'The Border is the Cross': Jornada por la Justicia

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Written By Open Plaza

Dr. Jeremy Cruz and Dr. Victor Carmona embark on a pilgrimage for justice

The Paso del Norte International Bridge; El Paso, Texas, US/Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MX

The Paso del Norte International Bridge; El Paso, Texas, US/Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MX

 
 

Dr. Jeremy Cruz and Dr. Victor Carmona, who both teach theology and religious studies, talk about what’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border, and about the work churches and local communities have taken on to help migrants. In the fall of 2019, Dr. Cruz and Dr. Carmona both participated in Jornada por la Justicia in El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juarez, MX. The pilgrimage and teach-in was organized by Catholic leaders and included participants from all over the country.

Our guests also remind us why we needed to be counted and urge us to fill out our 2020 U.S. Census forms, which can be done online, by phone or via mail: https://2020census.gov/en.html .

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Victor Carmona

Dr. Victor Carmona is Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego. He earned his doctorate at the University of Notre Dame. Before becoming a Latino moral theologian, Dr. Carmona served migrants and urban communities with the Mexican Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate; experiences which continue to influence his thinking and teaching. He authored “Theologizing Immigration” in Blackwell’s Companion to Latino/a Theology, and has also published with the Journal of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States and with Liguorian magazine.

Featured
Jeremy Cruz

Dr. Jeremy Cruz is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. He earned his BA in history from the University of California, Riverside, then studied at Loyola Marymount University and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, before earning an MDiv and PhD in Theological Ethics from Boston College. Dr. Cruz has also gained insight into the role of religion in society by working as a faith-based community organizer, and as a lay ecclesial minister in his native California. He joined the St. John’s University faculty in 2014 and teaches courses in ethics and theology, as well as the capstone course for the undergraduate minor in Social Justice: Theory and Practice in the Vincentian Tradition. His current research focuses on justice for farmworkers and moral theories of social equality. As a practitioner of moral advocacy, Dr. Cruz volunteers with religious communities as they advocate for the rights and well-being of U.S. farmworkers.

 
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