The chalice was handcrafted primarily with wood from a refugee boat that landed upon the beaches of Lampedusa.

On the same day the bishops decided to establish a permanent committee on religious liberty, they agreed to extend the work of an ad hoc committee on immigration.

Catholic bishops pledged to be more proactive in laying out a vision for comprehensive immigration reform.

Local law enforcement and local jurisdictions should not be required to enforce federal immigration law, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo said.

Some of the issues on the bishops’ agenda—immigration and health care specifically—have already caused a great deal of tension between the White House and Catholic leaders.

he arrests of dozens of Iraqi Christians in southeastern Michigan by U.S. immigration officials appear to be among the first roundups of people from Iraq who have long faced deportation.