Cardinal Sean O’Malley asking Boston-area parishes to help migrant families ahead of winter

With cold winter weather on the horizon, Cardinal Sean O’Malley is asking parishes throughout the Boston area to lend a helping hand to migrant families as the state’s shelter system is pushed to its limits.

In a letter to parishes across the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Monday, O’Malley asked members of the clergy and churchgoers to “act now before the need becomes overwhelming.”

“I offer this invitation in the spirit of Pope Francis who has asked us as Catholics to watch the ‘peripheries’ of society where suffering is located. In our time, migrants and refugees are among the most vulnerable individuals and families in the United States. It is my hope and desire that as a Church we respond generously and effectively,” O’Malley writes.

In his letter, O’Malley details how a shelter system already hosting 7,000 families is expected to welcome another 500 before the end of the month. Last week, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey put pressure on federal officials to address the growing migrant crisis, saying state officials can no longer guarantee shelter placement for new families arriving in the state.

“Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll have been deeply committed and determined to care for a rising immigration population, but they have also been honest in saying that the Commonwealth faces a mounting crisis beyond its capacity to respond effectively,” O’Malley writes.

O’Malley says some parishes have already welcomed some families and placed them into new shelters. He also asks that any parish that hasn’t already received a St. Vincent de Paul Society donation bin to request one. Parishioners will be able to donate winter coats, boats, and socks to be picked up before Thanksgiving.

O’Malley also asks that churchgoers donate diapers, toothbrushes (adult and child size) toothpaste, soap, deodorant, mouthwash, combs, lotion, shampoo, washcloth, and Kleenex tissues.

There may also be a time when severe weather displaces migrant families in need. He asks that churches that are able to open their doors.

“If this occurs offering short-term critical care and shelter in the biblical sense of “welcoming the stranger” will be the appropriate response from the Archdiocese as a whole,” said O’Malley.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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