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The Church in Homs, Syria, has set up two centers to receive people fleeing renewed attacks on Aleppo, Archbishop Jacques Mourad told Agenzia Fides. He said efforts were underway to secure food, bedding, and fuel for those forcibly displaced, who “are thirsty, hungry, cold and have nothing left.”

In a statement ahead of Ireland’s elections on 29 November, Irish Bishops called for politicians to address pressing economic and social issues like housing and racism to ensure a more compassionate welcome for migrants. They said fair and more timely processing of asylum claims was also needed.

Bishops in North and Central America and the Caribbean working on human mobility have issued a joint pastoral letter aiming to foster a coordinated response to migration and give guidance to Episcopal Conferences and local churches as they walk with migrants, refugees, and other people on the move.

At the Second Fratelli Tutti Meeting, the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) called for the creation of a Network of Organized Work of the Americas to promote care for our common home. The high-level summit included ecclesial, academic, trade and business representatives.

Catholic Bishops in the Philippines affirmed ongoing advocacy for the human rights of Filipino migrants on death row abroad. Bishop Ruperto Santoas of the Episcopal migrant commission issued a message of solidarity following the reported pardon for a Filipino migrant on death row in Indonesia.

Society needs migrants to sustain itself, and they offer an opportunity for the Church in Japan “to grow and proclaim the Gospel,” Archbishop Isao Kikuchi, president of the Bishops’ Conference, said in an interview with Agenzia Fides. “I think migrants are not a problem, but a hope for the Church.”

Migration cannot be viewed in isolation but rather in connection with factors like climate change and economic systems, Pope Francis stresses in a new book Hope Never Disappoints. The Holy Father says it is “absolutely necessary to address the causes that cause migration in the countries of origin.”

U.S. Bishops have pledged to “stand in firm solidarity” with people on the move in a November 14 statement that called for “meaningful reform” of the country’s immigration system to “keep borders safe and secure” while ensuring protection for “vulnerable migrants and their families.”

U.S. Bishops will maintain support for the human rights and dignity of people on the move in the face of possible mass deportations by the Trump administration, said Episcopal head Archbishop Timothy Broglio. While not condoning irregular migration, the Bishops call for a people-centered approach.

The Holy See’s representative at the United Nations has underlined the need to address online racism and discrimination against migrants, noting in particular more subtler forms of prejudice. “Migrants must always be seen as human beings,” Archbishop Gabriele Caccia said on Tuesday in New York.