USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - New �People on the Move' Coordinator Joins U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

New 'People on the Move' Coordinator Joins U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

WASHINGTON (February 13, 2007)– Sr. Myrna Tordillo, MSCS, has joined the staff of Migration and Refugee Services' (MRS) Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees (PCMR) as the new coordinator for People on the Move Ministries.

In this position, Sr. Tordillo will provide pastoral care and support primarily to the following groups of "people on the move," who find it difficult to participate in a parish community year round:
* Airport and airline workers and travelers in conjunction with the National Catholic Conference of Airport Chaplains (NCCAC).
* Circus and Carnival Workers in conjunction with Circus and Traveling Show Ministries, and the International Forum of Christian Organizations for the Pastoral Care of Circus and Carnival Workers.
* Migrant Farm Workers in conjunction with the Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network (CMFN).
* Port and ship chaplains, seafarers and fishers, as well as those who travel by water, maritime students, and families of the People of the Sea, in conjunction with Apostleship of the Sea USA (AOSUSA).

Sr. Tordillo is a member of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians), whose charism is focused on evangelical and missionary service to migrants and refugees, especially the poor and those in need. She brings to PCMR valuable experience in pastoral ministry to the Catholic Church, particularly in Mexico City, where beginning in 1995 she provided pastoral outreach to detainees and undocumented migrants, assisted in the Episcopal Commission on Human Mobility, and conducted research on undocumented migrants. Sr. Tordillo is the founder and director of the Catholic Organization of Migrant Equity (COME), which was established in 1998. She also worked with the Apostleship of the Sea in the Philippines from 1992-1994 as part of the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People within the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. Sr. Tordillo will continue serving this organization in her new position.

Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) carries out the commitment of the Catholic bishops of the United States to serve and advocate for immigrants, refugees, migrants, and people on the move. To learn more about MRS, please visit: http://www.usccb.org/mrs/.