Motivated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who they claim was himself a migrant and a refugee; the Catholic Church is set to kick off their “Share the Journey” campaign on September 27, 2017.  With left-leaning Pope Francis at the helm, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) intends to instruct all Catholics to get with the program and accept all kinds of immigrants in the U.S. -- or face eternal damnation.  

Worse yet, I’m going to outline how the Catholic Church is putting young people through questionable psychological exercises in an odd game of “be the refugee.”

Hot off the presses and hitting a church near you comes the pamphlet, “Our Faith Teaches: Welcoming the Refugee and the Migrant.”  The pamphlet begins the church’s two-year mass education effort to condition (especially United States) Catholics to support programs like “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) and apparently accept “global migration” by any immigrant group -- no questions asked.

The “Share the Journey” website first introduces us to immigrant “Ruth” -- a name obviously meant to invoke the Biblical Ruth who was widowed and then followed her mother-in-law into a strange land -- and famously gave the world, “Whither thou goest, I will go.”  Today’s Ruth, however, sadly “lived in the shadows” until President Obama introduced DACA. We are told that, “Over 780,000 youth have received protection from the DACA program since its inception by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2012.”  The USCCB official statement is pretty clear on the subject and reads in part:

The cancellation of the DACA program is reprehensible.  It causes unnecessary fear for DACA youth and their families.  These youth entered the U.S. as minors and often know America as their only home…This decision is unacceptable and does not reflect who we are as Americans…As people of faith, we say to DACA youth -- regardless of your immigration status (emphasis mine), you are children of God and welcome in the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church supports you and will advocate for you.

So they aren’t just welcoming illegals into the church spiritually and offering hot meals, they’re also saying “come to us and we’ll help you fight the government.”

It’s much bigger than DACA, though.  Over the next two years, the Catholic Church will attempt to convince every adherent to its faith that its long history of social justice is culminating in forcing every country, (but especially the United States) into accepting any and all illegal immigrants in the name of Jesus Christ.  One of the two greatest commandments was, after all, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” (the name of the church’s first upcoming campaign for immigrants and refugees;) and if one fails to comply, that would obviously be a sin; and Jesus -- the scorned migrant -- was crucified for the forgiveness of our sins.  If you think this is too over-the-top, consider that the “Social Justice” part of the church’s catechism is being invoked with a heavy-handedness not seen since its inception.  From Article 3, Social Justice, we find the phrases:

• “Distribution of wealth…”
• “Social justice is linked to the common good…”
• “Society ensures social justice by providing the conditions that allow associations and individuals to obtain their due.”
• “The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area this may be…This same duty extends to those who think or act differently from us.”
• “These differences belong to God's plan, who wills that each receive what he needs from others…These differences encourage and often oblige persons to practice…sharing of goods; they foster the mutual enrichment of cultures.”
• “The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic inequalities”

(In an interesting aside, this article comparing Socialism to Catholicism, then subsequently rejecting the idea, reads like it was written in 2017 rather than 1913.)

This scrutiny of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is done now owing to the church’s current in-your-face activism and their upcoming agenda which begins with the “week of prayer and action for migrants and refugees.”  Set to run from October 7-13, the main webpage prominently features a Muslim woman; and since all of the pictures beneath her appear to be of Muslims, one assumes they are the only type of “immigrant and refugee” that the church is concerned with.

The toolkit offered for “prayer and action” has instructions for implementation at Mass, in Catholic schools, on college campuses, and at community-wide events.

At Mass, one can obtain a “Global Migration” prayer and commitment sheet.  This contains a prayer not for the refugees, but to condition the person praying into taking some kind of action on behalf of the refugees.  Realizing it’s going to go against some people’s grain, you are even instructed to ask God to “Continue to call me beyond my comfort and into encounter.”  Then you sign the commitment sheet as an informal contract that you are going to become an immigration activist.  The sheet is officially stamped by the USCCB, Catholic Charities U.S.A., and Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

It also suggests asking a representative from your local “Catholic Charities office (immigration legal services or refugee resettlement) to say a few words at the end of Mass.”

The “Schools” program encourages Catholic high schools across America to become CRS Global High Schools; but wait…there’s more…you can choose the Silver, Gold or Platinum commitment level.  For the Gold or Platinum, CRS will provide a certificate for graduating seniors “recognizing them as Global Advocates.”  At this point, it appears your child has learned nothing in high school except how to be an immigration rights activist after repeatedly being immersed in the “Encounter migration” mentality.  

Remember, it was Pope Francis who urged everyone to change their attitudes towards immigrants/migrants/refugees from one of “defensiveness and fear” into a “culture of encounter” so we could “build a more just…world.”

On college campuses, the plan gets a little more…weird.  Students are instructed to organize “solidarity prayer vigils” and sign personal “advocacy letters.”  They’re also told to hold “simulation experiences” in which groups of students form “refugee families.”  They are then led through nine “stations” (reminiscent of ‘stations of the cross’) where they are forced to make difficult choices so they can “empathize” with refugees.

Colleges can find other suggestions at the CRS “I Am Migration” webpage; or through the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.  They’re urged to utilize social media to promote #ShareJourney.

They can also visit Cabrini University’s WeDidNothingWrondg.Org -- an “Educational Simulation about Syrian Refugees created by the University’s “CRS Ambassadors.”  (St. Frances Cabrini is the patron saint of migrants.)  This program leads students through a more intensive course with “Refugee re-enactors” who “orient” the student then send them through a “smuggling” situation and a “journey obstacle course” which afterward requires a “journey debriefer.”  Then it’s on to the “Reflection Area” which of course leads straight to the “Advocacy Area” -- because there’s no way they expect your personal reflection to lead to anything but advocacy.  When the programming is complete, the human propaganda machine spits out a committed immigration rights activist and a passionate Global Advocate.  (There is no mention of whether counselors are available should this exercise have a negative, profound or unwanted effect on the participants.)

Lastly, organizing community-wide prayer vigils is encouraged, as well as praying the Rosary in accordance with the Catholic bishops of the United States pastoral letter, “Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity.”  When Catholics do this, they are entering “into the mystery of the Mystical Body of Christ” because:

As St. Paul teaches in his first letter to the Corinthians, the mystery is that we are made part of that Body through our Baptism.  By learning to celebrate our individual differences while embracing our union with others, we grow not only in our understanding of Jesus, but in the knowledge of our own true selves.

Of course there’s money involved too.  The website set up to create Global Advocates who will fight for all migrants, legal and illegal, is asking for donations.  “Share the Journey” has a “Help Now!” button with an option to “Help in the U.S.”  When you click it, it doesn’t mention migrants or refugees at all.  It simply reads “Catholic Charities U.S.A. -- Donate to help us end poverty.”

As professor and columnist Victor David Hanson wrote:

The history of nations is mostly characterized by ethnic and racial uniformity, not diversity… America is history’s exception… When immigration was controlled, measured, and coupled with a confident approach to assimilation, America thrived… The history of state multiculturalism is one of discord, violence, chaos, and implosion.

The Catholic Church doesn’t seem to be teaching any of that in their instruction pamphlets. Instead they seem destined to systematically integrate the entire world into what they believe will be a multicultural utopia…apparently by the authority of God himself.

Susan D. Harris can be reached at www.susandharris.com