By Ruby Thomas, Record Staff Writer

In an outward expression of the Gospel teaching to welcome the stranger, the Archdiocese of Louisville held a prayer service at the Cathedral of the Assumption Jan. 6 — the feast of the Epiphany — in celebration of National Migration Week observed Jan. 7-13.

The gathering of about 200 — black and white parishioners, and members of the immigrant and refugee communities — heard that each, regardless of racial and cultural differences, was created with “inalienable dignity” in the image of God.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, who presided, said to those gathered on the sunny, cold day that the faithful must “journey” with the millions of people around the world looking for safety. Every stranger who knocks on one’s door, said the archbishop, is an opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ. Migrants and refugees, he said, come from different parts of the world, but come together to form “one community under one God.”

The archbishop said to his listeners that each was created by God with “inalienable dignity.” But dignity, he noted, cannot be given to anyone until “you’ve looked into the face” of that person. Read More>