Cardinal O'Malley Urges Immigration Reform

The head of the Roman Catholic church in Boston is joining other bishops around the country this weekend to encourage worshipers to support comprehensive immigration reforms.

Boston Archdiocese Cardinal Sean O'Malley says in a letter (PDF) to the faithful that he supports the Roman Catholic Bishops' call for immigration reforms, including a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally. He says establishing legal status without a path to citizenship "leaves unprotected millions of people who have lived in the shadows for far too long."

O'Malley says reform should be "rooted in the principle of family unification." O'Malley is appealing for support from American Catholics to help write a new chapter in the nation's history.

The archdiocese asks priests to include O'Malley's statement in the bulletin, give it out as a flyer or include it in their homilies.