At the U.S.-Mexico border: Migration from a Christian perspective
Five members of the Boston College community participated in a recent conference held near the border of the United States and Mexico that drew together an international cohort of theologians, bishops, pastoral ministers, and migrants for a dialogue about migration from a Christian perspective.
The three-day , titled 鈥淭he Challenges of Human Mobility in the Face of the New Political Horizons of Mexico and the United States from a Christian Perspective,鈥� was co-convened by Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC), a global network of theological ethicists, and Universidad Iberoamericana (IBERO Tijuana), a Jesuit university in Tijuana that also hosted the event.
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CSTM student Luis Donaldo Gonz谩lez gave opening remarks at the Colloquium on Migration and Theology. (Photo courtesy of IBERO Tijuana)
Presented in Spanish, the conference was designed to reflect on how the current political situations in the U.S. and Mexico affect migrants and the Catholic Church鈥檚 pastoral care, according to Clough School of Theology and Ministry doctoral student Luis Donaldo Gonz谩lez, who co-organized the event along with other members of CTEWC鈥檚 Virtual Roundtable on Migration and Borders in the Americas: Jutta Battenberg, Luz Elena Arozqueta, and Yohan Garcia.
鈥淭his colloquium was a new model of academic-pastoral encounter shaped to truly spark an experiential dialogue that shows the vulnerability of the human heart,鈥� said Gonz谩lez. 鈥淲e hope this model will help to respond to the humanitarian crisis that is going on throughout the world, especially in Mexico and the United States.鈥�
鈥淭he border is not [just] a limit but a space for human encounter, compassion, and mission,鈥� said Florentino Badial Hern谩ndez, director general of IBERO Tijuana.
Conference participants represented the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and the Vatican.
吃瓜网 School of Social Work Assistant Professor Alejandro Olayo-M茅ndez, S.J., gave a keynote talk during the Colloquium on Migration and Theology. (Photo courtesy of Luis Donaldo Gonz谩lez)
鈥淐hristian charity requires not only humanitarian outreach and hospitality, but liberation from the injustices marking cruel practices and dehumanizing policies,鈥� said Joseph Professor of Theology Kristin E. Heyer, co-chair of CTEWC, who delivered a keynote address at the event.
School of Social Work Assistant Professor Alejandro Olayo-M茅ndez, S.J., author of Humanitarianism from Below: Faith, Welfare, and the Role of Casas de Migrantes in Mexico, also was a keynote speaker at the colloquium.
Reflecting on the Oct. 9-11 conference, Heyer said what was notable about it was that it went beyond the typical academic conference to include active engagement by bishops and personal testimonials from migrants.
One of those testimonials was offered by Javier Reyes, who works in the Clough School and serves as a resident minister on Upper Campus. As part of a panel, he shared his story as an immigrant in the U.S.
Another conference participant from 吃瓜网 was CSTM student Javier Hernandez, S.J., who led the synodal dialogue.聽
Other notable conference attendees included Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; Salvadoran-American Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menj铆var-Ayala of Washington, D.C.; 聽Auxiliary Bishop Carlos A. Santos Garc铆a of Monterrey, Mexico; Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute in El Paso, Texas; Sister Dolores Palencia, a Synod on Synodality voter and minister at the migrant shelter in Tierra Blanca, Veracruz; Bishop of Matamoros-Reynosa Eugenio Lira Rugarc铆a, director of the Mexican Episcopal Conference鈥檚 human mobility ministry; Norma Romero, founder of聽Las Patronas; Argentine theologian Pablo Blanco, CTEWC regional coordinator for Latin America; and Mexican-American theologian Victor Carmona of University of San Diego.
Additional financial support for the colloquium came from聽Fuerza Migrante; the聽University of San Diego;聽Loyola University Chicago;聽Redemptorists-Denver Province;聽Glenmary Home Missioners; and the Patron Saints.
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