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Media Coverage - CSPL Members to Make Pilgrimage to Rome
A delegation including Bishop José Maria Garcia Maldonado, Father Paul Keller, Sisters Christin Tomy and Kristin Peters, Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) staff, and members will travel to Rome and the Vatican from October 26–31.
The delegation plans attend Pope Leo's general audience on Wednesday, October 28, at the Vatican. As of October 14, CSPL's plans to greet Pope Leo have not changed in light of his surgery and diagnosis. The CSPL community is praying for his health and a full recovery.
PRESS RELEASE: Chicago Catholics to Greet Pope Leo, Meet With Vatican Officials
A delegation of 25 Catholic clergy, women religious, and laypeople will bring stories from Broadview detainees to the Chicago-born Pope.
Chicago Tribune - Chicago clergy set to visit Pope Leo to advocate for immigrant detainees: ‘This is a mission from Christ’
Laura Rodriguez-Presa of the Chicago Tribune covers CSPL’s progress on the pastoral care campaign at Broadview and how that the Coalition to its upcoming delegation to Rome to meet with Pope Leo XIV.
Chicago Catholic - Catholics gather for teach-in on standing with immigrants
On October 3, 2026, CSPL co-hosted City of Welcome: A Teach-in on Catholic Solidarity and the Journey of Migration along with Old. St. Pat’s, Immaculate Conception-St. Joseph. Exodus World Service, and the Sanctuary Working Group also led workshops.
America Magazine - St. Louis archdiocese sues DHS and ICE to bring sacraments to immigrant detainees
Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, executive director of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, comments on the Archdiocese of St. Louis lawsuit filed against ICE/DHS, pointing out that ICE’s national detention manual outlines policies meant to allow access for religious services from clergy and ministers outside the detention facilities themselves and for one-on-one spiritual counseling.
Chicago SunTimes Letter to the Editors - Philanthropists Can Give More to Protect Immigrants
Letter to the Editors by Jessica Darrow, associate instructional professor, University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and board member, Wieboldt Foundation
America Magazine - In Chicago, a Catholic community organizer is using faith to resist ICE
CSPL Director of Training and Formation Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez sits down with America Magazine to talk about her organizing and discernment journey, from the founding CSPL to the current moment in the wake of Operation Midway Blitz.
Chicago Sun Times - Misa en honor a Silverio Villegas González en el primer aniversario de su asesinato por ICE
CSPL members and institutional members took part in the first annual memorial mass honoring Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, who was killed by ICE last year during a traffic stop.
The Catholic Observer - Under Pope Leo XIV, MAGA Country Catholics Are Standing Up to Trump
“The bishops, priests, nuns — and most importantly — lay women and men of Trump country did not wait for the instruction; they have been living it since the first week of January.”
Ignatian Solidarity Network - IFTJ 2026: Keynote Preview with Michael Okinczyc-Cruz
“As we were dreaming up CSPL, we didn’t just incorporate the methodologies of community organizing, the importance of coalition building, grassroots leadership development… What was equally important to us was that we engage in spiritual and theological formation as well.”
Block Club Chicago - ICE Arrests Are On The Rise Again In Chicago. Here’s What Immigrants Need To Know
“The most essential part of what we do, I believe, is just listen. We listen to their stories, we let them talk about the traumas they’re going through. This type of care restores a bit of human dignity,” Tomy said.
Podcast: 'We need people of good faith to be engaged,' says John Dominic Crossan
"The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," with Scripture scholar John Dominic Crossan along with Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, about their new book, Jesus and Justice: Organizing for God's Reign on Earth Then and Now.
Chicago SunTimes - Meeting Pope Leo was a humbling, deeply moving experience, say Chicago faith leaders
On Thursday, May 28, CSPL’s Executive Director Michael Okińczyc-Cruz, and Fr. Juan Vargas, a member of CSPL’s Clergy Council, joined the Chicago Delegation to the Vatican, and met with Pope Leo XIV, who blessed stoles for ministry at the Broadview ICE facility.
Media Coverage - Faith Leaders Allowed Daily Access to Broadview ICE Facility Under New Agreement
Community leaders from the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership announced they reached an agreement with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to allow daily pastoral visits inside the west suburban facility. Those visits began last Friday.
“This agreement represents a recognition of the human dignity and basic human rights of our detained sisters and brothers,” CSPL Executive Director Michael N. Okińczyc-Cruz said in a statement.
MEDIA RELEASE: Agreement Reached With Federal Government for Daily Pastoral Access At Broadview ICE Facility
Daily pastoral visits to the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview began Friday, May 15 under a landmark agreement between faith and grassroots community leaders of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
New York Times - Catholic Clergy Can Minister Within Illinois ICE Facility After Legal Agreement
Daily pastoral visits to the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview began Friday, May 15 under a landmark agreement between faith and grassroots community leaders of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
Commonweal Podcast - Catholicism and Community Organizing
Besides explaining the history of organizing in America, and arguing for its necessity, Nicholas Hayes-Mota and Michael Okinczyc-Cruz share how organizing can also help the Catholic Church advocate for justice and peace throughout the world.
Video: Rev. David Inczuaskis, SJ on Pope Leo’s Messaging on the war in Iran
Rev. David Inczuaskis, SJ appears on WTTW and responds to Pope Leo’s words on the Iran War.
Video: CSPL Delegation Washes the Feet of Detainees at Broadview ICE Facility
On Holy Thursday afternoon, Father Juan Vargas knelt on the floor of the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility west of Chicago and washed the feet of a man in shackles. Sister Alicia Gutierrez, SH, distributed Communion. Father David Inczauskis, SJ, and Father Paul Joseph Keller, CMF, offered pastoral care to thirteen other detained migrants wearing handcuffs and ankle chains. Outside, fifty Catholic faithful stood in rain and heavy wind, praying the Rosary and singing, waiting for the pastoral delegation to emerge.
1 Church, 2 Realities: How Back Of The Yards Parishioners Found Faith In The Face Of ICE
One of Chicago’s oldest churches is the spiritual home to Polish and Latine communities, who grapple with immigration raids in very different ways.