Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Shortly after addressing unjust immigration policies at his general audience, Pope Francis and community organizers from the West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) revisited the topic of welcoming and integrating migrants.

“For us, baptism does not stop at the border,” Joe Rubio, national co-director of IAF for the west-southwest region, told Catholic News Service on August 29.

In 20 U.S. dioceses, the foundation and its partners run “Recognizing the Stranger,” a leadership development program aimed at helping immigrants and parish members build stronger relationships and collaborate for community betterment.

Pope Francis dedicated his entire general audience talk on August 28 to migration and the obligation to assist those seeking safety, freedom, and a better life. He met with the community organizers later that day.

While in Rome, Rubio and his colleagues also met with Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. They discussed collaboration between their organizations and similar groups supported by CELAM (Latin American bishops’ Council).

“We see that the immigration phenomenon in the Americas is something that is the joint responsibility of the church in North and South America,” Rubio said. He noted similarities between their organizing style and how the church operates in poor communities in Latin America.

The meeting with Pope Francis on August 28 marked their third private audience with him. Near the end of their discussion, Pope Francis asked an aide to provide each organizer with copies of his three encyclicals and three apostolic letters in English or Spanish.

The organizers had informed Pope Francis they were studying “Fratelli Tutti” on fraternity and social friendship, along with “Power and Responsibility” by Father Romano Guardini, one of Pope Francis' preferred theologians.

Pope Francis commended them for being concrete in addressing people’s needs through collaboration. Rubio recalled him saying, “How good it is that you are reading Guardini.”

Tim McManus from Texas, California, Arizona; Elizabeth Valdez from Houston; Liz Hall from San Francisco Bay Area; and Jorge Montiel from Colorado and New Mexico joined Rubio in recounting their meeting with CNS.

Each attendee shared personal stories with Pope Francis. Montiel recounted how one organizer was initially reluctant to engage in community organizing due to her negative experiences with politics but was motivated by a tragic event involving a child’s death in her neighborhood.

Montiel quoted Pope Francis: “Faith that does not lead to the work of justice is not real faith.”

In "Fratelli Tutti," Montiel noted that while Pope Francis emphasizes politics serving the common good, he remains cautious about power. The pope told them: “Power is ‘fugitive.’ You either take it or it disappears. Now, it’s more comfortable if you let it go. If you take it, it’s more work because you have to be responsible.”