In response to the current situation happening at the U.S. border with Mexico, Archbishop Gomez released the following statement on June 20, 2018.

Statement from Archbishop José H. Gomez:

The law is a teacher and so is the way we enforce our laws.

So what lessons are we teaching at our nation’s southern border? The pictures are dramatic, and they fill you with sadness and anger.

Immigrant children — some barely old enough to walk, some infants still in their mothers’ arms — being torn away from their undocumented parents as they try to cross the border.

More than 2,000 children have been seized by border authorities in the last six weeks alone.

Adding to the cruelty, in the large warehouses being used as child internment camps, strange rules have been imposed that prevent shelter workers from touching or holding the little children to comfort them.

It is hard to write these words. I cannot believe this is happening in our country. But this is where 25 years of bipartisan failure on immigration reform has led us.

We are now a nation where “zero tolerance” means no mercy. We seem proud to announce that we will no longer grant asylum to victims of domestic abuse and gang violence. In the name of protecting our borders, we are willing to break up families and shatter the lives of innocent children.

As the pictures were coming in last week from the border, leaders in the House of Representatives decided to block debate on a bipartisan commonsense and compassionate immigration bill that was supported by me and my brother Catholic bishops.

Again, the result is to penalize children for the mistakes of their parents — in this case the nearly 2 million who were brought to this country as small children by undocumented parents or family members.

As I write, House leaders are drafting two bills. Right now, it does not look like either bill provides a clear or generous path for these young people to become citizens. And this is not right.

The law is a teacher. And our leaders are delivering some harsh lessons these days.

Our nation’s highest law enforcement official is quoting the New Testament to justify our new family separation policies. “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order,” he said.

What should our Christian witness be in the face of our government’s approach to immigration?

We need to pray for wisdom and courage. We need grace to retain our humanity even as we confront the inhumanity of our government’s policies.

We need to remind our leaders that Romans 13 concludes with these words: “For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. … The commandments are summed up in this saying: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Love is the measure by which we are judged. Every one of us. This is the law of God and no one is exempt. Our nation is judged finally by how it treats the weakest and most vulnerable among us.

Our leaders have a solemn duty to secure our national borders and enforce our immigration laws. No one questions this. But we must find a better way.

What we are doing now is wrong — on the borders, in the cruel partisanship and self-interested political calculations of our immigration debates.

Our national conscience has been darkened by fear, by economic insecurity and by years of “dehumanizing” rhetoric about immigrants from politicians and media figures.

As Christians, we are called to help our neighbors and leaders rediscover the capacity for empathy — to once more be able to feel compassion for the common humanity and destiny that we share with one another, including our immigrant brothers and sisters.

St. Thomas Aquinas said that when a human law does not reflect God’s law then it becomes an unjust law and even an act of violence.

We need to insist that those who make and enforce our laws guard against this. The love and mercy that we hope to receive is the love and mercy that we need to extend to others.

That means stop the family separations right now — and give those 2,000 children back to their moms and dads.

The law is a teacher. As Christians our duty in this moment is to insist that our laws reflect God’s law of love. Every human life is sacred, and every person’s dignity must be respected, even if that person has broken the law or is related to someone who has broken the law.

This Sunday, June 24, I hope you will join me for our annual “Mass for All Immigrants,” which I will celebrate at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 4 p.m.

We have much to pray about again this year.

Pray for me and I will be praying for you. And let us ask our Blessed Mother to be near to every child and every parent suffering separation along our borders this day.

EXPLORE VENTURA'S SISTER: CITY, MISSION and NATIONAL PARKS: LORETO, MEXICO

The Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee invites Venturans to travel our Sister City to explore Loreto in Baja Sur.  Watch "Our Ventura" to learn more: http://ourventura.com/tv-shows/

October 2017 travel orientation meeting on Thursday, May 18 at 5:30 pm at O'Brien Hall, Mission San Buenaventura.

