A commission of Ireland's Catholic Bishops' Conference will this week launch a campaign to draw attention to the plight of the illegal Irish living in the US.
Launching the bishops' 2005 "Supporting the Irish Abroad" (SIA) campaign, the chairman of the Commission for Emigrants, Bishop Séamus Hegarty of Derry, said "this year's awareness campaign focuses on the challenges facing our people who are living furtive lives in the US. Many families at home are keenly aware of this situation as it may apply to their brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and friends.
In order, he said "to improve the plight of the undocumented, we are currently working with the Migration and Refugee Service of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops."
He pointed out that the American bishops have initiated a campaign calling for immigration reform and that this is based on the principles set out in their pastoral letter Strangers no Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope. It was jointly published with the bishops of Mexico in 2003.
Bishop Hegarty said he intended travelling to the US soon to visit the Irish Church's pastoral centres for emigrants there and to meet with the chaplains and those working with Irish people.
"I will also discuss with my colleagues in the US Catholic Bishops' Conference how best the Irish and US bishops can work together to alleviate the plight of most vulnerable of migrants," he said."This year we will raise funds to support our outreach services for vulnerable Irish emigrants," he said.
Those services included volunteer outreach programmes to the elderly, supporting members of the Irish Travelling community in Britain, increasing the frequency of visits to Irish prisoners abroad, supporting immigration reform in the US, and the assistance of other agencies to reach Irish people in need.
Bishop Hegarty concluded, "on behalf of all bishops, priests and laity working with the Irish abroad I wish to sincerely thank all those who have generously supported our campaign to date.
