KBI September Announcements

This month, KBI participated in a Jesuit Day of Action in front of Senator McSally’s office alongside other members of the Arizona Ignatian family. Several KBI staff members traveled to witness and participate in national events in El Paso, San Francisco, and New York. Finally, we hosted four immersion groups from Arizona and California in September.

• Jesuit Day of Action: Alongside Brophy College Prep, St. Francis Xavier Parish, Creighton Medical School, Faith in Action, and the Jesuits West Province, KBI took part in the Jesuit Day of Action on Thursday, October 10. KBI staff Joanna Williams and Sr. Tracey Horan participated along with 85 others. The event began with a public witness in front of Senator McSally’s office, and followed with a dinner at St. Francis Xavier Parish. The day of action coincided with the meeting of Jesuit provincials with former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, to incorporate apostolic preferences in border and immigration policy. See more information here: https://jesuits.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20191009071803
• Bishops’ delegation in El Paso: Pete Neeley, S.J. participated in a gathering of members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in El Paso during the last week of September. The delegation led up to the Catholic Church’s Sept. 29^th celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and included visits with farmworkers, youth, and migrant shelters in Ciudad Juárez. Read more here: https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2019/09/25/el-paso-bishop-urges-church-see-face-christ-migrants
• Borders and Migration Week at Canisius College: Joanna Williams, Director of Education and Advocacy, will be at Canisius College (Buffalo, NY) for their annual “Borders and Migration Week”(https://blogs.canisius.edu/border/border-and-migrations-week-fall-2019/),” which will take place the week of October 21^st. She will be sharing stories from the border in a talk entitled “Cultivating Hope at the U.S./Mexico Border.” Canisius has been active in efforts to accompany and advocate for immigrants, including offering hospitality to African refugees in their dormitories over the summer.
• Reflections from Immersion Participants: Nine members of the University of San Francisco’s staff and faculty participated in a KBI immersion in August. The immersion was coordinated by the university’s Lane Center for Catholic Social Thought and Ignatian Tradition. On September 25, participants carried out an event both to publically share their experiences with the community and launch the Lane Center’s newest volume, Beyond Borders: Reflections on the Resistance and Resilience Among Immigrant Youth and Families. Sean Carroll attended the event and responded to the immersion participants’ reflections.
• Immersion Experiences: A group of professors from California joined us for an immersion this month, along with three groups of high school students and parents from the Phoenix area.