Relations between Morocco and Spain are complex, fraught with clashing political and economic interests—with thousands of migrants caught in the middle.

Spanish bishops published their own letter on the issue last December, “Sowers of Hope,” in which they reminded Catholics that “there is no one that can’t be cared for even if they are incurable.”

A new law threatens the viability of government-supported Catholic schools in Spain.

So far this year, over 16,760 migrants have survived clandestine voyages from Africa’s west coast to Spain’s Canary Islands, more than 5,500 arriving over just the last two weeks.