A large crowd of students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered in St. Joseph’s Chapel at Holy Cross College on Wednesday, February 18, for the Spring 2026 Mind and Heart Lecture, a twice-annual event that invites the college community to reflect on timely issues in light of the Catho lic intellectual tradition. Bishop Rhoades delivered the lecture, titled “Addressing the Plight of Migrants and Refugees with the Mind and Heart of Christ,” offering a theological reflection on one of the most pressing crises of our time. Following Bishop Rhoades’ lecture, Louis Albarran, an associate professor of theology at Holy Cross College, served as respondent, sharing his own insights on the topic. “The topic I have been asked to speak about concerns one of the greatest challenges our world faces today: the migrant and refugee crisis. It is a crisis of immense proportions,” Bishop Rhoades began. Drawing on the most recent United Nations data, he underscored the staggering scope of global displacement. “This past June, the most recent reporting period, the U.N. reported that there are 117.3 million displaced people in the world, of whom 42.5 million are refugees; 67.8 million are displaced within their own countries; and 8.42 million are asylum seekers.” The bishop clarified distinctions among refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons, noting that while all are migrants in a broad sense, “not all migrants are refugees and asylum seekers. They are all people on the move, but there are key differences according to international law.” “Refugees are people forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country,” Bishop Rhoades explained. “There are various reasons they are forced to flee: to escape war, conflict, violence, persecution, or serious public disorder.” Many, he added, flee out of “a well-founded fear of harm.” Even as he presented these statistics, Bishop Rhoades cautioned against focusing solely on numbers. “These are real people,” he said. “Over 40 percent of refugees today are children under the age of 18. Over 60 percent of refugees are in family units.” Bishop Rhoades described the trauma many endure, including dangerous journeys, overcrowded refugee camps, lack of clean water and adequate shelter, and years of uncertainty. “As Christians, we must never treat the suffering of others as if it does not concern us,” he said. “We must look at this issue first and foremost from the perspective of God’s revelation transmitted to us in Scripture and Tradition, and not from the perspective of one’s political party or narrow ideologies,” Bishop Rhoades added. Migration, he reminded the audience, is a major theme in Scripture. He pointed to the Exodus, when Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, and to God’s command in Exodus: “You shall not oppress an alien; you know how it feels to be an alien, since you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.” He also cited Leviticus: “You shall treat the stranger who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you. Have the same love for him as for yourself.” In the New Testament, he highlighted the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, described by Pope Pius XII in Exsul Familia as “the archetype of every refugee family.” Bishop Rhoades invoked the story of Cain and Abel from Genesis, recalling Cain’s response to God after murdering his brother: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The bishop suggested that this question continues to resonate in modern debates about migrants. “Perhaps the most direct instruction for us comes from the words of Jesus in the parable of the Last Judgment: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me,’” he said. “In welcoming the immigrant … we are welcoming Jesus.” He added, “There is no doubt from the teaching of Scripture that we have a Christian responsibility to ‘welcome the stranger among us.’” Shifting to Catholic social teaching, Bishop Rhoades explained the principle of the “universal destination of goods,” which teaches that the goods of the earth are intended for all. “We are stewards of the goods of the earth, not absolute masters,” he said, “and are morally obliged to ensure that our goods benefit those in need, including migrants and refugees.” He also highlighted the Church’s preferential option for the poor. “As disciples of Jesus, we cannot be indifferent to the poor, to migrants and refugees, or to anyone living in misery,” he said. “Human misery elicited the compassion of Christ and needs to elicit our compassion.” The second half of the lecture focused on what Bishop Rhoades called a “fundamental and natural right that is too often overlooked”: the right not to migrate. “The Church teaches that people have a right to find safety, economic opportunity, and dignity in their own homeland,” he said. The bishop discussed the work of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), on whose board he has served. CRS operates in more than 100 countries, providing emergency relief and development so families can remain in their homelands. However, he noted, severe cuts to USAID funding last year eliminated nearly 50 percent of the CRS budget, forcing staff layoffs and reducing many life-saving programs. “This has jeopardized food security, health services, and other humanitarian help for millions of poor people,” he said. Despite these challenges, he encouraged the audience to support CRS through increased private giving, particularly during Lent. Turning to the right to migrate, the bishop affirmed that when a person’s life and dignity are threatened, “one has the right to migrate elsewhere