LOS ANGELES -- Archbishop Roger Mahony has urged the nearly 3 million members of the largest Roman Catholic archdiocese in the nation to aid immigrants in the United States.
The letter specifically refers to the growing sanctuary movement that provides havens for illegal Central American immigrants.
'The generous services of men and women engaged in assistance to immigrants and refugees witness the love of the local church and ease the first steps of adjustment in coping with legal requirements, the search for housing, the reorganization of family life,' he wrote in the letter released Friday.
'The world has arrived at the doorstep of each parish of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.'
The city's oldest Catholic church, Our Lady Queen of Angels, has declared itself a sanctuary for Central American refugees.
The letter was Mahony's first to the archdiocese since he moved from the Northern California diocese of Stockton in September to succeed Cardinal Timothy Manning.
Mahony's letter called on seminary students to learn a second language and said he would consider retraining priests who want to learn the 'language and culture of the newest immigrant groups' in the region.
According to church officials, more than 430 priests among the 1,350 to 1,400 in the archdiocese speak a foreign language, in most cases Spanish.
Mahony, who speaks English and Spanish, will celebrate Mass Sunday at St. Vibiana's Cathedral, where prayers will be spoken in 20 languages.
The archbishop wrote that his missive 'seeks to address the pastoral challenge that the ecclesial integration of immigrants offers.'
'In developing a mentality of welcome,' he wrote, 'individuals and parish communities foster a climate of appreciation of the root causes of emigration, of cultural diversity, of the spirtual strength of newcomers in building a better future for themselves and their families.'
