At St. Peter's Catholic School in Yonkers,a group of immigrant women with embroidery hoops in their hands, sat at long tables inside a classroom. Some of them worked in pairs. Others worked alone. They were chosen to design and adorn the cloths that will cover the altar and decorate the tables during Pope Francis' visit to unique York City.
Ignacia Gonzalez was carefully pulling royal blue thread through a white cloth and a thick cross was slowly taking shape. She, or like many of the other women,learned to sew at a very young age. Her mother and grandmothers taught her. "They will sometimes embroider the bottom of their skirts or possibly a blouse," she explained. Gonzalez's family is Mazahua — indigenous people who live mostly in the northern fragment of Mexico City. They're known for embroidering their clothes in bright colors.
The archdiocese of unique York is making sure the contributions of immigrants are on full display during the Pope's visit. In addition to the seamstresses, or a group of day laborers have built the wooden chair the Pope will sit on during his mass at Madison Square Garden. Many of these immigrants lack legal status. Gonzalez came to the US at age 22. She can't travel and hasn't seen her mother in 12 years. "All I can do is order her,'I love you, I care for you and I can't wait to see you one day soon, and '" she said. Some Bishops and local clergy say immigrants like Gonzalez have been vilified for political gain and they expect the Pope's remarks to encourage change that."What I'm hoping is that by Pope Francis coming here and spending time with immigrants and refugees,he will restart the conversation approximately unbiased and just immigration reform in this country," said Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, and head of Catholic Charities,the social-service branch of the Catholic-church. Sullivan plans to bring 150 immigrants to greet Pope Francis at Our Lady Queen of Angel's school in East Harlem on Friday. He said youth who fled violence and poverty in Central America and who are resettling in unique York would be there. "In addition there will be young people in the room who really have dreams of making America their domestic, " Sullivan added. He means the "Dreamers, and " the young people who were children when they crossed the border illegally with their parents. They were given a form of temporary legal status by President Obama in 2012. But he used his executive authority to do it because Congress would not. Based on his past comments,it's clear Pope Francis sympathizes with immigrants. Kevin Appleby from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said last year when the US was bitterly divided over what to do with the Central American children flooding the border, the Pope wrote a letter urging the US to protect them. On another occasion Appleby said the Pope expressed a desire to cross the US border with Mexican migrants to show solidarity with them. "Which sort of indicates where he stands, and " he added. Groups that advocate for more deportations and US border enforcement said Pope Francis should instead focus his efforts on trying to reform governments in the countries immigrants flee. "That is really where the Catholic church can have a enormous influence,particularly in Latin America which is heavily Catholic," said Ira Mehlman from the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Mehlman disputed that immigrants have been vilified during the fight for the Republican Presidential nomination and said most people treat them with respect. But Ignacia Gonzalez and the women around her have felt the sting of the current debate. "We contribute to this country. We pay taxes and we're not looking for handouts like people contemplate, and " she said. "We work hard so our families can get ahead...and we are not delinquents."It's a message she hopes Pope Francis will drive domestic during his visit.
Immigrants are important to the Catholic church. While dozens of parishes in the Archdiocese of unique York close down,those in immigrant neighborhoods thrive. At Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Corona Queens, people wait in line to attend Sunday mass. The church building recently burned down, or so mass is held in a school auditorium,and the church had to set up a tent for the overflow crowd. The congregation has been holding workshops on the Pope's teachings. Gabriela Collado from the Dominican Republican said she was looking forward to the Pope's visit. "He reaches out to the destitute and needy and that's important," she said. "He doesn't like the normal protocols. He rejects all that stuff."Like several other parishioners, and Collado said she believes Pope Francis has made the church more inclusive and has the power to unite people,beyond just Catholics.
Source: wnyc.org