Bishops welcome US government cooperation after White House visit

Days after Archbishop Coakley’s meeting with President Trump, the administration announced measures to make it easier for foreign-born religious workers to remain in the United States.

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, the president of the US bishops’ conference, met President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and other administration officials at the White House.

During the meeting on 12 January, Coakley and the administration officials discussed “areas of mutual concern, as well as areas for further dialogue”, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reported. It said that Coakley was “grateful for the engagement and looks forward to ongoing discussions”.

Neither the White House nor the USCCB elaborated on what Coakley and administration officials discussed. Though the meeting was listed on the White House schedule, the topics of discussion were not specified.

Days after Coakley’s visit to the White House, the Trump administration announced the issuance of an Interim Final Rule that promises to make it easier for foreign-born religious workers to continue their ministries in the United States.

Catholic priests, religious, and others who hold religious worker (R-1) visas in the United States are generally required to leave the country after their visas expire. Until recently, they were also required to spend at least one full year outside of the United States before being permitted to return on another R-1 visa.

The rule announced on 14 January amends federal regulations to require no minimum time outside of the country before religious workers can return on a subsequent R-1 visa, provided they meet all other requirements.

“We are tremendously grateful for the administration’s work to address certain challenges facing foreign-born religious workers, their employers, and the American communities they serve,” said a joint statement from Coakley and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration.

The same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the first in a series of direct humanitarian shipments to Cuba that he said were being conducted “in close partnership with the Catholic Church”.

The State Department said food kits, water purification tablets, storage containers, and household essentials were being sent to Cuba as the island recovered from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Melissa.

In a statement, Rubio said the Trump administration had taken “extraordinary measures” to ensure that the humanitarian assistance would reach the Cuban people directly, “without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime”.

A spokesman for Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian arm of the US bishops, told OSV News that the agency was supporting the delivery of emergency supplies to Cuba with funding from the US government.

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