By Madalaine Elhabbal
Washington D.C., Mar 25, 2025 / 05:00 am
Washington, D.C.’s newly appointed archbishop, Cardinal Robert McElroy, delivered his first public address at a conference on immigration policy Monday, offering a “spiritual and moral” reflection on the current “American situation.”
Referencing Pope Francis’ teachings in his recent letter to the American bishops and his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti, McElroy focused on the parable of the good Samaritan.
“We must always heed Jesus’ call to be aware of the needs and suffering around us, to see it, and then act upon it,” he stated, drawing a parallel between the migrants’ situation and the victim in the parable of the good Samaritan.
Building on the Holy Father’s interpretation of the same parable, McElroy emphasized that “each of us consciously victimizes others in various ways” and that “when we prioritize our own interests over others and cause harm, we must acknowledge that dark side within us, which is the robber present in all of us.”
He added, “This is a crucial aspect of Christian conversion – to confront and eliminate that darkness, to confront it where it exists, and to constantly combat it.”
The conference on March 24, titled “Catholic Social Teaching and Work with Migrants and Refugees at a Time of Uncertainty,” was organized by Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) USA and the Center for Migration Studies of New York in Washington, D.C.
Similar to many Catholic Charities organizations nationwide, the Trump administration halted aid to JRS USA’s refugee programs globally, resulting in a “complete work stoppage” for the international aid programs at the beginning of last month.
