Join the California Catholic Conference’s Novena for Migrants and Asylum Seekers at the US Border to pray for the migrants and asylum-seekers at the border now that Title 42 has expired and tens of thousands are expected at the southern U.S. Border each day.

Title 42 refers to the emergency health authority mandate from 2020 that allowed migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border to be turned away on the grounds of protecting public health. Now that the order has expired, the Biden administration has implemented new restrictions that ask migrants to apply for asylum.

Read the USCCB’s letter to the Biden Administration on the new migration policies here. 

The Novena is available in English and Spanish, and resources are available on Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration.

National Foster Care Month is a time to acknowledge the 463,000 American children and youth in foster care and the family members, foster parents, volunteers, mentors, child welfare professionals, and policymakers who help them find permanent homes and connections.

National Foster Care Month is being celebrated with a campaign recognizing the vital role that members from all parts of child welfare play in supporting children, youth, and families. This year’s theme is “Strengthening Minds. Uplifting Families.” This highlights the need to take a holistic and culturally responsive approach to support the mental health needs of those involved with child welfare.

There are a variety of resources, stories, and outreach tools to help you become involved in supporting foster care and ways you can spread awareness at the State and local levels.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has several ways to help support foster youth and their families, and you can also check with your parish or diocese for local programs and resources.

In addition, the CCC is advocating against SB 407, which would require every foster family in California to declare that they will provide all services to LGBTQ+ children. There are already not enough resource families to meet the desperate need for the 60,000 kids in care, with kids sleeping in offices, motels, and even juvenile detention, while resource families drop out due to burnout. The CCC has testified against this bill and requested to meet with its author, Senator Scott Weiner. We ask that you follow us for the latest on how you can raise your voice against this bill.

Pregnancy centers in California are under threat in AB 315, which would:

• Allow lawsuits against pregnancy centers for “false or misleading advertising” about abortion that is still undefined.
• Calls pregnancy centers “fake clinics.”
• Will force transparent, exemplary centers that provide $14.2 million in free services for hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable California families to shut down due to frivolous lawsuits.

If you have a story about being helped by a pregnancy center or the work you have done to help a pregnancy center, please share it with your representative to let them know that pregnancy centers are essential in your community.

Raise your voice for pregnancy centers.

As we gear up to celebrate the mothers and fathers surrounding us, the USCCB has published materials for every person, including those wishing to become parents and the unborn.

You can also find resources, including the Mother’s Day Action Guide English (Spanish) and the Father’s Day Action Guide English (Spanish).

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In their 2018 pastoral statement on mental health, the California Conference of Bishops encouraged all "to encounter our brothers and sisters who struggle with mental illness. Even those who do not have serious mental health problems can, to some extent, understand the experience of those who do: for not one of us is entirely free from periods of anxiety, emotional distress, troubling or intrusive thoughts, or strong temptations."

You will find links to PDFs of the statement in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese and a study/discussion guide for small groups to reflect on the document here. 

The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers also has valuable training, resources, and prayers.