WASHINGTON - U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to endorse an unprecedented joint statement with their Mexican counterparts that highlights support for a freer cross-border flow of immigrants.

The joint statement by Catholic bishops of the two nations is not directed at any particular legislative proposal but does outline social principles that the bishops say should be taken into consideration.

The document, "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope," also affirms the human rights of undocumented immigrants. The U.S. bishops adopted the document by a 243-1 vote.

"We should not look at immigrants as a potential threat," said Bishop Thomas Wenski, an auxiliary bishop in Miami who headed the U.S. group involved in drafting the statement. "I think the document gives a framework for advocacy for immigrants and in our pastoral work."

The bishops maintain that people of any nation have the right to migrate to another nation if it is necessary to support themselves and their families.

Family remittances sent from the United States to Mexico by Mexican-born workers constitute Mexico's third-largest source of income after petroleum and tourism.

Mexican bishops also planned to vote this week on the document, which urges dioceses and parishes on both sides of the border to be actively engaged in providing services to help immigrants or those considering migrating to the United States.

"We have to think of migration not as a problem but as a way to build," said Bishop Carlos Talavera from the Mexican state of Veracruz, who attended this week's meeting in Washington as a representative of Mexican bishops. He noted his country also receives immigrants from Central and South America and elsewhere.

The bishops attribute 71 percent of the church's growth since 1960 to immigration.

Mexico, with 90 million Catholics, has contributed significantly to the growth of the U.S. Catholic Church, and many parishes in the United States do not have enough Spanish-speaking priests or volunteers to minister to the migrants.

Bishop Manuel Moreno of Tucson said four seminarians now studying for the priesthood in his diocese are from the Diocese of Hermosillo in Sonora, and all 70 parishes in the Tucson Diocese offer Spanish-language Masses because 60 percent of the 400,000 Catholics in the diocese are Hispanic. All priests in his diocese speak some Spanish.

In the statement, parishes are urged to provide support networks for families, outreach workers, pastoral care for incarcerated detainees and affordable legal services.

Source: Arizona Republic