Catholic Bishops in America have been encouraged to support dramatic reform of the immigration laws – led by Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley.

The highly regarded head of the Roman Catholic church in Boston is joining other bishops around America this weekend to encourage worshippers to support comprehensive immigration reforms.

The Boston Herald reports that Cardinal O’Malley has written a letter to his flock declaring that that he supports the Roman Catholic Bishops’ call for immigration reforms.

These include a path to citizenship for immigrants living in America illegally.

The Cardinal says: “Establishing legal status without a path to citizenship leaves unprotected millions of people who have lived in the shadows for far too long.

“Reform should be rooted in the principle of family unification.” The Boston Church leader has also appealed for support from American Catholics to help write a new chapter in the country’s history.

The archdiocese of Boston has asked priests to include O’Malley’s statement in the bulletin, give it out as a flyer or include it in their homilies.