My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

My schedule printed in The Tablet two weeks ago listed a departure for Cairo for a meeting of the Global Commission on International Migration. Before my flight left from Kennedy Airport, I was pleased to celebrate Mass for the first time at Our Lady of the Skies Chapel. Father Jim Devine was a gracious host and facilitator at the airport parish.

I would like to report on the conference in Cairo, which I attended as a member of the United Nations Global Commission on International Migration, consisting of individuals from around the world who have some background in migration issues.

The Commission has a threefold purpose and mandate:

· to place international migration on the global agenda by promoting a comprehensive debate among governments, international organizations, academia, civil society, private sector, media and other actors on all aspects of migration and issues related to migration;

· to analyze gaps in current policy approaches to migration and examine inter-linkages with other issue-areas by focusing on various approaches and perspectives of stakeholders in different regions, and by addressing the relationship of migration with other global issues that impact on and cause migration; and

· to present recommendations to the United Nation Secretary-General and other stakeholders on how to strengthen national, regional and global governance of international migration.

The overall aim of the Commission is to provide the framework for the formulation of a coherent, comprehensive and global response to migration issues. It is no small goal for the first-ever global panel addressing international migration.

The panel members include Mrs. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former United National High Commissioner for Human Rights-Ireland, and Mr. Manuel Marin, President of the Spanish Parliament and former European Union Commissioner.

A core group of nations forms an advisory panel for the Commission that holds its meetings in Geneva. My name was suggested among others to be a member of the Commission by the U.S. Department of State. I was chosen by the Commission co-chairs, Mr. Jan Karlson, former Minister for Migration and Development from Sweden, and Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, Managing Director of the World Bank from South Africa.

The meeting in Cairo was a regional hearing for the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Representatives of governments, migration experts and non-governmental organizations presented testimony and discussed the migration issues affecting the regions. Much of the discussion was about the flow of migrant workers and permanent immigrants from the southern Mediterranean basin moving to the north. Many other issues were discussed in the three-day meeting, including undocumented or irregular migration.

It is clear that without international cooperation and dialogue, the challenges of international migration will not be met. The Commission’s responsibility will be to concur and issue its final report, which will be presented in June of next year. I feel privileged to share my knowledge of migration with the Commission. The members are most impressed when I speak about our diocese of immigrants, how many we have and how well organized we are to meet the pastoral and social needs of our immigrants.

A nice bonus for being in Cairo was the ability to visit and participate in a Catholic Coptic Sunday evening liturgy at Sacred Heart Church. It is a parish from which come some of the members of Resurrection Coptic parish in Brooklyn, where Father Youssef Bochra Nasri is pastor. Father Youssef made the arrangements for me to visit with the parishioners, Msgr. Maurice, and Father Raphael, his assistant. The packed church and wonderful gathering in the convent courtyard after Mass were impressive. Although Egypt is an Islamic society, considerable tolerance for the Christian faith is evident.

The migration issue has forced me to put out into the deep many times, and sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed by the demands which experience brings. With the understanding and support of the Diocese of Brooklyn, however, the sailing is good.