<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article does not cite any sources . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope" is a pastoral letter written by both the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Mexican Episcopal Conference . It was published on 22 January 2003 . The lengthy pastoral letter deals with the issue of migration in the context of the United States and Mexico . </P> <P> The text sets itself against the background of Pope John Paul II's apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America, citing "the spirit of ecclesial solidarity" began at the synod that the exhortation followed (§ 3). The long history of migration, shared by both the United States and Mexico, is also cited as background (§ 13). Strangers No Longer invokes the human reality of migration, and its authors cite their concern at some of the consequences of migration--the vulnerable situation into which migrants are placed, the separation of families, and the challenges presented to social service providers (§ 4) </P> <P> The section of Strangers No Longer dealing with migration in light of scripture brings out the material from both the Old and New Testaments that the bishops see as relevant to the phenomenon of migration today . From the Old Testament, the bishops cite the story of Abraham and Sarah's hospitality to three strangers who in the end proved to manifestations of God (§ 24). They go on, referring to the forced migrations recounted in the story of Joseph, and note how the grace of God was present and worked through the story (§ 24). Finally, they cite the tradition of the Exodus, and point out how that event led to the formulation of the commandments found in the Torah to love the stranger (§ 25). </P>

Strangers no longer together on the journey of hope pdf