WASHINGTON— Following
last week’s kick-off of the “Share the Journey” Migration Campaign, launched by
Pope Francis on Sept. 27, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in
collaboration with Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA are
calling for a Week of Prayer and Action
from October 7-13, 2017. Dioceses
across the country are encouraged to participate by hosting different events
during this week and throughout the two-year campaign.

“During the week of
prayer and action we need to show our support and compassion for those in
need,” said Bishop Joe Vásquez, Chair of USCCB’s Committee on Migration. “It is
important that we also highlight the positive contributions that migrants and
refugees have made to our society.”

“The Holy Father has repeatedly called on us
to support migrants and refugees forcibly displaced from their homes,” said
Joan Rosenhauer, CRS Vice President for US Operations. “We’re called by the
Gospel to love our neighbor, and amid a global refugee crisis not seen since
World War II, we have to do more to welcome and support those whose lives are
threatened by violence and poverty. In the U.S. we can do that by admitting the
most vulnerable refugees for resettlement and of course assist them and the
countries hosting them around the world.”

Resources and
information about the campaign and week of prayer and action are available on
the campaign’s website, www.sharejourney.org. Included amongst the information is a
toolkit for Catholic leaders that offers ideas on how to show their support and
solidarity with migrants and refugees in schools, at mass and in the community.

Sister Donna Markham OP, PhD, president and CEO of
Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) said, “When we encounter people who have had to
flee to the U.S. in order to save their lives, we do not have to guess at how
to help. We pray for them and we extend ourselves in compassion to assist
in whatever ways we can.”

The “Share the
Journey” campaign kicked off globally last week by the Caritas network. The
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Relief Services
(CRS) and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) are sponsoring the campaign in the
U.S. Both CRS, working in more than 100 countries around the world, and CCUSA,
the Catholic Church’s domestic agency, are members of Caritas Internationalis,
the Church’s worldwide charity organization that is the overall sponsor of the
campaign.

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About Catholic Charities USA

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), a member of Caritas
Internationalis, is the national office for the Catholic Charities ministry
nationwide. CCUSA’s members provide help and create hope to more than 8 million
people a year regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds. To
learn more, please visit www.catholiccharitiesusa.org and follow CCUSA on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services is the official international
humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency
alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100
countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished
through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education,
microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or
www.crsespanol.org and
follow Catholic Relief Services on social media: Facebook, Twitter at @CatholicRelief,
@CRSnews and @CRSnoticias, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

About the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops

The
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is an assembly of the
hierarchy of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands who jointly exercise
certain pastoral functions on behalf of the Christian faithful of the United
States. The purpose of the Conference is to promote the greater good which the
Church offers humankind, especially through forms and programs of the
apostolate fittingly adapted to the circumstances of time and place. This
purpose is drawn from the universal law of the Church and applies to the
episcopal conferences which are established all over the world for the same
purpose. For more information, visit www.usccb.org and www.justiceforimmigrants.org Follow
the USCCB on Facebook, Twitter @USCCB, Instagram.

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Media
Contact:
Judy Keane
202-541-3200

Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops