A further reflection on immigration from Pope Francis’ encyclical, #44:
We forget that “there is no worse form of alienation than to feel uprooted, belonging to no one. A land will be fruitful, and its people bear fruit and give birth to the future, only to the extent that it can foster a sense of belonging among its members, create bonds of integration between generations and different communities, and avoid all that makes us insensitive to others and leads to further alienation”.
In 1994 Carl Sagan, the brilliant astronomer and science communicator, offered comments which we might apply today to the development of artificial intelligence:
Many of the dangers we face arise indeed from science and technology–but, more fundamentally, because we have become powerful without becoming commensurately wise. The world altering powers that technology has delivered into our hands now require a degree of consideration and foresight that has never before been asked of us.
• Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich celebrated an outdoor Ash Wednesday mass in solidarity with immigrants being terrorized and detained.
• Newark Cardinal Joseph Tobin made it a priority to celebrate an Ash Wednesday litugy inside an immigrant detention center.
“What we are seeing is a genuinely prophetic answer to a call from the heart of the Gospel. It is an urgent response to an extreme moment. The answer is delivered with language and action that attempt to counter an out-of-control government and its multiple assaults on human dignity and the rule of law.” [Photo and quote from a National Catholic Reporter editorial]
Room In The Inn (RITI) is an organization that utilizes church personnel, church volunteers, and church facilities to provide housing at night for homeless people during the coldest months. I was supposed to be an all-night volunteer tomorrow at Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, but today we got notice that the city of Louisville has refused to give the permissions necessary to use the church facilities for this housing even though they allowed it in January, 2025. Fire safety regulations are the issue. It is especially sad to receive this message on the morning after the coldest night this winter in Louisville.
