Cardinal Tobin’s message about the dignity of immigrants
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has released a video message for National Migration Week, observed Sept. 21 – 27. In the video, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, explains that the Church’s teaching on immigration is “anchored in the divinely revealed truth” about the dignity of every person.
“The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this truth by teaching that every person regardless of origin or status, is created in God’s image and deserves our respect,” the cardinal says.
He also speaks about human rights and responsibilities that “have clear foundations in the Word of God,” pointing out that “Jesus and his family were refugees.”
Cardinal Tobin cites the teaching of recent popes starting from Pope Saint John Paul II that called upon the world and the Church to welcome strangers, protect and provide support for migrants and refugees, and address the root causes of migration.
Finally, the cardinal encourages listeners “to be vigilant over the way we talk about immigrants and refugees, because the stakes are very high.”
You can view Cardinal Tobin’s full message on Facebook or Instagram.
About National Migration Week 2026
National Migration Week has been celebrated by the Catholic Church in the US for more than 40 years. The week culminates on the last Sunday of September, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The theme of this year’s celebration, chosen by Pope Leo XIV is “Even just one of these children,” inspired by a passage in the Gospel of Mark.
In his 2026 message for the World Day of Migrant and Refugees, the Holy Father wrote that the theme” draws our attention to the minors directly involved in the experience of migration and flight, to the care owed to them, and to the Lord’s promise that ‘whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.” (Mk 9:37)
The pope addressed the vulnerability of children and adolescents “forced to leave their homeland because of war, poverty, violence, environmental disasters, and other tragedies,” and who face exploitation, trauma, violences, and other forms of suffering.
He also made an appeal “to the responsibility of all,” in which each of us is called, “in our personal lives, to open our eyes and heart to a profound listening to his or her story, fears and dreams, overcoming that detachment which reduces the human person to a statistic that does not directly concern us.”
To learn more about National Migration Week 2026, CLICK HERE.
Visit the Archdiocese of Newark’s Immigration Ministry to learn more about services and resources available to immigrants and immigrant communities.