Click here for October 2017 Travel Application

Biannual visits to Loreto including hotel and non-stop flights from LAX, are meant to promote and strengthen the sister city relationship between the cities, and the cost of the trip includes a donation to support the Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee whose objectives include collaboration on tourism, culture, education, environment, and business initiatives. The committee brings together representatives from the City of Ventura, Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau, San Buenaventura Mission, Santa Cruz Island Foundation, Consulate of Mexico, City of Loreto, Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto, Eco Alianza, and Sister Cities SOCAL among others.

Loreto is a small city of approximately 17,000 people that sits on the east coast of Baja California, facing the Sea of Cortez. It was the first Spanish settlement on the Baja California Peninsula and is the starting point for the historic El Camino Real corridor that follows north along the ancient route of the Spanish missions from Mission of Our Lady of Loreto to Sonoma, California. From Loreto, Father Junipero Serra, who established the Mission San Buenaventura, planned his journey north to Alta California. Part of our tour will be of the mission, the first developed on the El Camino Real corridor going north along the ancient route to Sonoma, California. Where the past meets the future, this tour not only offers a peek into history, it also offers the opportunity to meet community leaders, learn more about the government and politics of Loreto and the Sister City relationship.

Loreto is also home to Loreto Bay National Park where Coronado, Del Carmen, Danzante, Montserrat and Santa Catalina Islands are home to over 800 species of marine life. With breathtaking cliffs, spectacular beaches and dramatic rock formations, these islands are a perfect landscape for the ecologically-minded or those who delight in a vast array of marine life. There are efforts to create a sister park relationship between Channel Islands National Park in Ventura and Loreto Bay National Park, that will provide extensive opportunities to share science, research conservation and eco-tourism programs, and sustainable growth efforts.

Trip inquiries should be directed to Stephen Joyce with Ventura Travel Professionals at 805-218-1962.

For more information on or to join the Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee contact Fiorella Calderoni at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit visitventuraca.com/sistercity.

About Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau
Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau (VVCB) is a non-profit organization designed to increase visitor expenditures, tourism revenues and local employment opportunities through the promotion of Ventura as a travel destination. For travel and accommodation information or a free copy of the Ventura Inspiration Guide, the public can write to the Ventura Visitors Center, 101 S. California Street, Ventura, CA 93001; call (800) 333-2989, or (805) 648-2075; visit www.visitventuraca.com; email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow VVCB on Twitter @VisitVentura or become a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/visitventura.

Sister Mission Covenant

Recognized as the Head and Mother of all Missions in Alta and Baja California, the faithful parishioners of Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, founded in 1697 in Baja California Sur, and the faithful parishioners of Mission San Buenaventura, founded in 1782 in Alta California, commit to support each other in prayer to: witness the Gospel, cultivate our religious heritage, provide temporal resources and encourage pilgrimage to all the missions in the Californias in fidelity to Holy Mother Church, the Holy Father, our respective bishops and dioceses as Sister Missions.

For centuries Loreto was inhabited mainly by pericúes Indians, who lived from picking fruit, hunting and fishing. The arrival and unsuccessful colonization of the Spaniards in 1533, and the subsequent successful Jesuit missionaries in 1697, who established in this locale the first mission of the Californias led by Father Juan Maria Salvatierra, Loreto became the historic capital of Alta and Baja California until 1777. Loreto is the starting point for the historic El Camino Real corridor that follows north along the ancient route of the Spanish missions from Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó to Sonoma, in Alta California.

From Loreto, Franciscan Friar Saint Junipero Serra planned the missionary expedition north to Alta California. In 1782, he established Mission San Buenaventura among the native Chumash Indians who inhabited the coastal areas for centuries and were known as "bead maker" or "seashell people" who as hunters, gatherers, and fishermen, recognized their dependency on the world around them. The Mission by the Sea across from the Channel Islands became the ninth and last mission founded by Saint Junipero Serra.

In 2015, our representatives in civic government adopted a Sister City relationship. Respectively, the two national parks off our shores have inaugurated a Sister Park/Sister Reserve Project: Bay of Loreto National Park-Channel Islands National Park and the University of California Natural Reserve System.

