My dear friends and neighbors,

As we approach the 222nd anniversary of our nation's Declaration of Independence, we need to recall our origins as a people united in support of enduring principles. Above all, we are a people of God, our God in whom the Founding Fathers placed their faith and in whose Providence they reposed their complete trust. They knew that without His favor the future of the United States of America would be brief indeed.

It is that future, and the character of our nation, that we consider at this time of year. To the question "What is America?" there are perhaps as many answers as there are Americans. Yet we share a number of fundamental values whether our ancestors lived in Jamestown or whether we arrived in the United States last week. We are all part of the American experience regardless of when we become Americans in law or within our own hearts.

Despite the prosperity about which we hear so much in the press, the past two years have been difficult for many Americans, for during that time anxieties have increased and some of our core values seem to be in question. Many of you have already begun to experience the effects of the new welfare reform law enacted in August of 1996. I want you to know that I understand the fears and concerns that you may be facing.

You may be wondering how a nation built on the contributions of immigrants from around the world can seem to turn its back on those people. You may ask why a nation known for fairness and humane treatment seems to have strayed from its values.

Those values have not changed. Fairness and humanity are deeply rooted in the teachings of the Church, and I believe that they remain the values of most Americans. In a difficult time for immigrants, then, we Catholic Americans must ask ourselves a fundamental question about our faith and about our nation: "Do we as a Church and as a nation of immigrants have a special responsibility to welcome others to our country?"

In our hearts we know that the answer is a resounding "yes."

Yes, because of the biblical tradition that welcoming a stranger is nothing less than welcoming the Lord Himself. Yes, because our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has emphasized the value of work and the need to uphold our American traditions of welcoming workers from other nations. Yes, because we know in our hearts from the teachings of the Church that we must open ourselves to others, even those whose language and cultural traditions may be very different from our own.

When the Pope graced our Archdiocese with his presence in October of 1995, he noted that "From its beginning until now, the United States has been a haven to generation after generation of new arrivals." Pope John Paul II prayed that, "America will persevere in its own best traditions of openness and opportunity" as he emphasized that the United States was "based on commitment to a shared vision of human dignity and freedom."

But there are other factors which we must face.

As you know, changing the welfare system in the United States has been a subject of heated discussion for many years. Two years ago the President and Congress enacted a law that, while well motivated in some ways, was harsh and shortsighted in other respects. One of these areas concerned legal immigrants, specifically in removing basic benefits (such as supplemental security income and food stamps) they had been receiving. The law as it was passed was unfair for a number of reasons, but particularly because it was largely financed at the expense of legal immigrants, people who pay tens of billions of dollars in taxes every year.

Fortunately, the State of New Jersey took action to restore food stamps to legal immigrants who are children, elderly or disabled. Not all states did so, and that is why the Catholic Bishops and other religious communities--as well as many social service organizations--sought to restore food stamps throughout the United States. I am gratified that, during the past month, the President has signed into law a bill that once again guarantees food stamps to our disabled, our children and our elderly immigrants who are legally resident in the United States. Like many others, I would have preferred that all legal immigrants regardless of age be made eligible for this important benefit, but that was simply not possible at this time. We are thankful, though, that we have achieved this much. Again, we can be proud that, just as the Statue of Liberty is a beacon of freedom, New Jersey showed the way for the federal government in this vital matter.

Last year, Congress passed and the President signed legislation to continue Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to those legal immigrants who were receiving the benefit on August 22, 1996, the day on which the welfare reform bill was signed into law. For those legal immigrants who were in the United States on that date but were not collecting SSI benefits, provisions were made so that individuals who later became disabled could apply for SSI benefits. Unfortunately, nothing was done to help elderly legal immigrants who are not disabled. They remain ineligible for benefits unless they actually become disabled. Again, this applies only to those individuals who arrived before August 22, 1996.

Indeed, there have been many confusing changes in policies coming out of Washington and Trenton. In the face of this, you can be sure that those of us who are called to serve will continue to work to ensure that these changes are compassionate and rooted in enlightened values.

What will never change is that the dignity and primacy of the human person is at the core of the Church's commitment to humanity.

Human rights go beyond the great words of the Declaration of Independence--life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Human rights in the fullest sense include the right to life, food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical care, education, and a chance to work and participate in the economic and political life of a society or nation. These principles must inspire and inform our actions on behalf of all people, including those who are new to our shores and those who will come in the future.

The immigrant experience is filled with hope and anxiety, well known feelings for many of us. Immigrants, however, face uncertainties and difficulties that others will never know. In most cases, for example, immigrants and their families enter societies whose language and traditions are largely unfamiliar and literally foreign. The challenges of securing employment and providing food and shelter for a family are compounded by the demands of learning another language. The experience of migration, already painful, is made even more traumatic because husbands and wives are often forced to live separately. Workers are forced to live far from their spouses and to assume unaccustomed roles. Children, furthermore, are often separated from their parents.

As followers of Christ we must always remain sensitive to the needs of strangers. We can do that by constantly putting ourselves in their position, by realizing that immigrants have the same human needs as we regardless of their language or cultural background. They have much to learn from us, but we also have much to learn from them. It is this learning, this interaction, which enriches everything in American life from food to sports, from music to our own uniquely American language.

Variety is a great strength of our nation and is a key to our vitality. But it is only a key, for the Lord who created both variety and vitality is the one Creator to whom we all pray, immigrant or native-born. It is He who will one day ask us what we did to clothe and shelter our brothers and sisters. It is He who reminds us that to care for our brothers and sisters, whatever their race or nation of origin, is to care for Him.

In affirming the Church's commitment to caring, especially for the strangers among us, I assure you of the active commitment of the Archdiocese of Newark to immigrants and to improving the laws affecting them.

It is true of all of us that when we look into the mirror each morning, we see the face of an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant. We also see someone who was created in the image and likeness of God. The same is true of today's immigrants to this nation; they are the image and likeness of God. The great American humorist Will Rogers said it well when he eloquently reminded us that the world is not full of strangers, only of friends we have not yet met.

Most Reverend Theodore E. McCarrick, Ph.D., D.D.
Archbishop of Newark

Archbishop McCarrick's Pastoral Letters