Lenten campaign 2026
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You may have seen that Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), called on priests and bishops around the United States to offer a “Holy Hour for Peace” to promote the healing of society.
And you may have seen the warnings from numerous other bishops, speaking out on the situation as well as suggesting hopeful steps toward peace.
More bishops are adding their voices, calling for peace and justice in the U.S., and taking their message to young people via social media.
Back in November, the US bishops conference took to social media in the midst of their fall assembly, with at least 18 bishops participating in a short video reel, urging greater respect for human dignity. You can see that video at the end of this article.
Since then, the bishops have continued to use this channel for getting their messages out on various themes, and on January 28, they posted another message about the need for reform to US immigration laws, insisting "human dignity and national security are not in conflict."
Other bishops spoke out this week as well, calling on Catholics to be a force for peace and reconciliation in a divided nation.
Catholics for peace
In a joint pastoral statement, the bishops of Kansas wrote:
As Catholics, we must advocate for solutions rooted in charity and compassion rather than fear and anger. We see every person created in the image and likeness of God, whom Christ loves and for whom he sacrificed his own life on Calvary. We are called to be catalysts of reconciliation rather than instruments of division.
On January 29, Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver released a public letter, which begins: "I write to you today with a heavy heart, aware of deep suffering in our nation, particularly around immigration and public life."
The message continues:
Both political parties have failed in addressing immigration and have treated immigrants as pawns and objects, failing to respect the dignity of human persons. The bipartisan Dignity Act, while not perfect, needs strong support from both political parties as it is a step in the direction of justice and human dignity.
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, joined several religious leaders for a January 25 “National Faith Call to Action.” He shared a story that brings him hope, saying:
During the call, Cardinal Tobin said he has “always been consoled” by a passage from “Pane e Vino” by Italian novelist Ignazio Silone, which was written “in the dark days of fascism in Italy.”
The cardinal recounted how a distraught young woman in the novel seeks the counsel of an elderly priest amid the repression of the regime.
“And this old man looked at the young woman and said, ‘I'm not sure what we can do, but I am sure of this, that what topples empires and what keeps dictators awake at night is the sole person who steals into the piazza in the middle of the night and scrawls on the wall, ‘No,’” said Cardinal Tobin, adding, “I think if we are serious about putting our faith in action, we need to say, “No.”
He urged Catholics to find their own ways to say “no” to division, adding, “How will you help restore a culture of life in the midst of death?”
Earlier message from USCCB
The full text of their message is below:
As pastors, we, the bishops of the United States, are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.
We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.
We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.
We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status.
We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools.
We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school, or when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones despite obstacles and prejudices.
Generations of immigrants have made enormous contributions to the well being of our nation.
We, as Catholic bishops, love our country and pray for its peace and prosperity. For this very reason, we feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.