These initiatives will benefit the greater Loreto and San Buenaventura communities by creating new economic opportunities, facilitate cultural exchange and expand education opportunities for residents. With extended outreach and ecotourism programs, the business network and social fabric of our communities will be strengthened, benefiting present and future generations.

Unique to this relationship is the religious history of our missions, which is the foundation and very fabric of our mutual heritage that has sustained our communities for centuries.

These Sister partnerships may also support each other during natural disasters or other emergencies by raising funds or collecting needed-supplies. By sharing each other’s cultures through sister relationships, communities can gain insight into the history, values and spirit that make up their sister mission, sister city, and sister national parks and reserves.

Click here to lear about the Official Sister City Charter

Click here to learn about travel to Loreto

October 22-27, 2017 Travel Information

UNESCO: Mexico-USA Mission Preservation

Acuerdo de Hermandad de Misiones

Conocida como la cabeza y madre de todas las misiones de la Alta y Baja California, los feligreses fieles de la Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, fundada en 1697 en la Baja California Sur y los feligreses fieles de la Misión San Buenaventura, fundada en 1782 en la Alta California, se comprometieron en apoyarse mutuamente en rezar a: ser testigos del evangelio, cultivar nuestro patrimonio religioso, proporcionar fuentes temporales y fomentar la peregrinación a todas las misiones en las Californias en fidelidad a la Santa Madre iglesia, el Santo Padre, nuestros respectivos obispos y diocesis como Misiones Hermanas.

Por siglos, Loreto fue poblado principalmente por indios pericues, quienes se sostuvieron recogiendo fruta, cazando y de la pesca. La llegada y fracaso de la colonización de los españoles en 1533 y la exitosa subsecuente llegada de los misioneros jesuitas en 1697, quienes establecieron en este lugar la primera misión de las Californias, guiada por padre Juan Maria Salvatierra, Loreto se convirtió en la capital historica de Alta y Baja California hasta 1777. Loreto es el punto de inicio del historico, El Camino Real, que continua hasta el norte junto con la ruta antigua de la misiones españolas desde la Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó a Sonoma, en Alta California.

Desde Loreto, el padre Franciscano, San Junipero Serra, planeó su viaje hacia el norte de la Alta California. En 1782, el estableció la misión de San Buenaventura junto con los indios nativos Chumash quien habitaron las areas costerias por siglos y fueron conocidos como “fabricantes de cuentas” o “gente de concha” quienes como cazadores, recolectores y pescadores, reconocieron su dependencia en su entorno. La Misión San Buenaventura fue la novena y última misión fundada por San Junipero Serra, la misión del mar, frente a las Islas del Canal.

En 2015, nuestros representantes en un acto cívico de gobierno realizaron una relación de ciudad hermana. Respectivamente, los dos parques nacionales inauguraron un proyecto de hermandad entre parques marinos: Parque Nacional Bahia de Loreto, Parque Nacional de las Islas del Canal y el sistema natural reservado de la Universidad de California.

Estas iniciativas beneficiarán las grandiosas comunidades de Loreto y San Buenaventura creando nuevas oportunidades económicas, facilitando intercambios culturales y expandiendo oportunidades educativas para los residentes. Con el alcance logrado y los programas de eco-turismo, la red de negocios y social entre nuestras comunidades serán fortalecidos, beneficiando presente y futuras generaciones.

Unica en esta relación es la historia religiosa de nuestras misiones, la cual es la fundaciòn y nuestra mutuo patrimonio que ha sido sostenido a nuestra comunidades por siglos.

Este hermanamiento puede también apoyarse, uno al otro, durante desastres naturales u otras emergencias, recolectando fondos o viveres. Al compartir la cultura del otro, a través de relaciones hermanas, las comunidades pueden obtener una perspectiva mas profunda de la historia, los valores y el espíritu que componen la misión hermana, ciudad hermana y parques y reservas nacionales.