Once again, I write to offer solace and hope to people shocked by loss of life in places where our brothers and sisters sought to gather in places of peace and learning, yet were subjected to violence. On an Australian beach, terrorists consumed with hatred rained bullets on a celebration of the first day of Hanukkah, killing 16 and injuring many more. If anyone doubts the ancient sin of antisemitism is alive and strong today, here is proof.

Good evening. Tonight, we come together to Keep Hope Alive, to celebrate and live out the reason for our hope, that God remains with us. Hope is not optimism. Optimism is about tomorrow. Hope is about today, in this very moment, because no matter the circumstances of our life, we know that God is with us, and especially with those in our midst who are most vulnerable, for God has always had a preferential option for the poor, as Pope Leo reminds us in his writings.

Join with me in prayer and remembrance as we mark more than 180 years since the start of the Great Famine in Ireland. It is difficult, even from the distance of many generations, to contemplate the enormity of the disaster that left more than a million dead and forced many more into a shadow existence of workhouses and privation.

Today I have been asked to address the moral and ethical issues related to the mass deportation of undocumented persons I happening in our country. It is important to state clearly, as Pope Leo reaffirmed recently, that the church recognizes that the state has a duty to keep its citizens safe and to maintain order at its borders. That has never been in question. What is in question, however, is the obligation we all have as human beings, and as a society comprised of human beings, to respect and protect the dignity of others. Keeping the nation safe and respecting human dignity are not mutually exclusive. In fact, one cannot exist without the other. It is up to citizens and communities such as the church to raise their voices to insure the safety of a nation does not come at the expense of violations of human dignity.

In this moment it is important to state clearly that keeping the nation safe and respecting human dignity are not mutually exclusive. In fact one cannot exist without the other.

Senator Durbin today informed me that he has decided not to receive an award at our Keep Hope Alive celebration. While I am saddened by this news, I respect his decision. But I want to make clear that the decision to present him an award was specifically in recognition of his singular contribution to immigration reform and his unwavering support of immigrants, which is so needed in our day.

Recently some have criticized the decision of the Archdiocese of Chicago to recognize Senator Dick Durbin at our annual fundraiser for our immigration ministry, Keep Hope Alive.

I have often said that the Second Vatican Council, which began when I was in eighth grade and lasted until the fall of my junior year in high school, had a great influence on my vocation to be a priest.

Wednesday night, two young Israeli Embassy staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were shot and killed as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. Sarah was 26. Yaron was 30. The alleged gunman, who is from Chicago, is in custody. Antisemitism appears to have been a factor in their murder. What a senseless, inconceivable tragedy for these two young people who were about to be engaged, just starting the next chapter of their lives. Please join me in praying for them, their families and loved ones. May their memories be for a blessing.

You may recall that I mentioned on the occasion of the ordination of our new auxiliaries that someone early on in the papacy of Francis asked me what makes him tick. I said, as I believe even more now, the answer is simple. Francis not only believed but had a palpable experience of the Risen Lord; not only did he believe Jesus rose from the dead 2000 years ago, but he was deeply in touch with the reality that the Risen Lord is acting now and leading the Church. And so he saw that his task as the Successor of Peter was to be attuned to the Lord and manifest his presence in the world today.