Add Lincoln University to the list of higher education institutions concerned about President Donald Trump's executive order last week affecting travel and refugees.
The Missouri Catholic Conference - comprised of the state's four Roman Catholic bishops - also issued a statement questioning the president's order and what it says about Americans.
"For our students, faculty and staff, no matter your country of origin or faith, please be reminded that you are welcome here," LU President Kevin Rome wrote in a one-page statement issued Tuesday to the "Lincoln University Family" and provided Wednesday to the News Tribune.
Rome noted Trump's Friday order banned entry into the United States for refugees and immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries, and that a court order is temporarily blocking this ban.
"As an institution of higher learning that values the importance of diversity as another tool for teaching and learning, the Lincoln University community is feeling a sense of sadness over this ban," he said. "It is our differences that have made our campus great, our community great and, for hundreds of years, our nation great.
"We will not let those differences, and certainly not an ill-thought executive order, be used to draw a chasm between us."
Pointing to the Statue of Liberty and its symbol of welcoming the "tired poor (and) huddled masses," Rome said Trump's executive order "now rips the welcome mat right from under those we invite," and said "Lady Liberty's promise of 'I lift my lamp beside the golden door' has now been dimmed, as if the porch light has been turned off."
The LU president promised to "continue to monitor this troubling situation," then added: "Higher education is a great laboratory in which to create change, so let us put our minds together to affect a peaceful solution."
For those affected directly by Trump's executive order, Rome said, "Please govern yourself accordingly in your travel plans, and refer to the Office of International Student Affairs or other immigration offices for resources."
Missouri Catholic Conference
The bishops' two-page statement, issued Wednesday, characterized the president's order as an effort to "turn away refugees and to narrow or close our nation's doors to our migrant sisters and brothers who are fleeing hunger, hardships, violence and persecution," and said it "does not represent the best of our Catholic and American values and ideals."
The bishops lead the state's four dioceses.
They are John Gaydos, of Jefferson City; James V. Johnston Jr., of Kansas City-St. Joseph; Edward M. Rice, of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau; and St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson.
The bishops said they appreciate the concerns Trump and others have shown to Christians who "have been violently targeted because of their faith, murdered, and seen their churches destroyed."
However, they added, "We are disheartened and alarmed by actions that target and profile others because of the color of their skin, the language they speak, the religion they profess and the land they call home."
The bishops said they understand the administration's efforts to "make our country safe from terrorism and violence," but added: "Our safety will not be achieved by isolation. America will be safer by seeking to create a more just and peaceful world."
They argued: "The notion that a thriving society would benefit from biased policies and practices based on ignorance, fear and a disordered nationalism corrodes the very essence of our American spirit and impoverishes our democratic life."
Both as U.S. citizens and as members of the Catholic community, the bishops wrote, "We are particularly concerned about our Muslim sisters and brothers whose lives are becoming increasingly difficult and whose safety is being threatened by this recent turn of events in our structures of government and society."
They noted welcoming immigrants has been part of both the nation's way of life and its religious convictions and, over the years, "civic, government, religious institutions, and organizations in our nation and region have trusted the thorough vetting process in place - and together have labored to help resettle families, men, women and children from many parts of the world.
"In our experience of integrating our migrant and refugee sisters and brothers into our common way of life, we have seen our families, neighborhoods, cities, and faith communities flourish."
In Matthew 25: 34-35, Jesus said: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."
The bishops said New Testament "Gospel mandate to actively reach out and welcome the stranger has guided our Catholic social values and practices for centuries. Throughout our Catholic tradition,we have learned to be attentive to the needs of the poor, the marginalized, and the vulnerable."
In addition, they wrote, "Our commitment to life and religious freedom teaches us that we must welcome all faiths and cultures at our shores and doors, mindful of the inherent dignity found in them and ready to grow in God's grace."
The bishops said they join others across the country "in opposing the executive order. The Catholic dioceses in Missouri will continue to be places of welcome, service, and mutual hospitality, especially to the suffering and most vulnerable among us."
They ended their letter with a quote from Pope Francis: "The culture of selfishness and individualism that often prevails in our society is not, I repeat, not what builds up and leads to a more habitable world: rather, it is the culture of solidarity that does so.
"The culture of solidarity means seeing others not as rivals or statistics, but brothers and sisters. And we are all brothers and sisters!"