The bishops said these politicians are falsely telling the migrants that work, food and other benefits await them if they get on planes to other locales, but instead the only thing they find at the other end of the trip is confusion.

"To use migrants and refugees as pawns offends God, destroys society and shows how low individuals can (stoop) for personal gains," wrote San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller on Twitter 18 September.

García-Siller was one of several bishops to speak out after the latest drop-off of migrants, mostly Venezuelans who were flown by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on 14 September to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

More than 6 million people have fled Venezuela because of political turmoil that has sent the country into an economic spiral, causing what the UN refugee agency calls the "second-largest external displacement crisis in the world".

Though many have fled to nearby countries, others with family in the US have opted to make the long trip north.

The Texas archbishop said the tactics to ship them off elsewhere "promote human trafficking," and he called out the "sick actions" of political leaders who do "little about the issue".

Some of the migrants have been sent from border states such as Texas and Arizona to Washington and New York in planes and sometimes buses. Some were recently dropped off near Vice President Kamala Harris' residence in Washington without prior notice to local officials.

Volunteers in those cities, including faith-based nonprofits such as Catholic charities, have scrambled to help the newcomers confused by the situation.

"The problem is not the refugees, it is leaders that cannot accept: We are one with humanity," Archbishop García-Siller said, adding that he would be praying for "conversion of heart" and for the protection of brothers and sisters in need.

Republican politicians such as DeSantis, a Catholic, have followed the lead of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Catholic and a Republican, who first began moving groups of migrants in the summer.

Abbott said the move was to protest the Biden administration's stance to allow in refugees and other migrants - and to give politicians who support allowing migrants into the country a taste of what border states, such as Texas, deal with daily when large groups of people pour in.

However, the group DeSantis sent to Martha's Vineyard is believed to have originated in San Antonio, not Florida.

San Antonio's Garcia-Siller, said on Twitter that "Texas is not overwhelmed by refugees".

Another Texas prelate, Brownsville Bishop Daniel E Flores, said on Twitter on 16 September that "the degrading disrespect with which immigrants are treated in this country — like pawns in games of political showmanship — is a disgrace.

"Are we so drunk on our own power that we are blind to basic human dignity? Judgment on Christians who disrespect the poor will be most severe," he said.

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

America Magazine

Although there will be 11 funerals, 12 lives will be commemorated and prayed for - Joe Garcia, the 50-year-old husband of Irma Garcia, one of the teachers who was killed, will share the same funeral Mass as his wife, Jordan McMorrough, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, told CNA on May 31.

Joe Garcia died of a heart attack two days after his wife's death, McMorrough said.

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio will be the celebrant for the Garcias' funeral Mass which will take place at 10am on June 1 at the church.

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The comments of Bishop Daniel E Flores of Brownsville, Texas, follow the May 24 rampage that left at least 19 children and two of their elementary school teachers dead in Uvalde, Texas.

"Don't tell me that guns aren't the problem, people are. I'm sick of hearing it," Bishop Flores tweeted May 25.

"The darkness first takes our children who then kill our children, using the guns that are easier to obtain than aspirin. We sacralise death's instruments and then are surprised that death uses them."

Texas authorities said an 18-year-old wearing body armour evaded police after crashing his truck near an elementary school close to the US-Mexico border and entered the school building at around noon armed with two assault weapons.

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller comforted families who waited outside a local civic centre in Uvalde waiting for news of their loved ones.

"When will these insane acts of violence end?" the archbishop later said.

"It is too great a burden to bear. The word tragedy doesn't begin to describe what occurred. These massacres cannot be considered 'the new normal.'"

"The Catholic Church consistently calls for the protection of all life. These mass shootings are a most pressing life issue on which all in society must act — elected leaders and citizens alike," he said.

"We pray that God comforts and offers compassion to the families of these little ones whose pain is unbearable."

Chieko Noguchi, director of public affairs for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the organisation joined Archbishop García-Siller in prayers for the community.

"There have been too many school shootings, too much killing of the innocent. Our Catholic faith calls us to pray for those who have died and to bind the wounds of others," she said.

"As we do so, each of us also needs to search our souls for ways that we can do more to understand this epidemic of evil and violence and implore our elected officials to help us take action."

The Diocese of El Paso, Texas, suggested that a course of action from the Catholic Church could come "in findings ways to more effectively identify people at risk of such behaviour and push for reasonable limits to the proliferation of firearms."

From Rome, Pope Francis also weighed in, saying: "It's time to say 'Enough' to the indiscriminate trade of weapons!" and encouraged all to be committed in the effort "so that tragedies like this cannot occur again."

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

Archdiocese officials said that many churches in the area are canceling or reducing the number of services due to the winter storm.

"In recognition of the challenges almost all families are facing in the archdiocese due to widespread lack of electricity and water, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller has granted the faithful a dispensation from the law of fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday," officials said in an announcement on Facebook.

The archdiocese said to check in with local leaders and monitor social media for Mass times.

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He had posted several tweets to Trump after Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso, Texas where 22 people were killed.

Garcia-Siller was one of many people who, in the aftermath of recent shootings (including the ones in Dayton, Ohio and Gilroy, California), connected the violence to Trump's political rhetoric.

In his tweets, Garcia-Siller called the president "poor" and "weak", said Trump had done "too much damage already" and told him "stop racism, starting with yourself".

"All individuals have God-given dignity and should be accorded respect and love as children of God, especially in our conversations and interactions," Garcia-Siller said on Tuesday after deleting the tweets.

"We should be aware of this in our discourse about the Office of the President of the United States, which is due our respect."

Tweets focusing on the issue in Garcia-Siller's Twitter account include several alluding to the dangers of racist rhetoric.

One mentions the "selfishness of many in power" that has led to "destruction and pain".

The archbishop also released a video statement on Facebook.

In the video he recalled a statement from the US Bishops, "The Enduring Call to Love: A Pastoral Letter Against Racism;" "Every racist act—every such comment, every joke, every disparaging look as a reaction to the color of skin, ethnicity or place of origin—is a failure to acknowledge another person as a brother or sister, created in the image of God".

Pointing out that no one has the moral right to make racist statements, García-Siller said "There is growing fear and harassment, and at times American public discourse uses rhetoric that instigates fear against foreigners, immigrants and refugees....

"We do not need more division, but rather, we need to move forward in freedom to discuss these topics more deeply in light of the Gospel."

Source

• Fox Network
• America Magazine
• Image: Heavy.com