• • CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly
• • Faith and the Common Good
• • Trivia
• • Connections

Overview: This week was the tenth anniversary of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy that gave temporary relief from deportation for young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. For more information, see the "DACA" paragraph below.  Congress continued to make the effort to pass bipartisan gun safety legislation this week, although no agreement has been made yet.

Supporters of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals hold signs outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington Nov. 12, 2019. Created by President Barack Obama via executive action, the DACA program marked its 10th anniversary June 15, 2022. It protects some young adults brought to the U.S. illegally as children from being deported. DACA beneficiaries are popularly known as "Dreamers." (CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)

Public Charge: The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the Biden administration's cancellation of a public charge rule set in place by the previous administration. This means the Biden administration may use its own criteria to determine if those seeking asylum or permanent legal residence in the U.S. would become a "public charge" (i.e., dependent on government funds).

Economy: In the week ending June 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial [unemployment] claims was 229,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 3,000 from 229,000 to 232,000. The 4-week moving average was 218,500, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average. 

Family Security Act: The Family Security Act proposed by Senator Mitt Romney requires one parent to be employed to receive a monthly child benefit (families must earn at least $10,000 and less than $400,000 ($200,000 for single parents); families could claim the benefit for up to six children; the act would provide assistance to expectant mothers to claim the credit four months before their due date. Read more here. 

Immigration Enforcement: A federal judge in Texas ruled against guidelines from the Biden administration that limits whom U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can arrest and deport. Last year, the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, issued a directive to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to prioritize those who pose serious threats to public safety and national security for deportation, also known as prosecutorial discretion. The administration defended the directive stating reasonable exercise of discretion is the best way to use DHS' limited resources.

DACA: June 15, 2022, marked 10 years since the Obama administration implemented DACA to allow immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to stay temporarily and work. The Trump administration attempted to rescind DACA in 2017, but was unsuccessful after being met with numerous legal challenges from DACA recipients and various institutions. Since then, the legality of DACA has been challenged in several federal courts across the country with each court issuing conflicting rulings in support of or opposition to DACA. In the most recent case, Texas v. United States, a federal court judge in Texas declared DACA to be unlawful. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear oral arguments in this case on July 6. Meanwhile, CCUSA issued a statement in solidarity with DACA recipients on the 10th anniversary of the policy, and to urge Congress to pass a long-term legislative solution for young immigrants. 

DACA Action Alert: CCUSA published an action alert requesting advocates to contact their members of Congress and urge them to enact permanent protections for all Dreamers. To participate in the action alert, please follow this link.

DHS' Appropriations: CCUSA submitted a letter to Congress to request robust funding for DHS' programs and to sustain government coordination with nonprofits to serve communities in need across the U.S. The funding would provide aid for disaster-stricken areas, allocating monies for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program,  as well as for resettling refugees and serving  immigrants and asylum seekers. Read CCUSA's letter here. 

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On the feast of Corpus Christi, which the Church celebrates this Sunday, all of the readings highlight the meal aspect of the Eucharist. We know that the Eucharist, which Christ inaugurated at the Last Supper, is firmly rooted in Jewish tradition. In first century Palestine, the highest form of hospitality as well as the celebration of family bonds and close relationships were manifested in sharing a meal.

Fr. Jerome Kodell, a scripture scholar who wrote a book about Jewish meals, noted that in Jesus' day "sharers in a meal [became] bound in solidarity. It was considered a...crime to betray one with whom a meal had been shared (Ps 41:10; Jn 13:18)." Whether we're talking about a family meal, a wedding banquet, or the Passover meal-the gathering was never simply about eating; it included physical nourishment but more importantly it was intended to strengthen the bond of unity between the people and God, and among the people themselves.

Jesus experienced all of this himself in his family and village life, so it's not surprising that he decided to establish his paschal mystery within the context of a meal as well. Indeed, Jesus, clearly influenced by his Jewish roots, raised his meal to a new and greater significance.

Consider, for a moment, the way human beings have fed themselves over the years. In prehistoric times, it was purely functional-hunt and eat (some might say we haven't changed much as we dart through drive-throughs for a cheeseburger and a coke). With the advancement of culture, the act of eating changed. People had rooms set apart for the meal with china and crystal. It wasn't just about the food; eating became dining.

Jesus raises his meal to the level of a sacrament, a visible sign of his real presence among us, an invitation to share in his body and blood, so that Jesus' meal becomes a sharing in divine love. We have the opportunity to say, "Amen, Lord, I believe what you say. I believe that I share in your body and blood, and because I believe, I am also going to share your love with all those I encounter."

In this 2006 file photo, people in Oldenburg, Ind., pray the rosary during a eucharistic procession. On June 19, 2022, the feast of Corpus Christi, archdioceses and dioceses across the U.S. will hold eucharistic processions to launch the U.S. bishops' three-year National Eucharistic Revival. (CNS photo/Mary Ann Wyand, The Criterion)

Jesus' meal still moves us outward toward our neighbors, practicing the works of charity, such as feeding the hungry. It also means clothing the naked and working for laws and policies that support the common good and making every effort to alleviate poverty, violence and war. "A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented," wrote Pope Benedict XVI (Deus caritas est, No. 14).

But it's important to ask how and why we are doing these good deeds. Is it just for the day? Is it to set up the perfect society? When the apostles fed the crowd of 5,000 with bread and fish, Jesus made the point that it had to be about more than the food. Could they give the crowd bread and fish every day? Are we able to bring peace and stability to the war-torn areas of our world? What are we going to do about all the poor and the hungry and the sick and the dying? We must love them, and that means providing for their needs, but to what end?

What we believe about Jesus will affect our answer. If Jesus is just a social reformer, then we had better find a better savior, because from the year 33 to now there has been an unbroken chain of war and violence, injustice and evil, and a great disparity between rich and poor. If the Eucharist is just an ordinary meal and the bread and wine merely symbols, then what does it matter if Jesus is present or not? The fact is, death is looming at each of our doors. 

But if Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, and we do receive his body and blood, then how can we fail to share Jesus with others? As Jesus says, "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." To only give bread is an illusion; to also give Christ is the basis for hope.

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Q. Who is Juliana of Liege and what does she have to do with Sunday's feast, Corpus Christi?

Please send your answers to [email protected]. 

Last week's question and answer:

Q. What happened to Frederick I, Holy Roman emperor, on this day (June 10) in 1190?

A. Thanks to Kelly Bolton, program director for the Outpatient Behavioral Health Services at Catholic Charities Diocese of Harrisburg, for being first with the right answer: "Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I drowned while trying to cross the Saleph River on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land."

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