I recently returned from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 97th Plenary Session in Baltimore, which ended Nov. 18. As you would suppose, our agenda changed slightly after the terrorist attacks in both France and Beirut. Terror is an evil, promulgated by people whose values and ideals are beyond understanding. It is to be condemned on all levels in an effort to protect all of humanity.
The fallout since the attacks is what has been most surprising to me and my brother bishops. Here in America, a land of immigrants, governors from across our nation announced that they would refuse to take in Syrian refugees. Here in Alaska, Gov. Bill Walker has not supported this, for which I am grateful. The primary concern is a question of security and fear that these refugees could include those who wish us harm. While emotions are running high, it's also a time for us to pause and reflect to "avoid demonizing the innocent," as Bill O'Keefe of Catholic Relief Services notes.
Just 100 years ago, Anchorage was founded and built by immigrants from all over the world. Since 1987, we have been a resettlement city for refugees running from their homeland to escape persecution on a multitude of levels, including religious reasons, political views and war. Locally, Catholic Social Services, acting as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' resettlement agency, has also helped victims of human trafficking.
Many of the refugees who now call Anchorage home languished in camps for years -- some as long as 20 years -- before being given the opportunity to come to America. While moving from a refugee camp to Alaska might be overwhelming for us to think about, the folks who arrive here are delighted to be in a situation where they are safe, no matter how different it is from their birthplace.
I only recently learned of the extensive steps these refugees follow in their quest to live in a place where their human dignity is preserved. The U.S. hand-picks the refugees who resettle in America. To start the process, a person must be declared a refugee by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Once an individual's status has been determined and they have qualified as refugee, they must meet additional criteria required by the U.S. for resettlement before being referred to the U.S. government resettlement program. At that point, the refugee begins multiple layers of interviews and security checks, making them the most thoroughly vetted group of people who come to the U.S. Security screenings are rigorous and involve the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Department of Defense and multiple intelligence agencies. The process can take more than two years once they qualify as a candidate for possible resettlement.
To summarily dismiss Syrians and Muslims, who are nearing the end of this extensive process, is not what we as the church are called to do. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has identified the four million Syrian refugees fleeing violence in the past five years as "a serious concern for the Catholic Church and the bishops of the United States." Prior to the terror attacks in Paris and Beirut, the USCCB affirmed its commitment to outreach to refugees. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, of Louisville, Kentucky, and president of the USCCB, told reporters that church resettlement programs in the U.S. will continue.
"We at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic charities are always open to helping families who come into the United States in need of help," he said.
Kurtz went on to point out that any assistance provided to refugees is carried out under government contracts, so the vetting will have already been done by government agencies.
"My hope," he said, "would be that the church would continue to be able, within the law, to help those families."
While Anchorage is a welcoming community and I'm sure would accept any Syrians sent to Alaska, it is likely most of the Syrians will be directed to other resettlement sites, where Syrian communities already exist, to ease their integration. Additionally, one of the other screening tools to determine where refugees are sent is whether the services they will need to grow and thrive are available in a community. Sadly, the types of trauma and terror most Syrians have experienced may require specialty services beyond what we currently have in Anchorage.
Of deeper concern to me, however, is learning that several of the Iraq families that have been resettled here now feel threatened. They were fully vetted and most of them came into the U.S. under a Special Immigrant Visa program, which they were granted due to their cooperation with the U.S. military in Iraq. We cannot allow fear to manage our lives or harden our hearts. We cannot stop helping some of the world's most desperate people because of our own insecurities. Our faith calls us to do more.
To learn more about Catholic Social Services, whether about the immigration resettlement program or any of the other fine programs they run, go online to www.cssalaska.org.
Archbishop Roger Schwietz is head of the Roman Catholic Church's Anchorage Diocese. A version of this commentary was first published by The Catholic Anchor and is republished here with permission.
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