—Holy Cross Priest, Vice President & Associate Provost, and Professor of Theology & Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. Father Groody discusses with us the importance of resettlement work at Catholic Charities of Oregon and throughout the United States.
Catholic Social Teaching calls us to “welcome the stranger,” recognize our common humanity, and care for each other in our darkest times of need. Today, and throughout history, refugees around the world who flee their homes in search of safety, stability, and community show us the need to come into our true selves by reminding us of our interconnectedness.
As Father Groody said during his interview,
“The Church sees its own identity as being a ‘pilgrim people’. We have no lasting home here, and we are in transit. If life itself is a migration, then it’s not about us and them—those who are settled and those who are moving—it’s about all of us. So how we respond to migrants in our midst and to Christ’s hidden presence among them determines who we become.”