Sister Norma Pimentel on the Crisis of Human Dignity at the Border

When Time Magazine named Sister Norma Pimentel as one of the 100 most influential people of 2020, they said that she “has been on the front line of mercy for three decades.” The front lines of mercy. That’s where God’s preferential love for the poor and suffering meets people who are hungry, thirsty, homeless, and seeking not just safety, but compassion. For Sister Norma, that meeting place is the area around the US-Mexico border, on both sides.Sr. Norma has been the executive director of Catholic Charities in the Rio Grande Valley for over a decade. In that time, her organization has housed and assisted well over 100,000 people at the border. During his visit to the United States in 2015, Pope Francis thanked her personally for her work and witness. And in 2018, the University of Notre Dame awarded her the Laetare medal, which is the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics.To talk about the sanctity of life amid the humanitarian crisis at the border as well as her own religious vocation and family history, Sr. Norma joins me, Leonard DeLorenzo, on Church Life Today from Redeemer Radio and the McGrath Institute for Church Life.Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.