Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez said Sunday at a Mass for legal professionals and government officials they should commit to developing an America that “welcomes the immigrant and refugee.”
Gómez spoke at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., during the annual Red Mass celebrated to bless those responsible for the administration of justice in the United States.
Prominent attendees included Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, and five Supreme Court justices: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, and Stephen Breyer.
The Red Mass is held on the Sunday before the first Monday in October, which marks the start of the Supreme Court’s new term each year.
Oral arguments over President Trump’s travel ban were scheduled for the Supreme Court’s second week of the coming term, but the justices removed the litigation from their calendar pending a further decision involving whether the case is moot.
While Gómez noted in his homily Sunday was a day for prayer and not politics, the Los Angeles archbishop did not shy away from discussing immigrants and refugees — the people affected by Trump’s ban — without naming particular people or policies.
“Let us commit ourselves to … an America that welcomes the immigrant and refugee and offers the prisoner a second chance,” Gómez said. “From the original sins of slavery and the cruel mistreatment of native peoples, to our struggles today with racism and nativism — the American dream is still a work in progress.”
He continued, “We have come a long way but we have not come nearly far enough. That should not make us give in to cynicism or despair. For all our weakness and failure: America is still a beacon of hope for peoples of every nation, who look to this country for refuge, for freedom and equality under God.”
Gómez did not identify how “racism and nativism” are present in society now, but talked about the importance of movements for social change including abolitionists, the women’s suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, the farmworkers movement, the peace movement, and the right-to-life movement.
He told the government officials present about the importance of religious freedom, before the conclusion of the 65th Annual Red Mass run by The John Carroll Society ended.
“America’s founders believed that the only justification for government is to serve the human person — who is created in God’s image; who is endowed with God-given dignity, rights and responsibilities; and who is called by God to a transcendent destiny,” Gómez said.
“My brothers and sisters, you all share in the responsibility for this great government. Public service is a noble vocation. It takes honesty and courage. It takes prudence and humility. And it takes prayer and sacrifice.”
