LEADERS FROM different faiths gathered at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix in April to bring attention to problems with current border and immigration policy.

At least 150 religious leaders, including the newly consecrated Coadjutor Bishop Kirk S. Smith of the Diocese of Arizona, stood in solidarity against current border practices that force Mexican migrants to cross the border in dangerous areas of the Sonora desert.

“I am glad to see this group of religious leadership,” Smith said. “We have realized the need for education in this area. We have a taken a moral stance against needless human suffering. There has got to be a better way.”

Leaders from Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim faiths spoke at the gathering, dubbed a “Convocation on Immigration.”

“We have a deep and moral interest in the plight of immigrants, especially in Arizona,” said Roman Catholic Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas. “It is in this state that two countries meet, that different languages are spoken and that we seek to understand each other.”

Speaking on behalf of all, Kicanas said the religious leaders want to engage in purposeful conversation with legislators so that laws can be built that respond to border realities in a just and fair way.

“I would like to dialogue with political leaders,” said Smith, who was consecrated April 24. “This is a major issue for the people of Arizona.”

Sign a declaration
Following a brief question-and-answer session, all of the religious leaders, along with members of their respective congregations, signed a “Statement on Immigration” that calls upon faith congregations to ban together to “stop the deaths in the desert.”

“We must work as people of faith to insure that trade policies are fair and equitable,” said Rabbi Andrew Straus of Tempe. “We must protect human life at all costs.”

The faith leaders stressed that engaging in dialogue with legislators does not mean acting against the law. Rather, they said, they want to assist those responsible for the law, as well as provide humanitarian aid and general understanding to migrants in need.

Smith said the diocese has no peace and justice office but that he hoped to create one in the next year so that issues of migration can be examined at more carefully. Smith will become diocesan bishop for the 28,000 Episcopalians in Arizona when Bishop Robert Shahan retires in October.