where they can live humanly.” “We have a moral responsibility to recognize, uphold, and defend this right,” including the right of asylum, Bishop Rhoades said. At the same time, he acknowledged that “the right to migrate is not an absolute right.” “The Church recognizes the right of nations to control entry of migrants and to protect their borders,” he said, citing the Catechism, which teaches that prosperous nations are obliged, “to the extent they are able,” to welcome the foreigner in search of security and livelihood. He stressed the importance of safe and legal pathways, family reunification, and a humane asylum process. “There are approximately 3.4 to 3.5 million asylum cases awaiting a hearing or final decision in the United States,” he said, calling the backlog “a terrible one.” Responding to Bishop Rhoades’ remarks and broadening the conversation, Albarran addressed what he described as a growing breach between Church doctrine and Christian living. “It would be good to focus on the break between doctrine and Christian living,” he said, noting that partisanship often widens the divide on issues such as migration. “The concerns of today apply to all of us, regardless of political affiliation. Apparently, we would rather settle for partisan identities than consider the Church’s doctrine.” Albarran emphasized the need to realign with Church teaching in order to heal the division caused by partisanship. He suggested that renewal begins with embodied practices of solidarity. Social and cultural responses, including traditional practices such as the works of mercy, can help bridge the gap and prepare Catholics to receive challenging teachings more fully. “By engaging in face-to-face practices that demand solidarity and respect for the dignity of the person,” he said, “Catholics can form the habits necessary to receive challenging doctrine.” He pointed to Bishop Rhoades’ longstanding commitment to Catholic Charities and local outreach efforts as concrete examples of a “social strategy” grounded in the works of mercy. Bishop Rhoades’ address and Albarran’s response reflected the college’s own commitment to its mission. Dianne Barlas, the vice president for mission and ministry and acting provost, described the lecture’s theme as both timely and mission-driven. “We invited Bishop Rhoades to speak to our students on the plight of migrants and refugees to engage in a conversation that demonstrates the use of the Gospel and Catholic social teaching to respond to the needs of some of the most vulnerable in our communities,” Barlas told Today’s Catholic. “We wanted the voice of the Catholic Church to be raised as the source of truth, especially in addressing the dignity of the human person, the priority of the family, and the significance of building communities of compassion and mercy.” She described the Mind and Heart Lecture series as an initiative “to bring experts both domestic and international to our campus” and to invite dialogue between Catholic intellectual tradition and contemporary issues. Quoting Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, she added, “The mind will not be educated at the expense of the heart.” “We hold that education is an act of hope,” Barlas said. “The speakers we invite and the topics we choose for the Mind and Heart Lecture urge our students to think deeply about the meaning of life, the presence and action of God all around them, and the virtuous life whereby faith, hope, and love are ordered to the coming of the Kingdom of God, as witnessed by right relationships between persons, communities, and creation.” For students in attendance, Bishop Rhoades’ words resonated on a personal level. Many students stayed to talk to him after his lecture. Manuel Mendoza Marquez, a junior at Holy Cross, explained that several of his friends come from countries marked by violence and instability. “They’ve seen a lot,” he said. “It makes you think about their well-being. You want them somewhere safe, somewhere they can find a home and find peace.” Junior Mataya Watson reflected on Bishop Rhoades’ discussion of balancing compassion with responsibility for the common good. “I thought it was interesting how he connected care for migrants with concern for the general public welfare,” Watson told Today’s Catholic. “He emphasized being open and recognizing human dignity while also acknowledging the importance of the common good and the well-being of the country.” For many, Bishop Rhoades’ presence on campus was itself formative. “I think the college cares a lot about our education holistically, not just as scholars but as disciples and citizens of the world,” Watson said. “It makes us ask: How are we walking as future leaders? Are we informed as Catholics first? I think having the bishop here shows that commitment.” Before the lecture, Bishop Rhoades joined students, faculty, and staff for a simple soup supper on campus, a fitting observance for Ash Wednesday. Students were able to ask Bishop Rhoades questions and engage him directly on the complexities of immigration, Catholic social teaching, and the realities facing the Church. Throughout the lecture, Bishop Rhoades returned to the principle of solidarity, quoting Pope St. John Paul II, who described solidarity not as “a feeling of vague compassion” but as “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good.” “That includes our migrant brothers and sisters,” Bishop Rhoades said. “To be indifferent to them,” he concluded, “is to be indifferent to Jesus.” To read the full text of Bishop Rhoades’ address, click here, or watch a video of the lecture below. 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