Church marries young couple to settle immigration issue

Felix Yu can remain in America instead of going back to Hong Kong after wedding at Holy Ghost By Dan McWilliams An Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rule on foreign students in the country nearly forced a Holy Ghost parishioner to return to Hong Kong, separating him from his fiancée, …

Father Julius becomes Citizen Abuh

Pastor of St. Joseph the Worker sworn in as U.S. citizen during Dec. 6 naturalization ceremony in Chattanooga By Bill Brewer Pardon Father Julius Abuh while he brushes up on his Southern drawl. Since becoming a U.S. citizen Dec. 6, the pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Madisonville …

Diocese part of USCCB-led border pastoral encounter

Pastoral Juvenil Hispana leader joins clergy, laity from across U.S. to meet with immigrants, refugees where they are By Emily Booker In the headlines and political discourse, it’s sometimes difficult to remember that immigration and border discussions are about thousands of individuals, each deserving of dignity and care. The plight …

One Family’s Exodus

Rwandan couple giving back to East Tennessee, which welcomed them as refugees Story by Bill Brewer Photography by Stephanie Richer and Michael Patrick Drocella Mugorewera is a woman of faith. Her name even says so. She sees God in action everywhere she goes. And she sees the face of Jesus …

A Crisis with a Captial C

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann is calling for Congress and the country to solve a humanitarian crisis By Bill Brewer Rep. Chuck Fleischmann understands the U.S. immigration crisis inside the halls of Congress and out at the border crossings. He has visited on more than one occasion the U.S. border with Mexico, …

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The Immigration Issue from a Bishop’s Perspective

Bishop Stika shares his thoughts with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network The Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) has asked Bishop Richard F. Stika to share his and the Diocese of Knoxville’s experiences when federal agents raided a Grainger County meatpacking plant and detained scores of Hispanic workers in 2018. In …

Working to keep a community together

St. Patrick Parish leader finds herself on the front line of the immigration issue in East Tennessee By Bill Brewer This is a busy time of year for Veronica Galvan. The director of religious education and adult faith formation coordinator at St. Patrick Church in Morristown has been registering families …

A Catholic pastor responds to immigration questions

By Father Steve Pawelk, a Glenmary Home Missioner and pastor of St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish in Maynardville and St. John Paul II Catholic Mission in Rutledge “Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.” (Matthew 2:14) “For I was hungry and you …

Office of Immigrant Services outgrows CCETN location

Move to larger quarters in Knoxville will allow assistance to more people as workload grows By Emily Booker Catholic Charities of East Tennessee’s Office of Immigrant Services held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its new Knoxville location on Sept. 13. With the help of a grant from the Office of Criminal …

Opening the Doors of Mercy

Priests, parishioners respond to immigrants in need after raid separates families Story and photography by Jim Wogan The ongoing and complicated issue of Latin American immigration in the United States hit the Diocese of Knoxville on April 5 when federal agents raided a slaughterhouse in Grainger County and arrested nearly …