Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon, in First Things, adds that it's important for bishops to recognize "the need for a highly diverse, rule-of-law society to be careful about the messages it sends to persons who wish to become part of that society." Ms. Glendon, a leading Catholic intellectual, quotes Pope John Paul II's teaching that holds all members of society, not just the strong, to account: "Those who are weaker, for their part, in the same spirit of solidarity should not adopt a purely passive attitude, or one that is destructive of the social fabric, but, while claiming their legitimate rights, should do what they can for the good of all."
Could the pope's words have meaning in the Farmers Branch controversy? Is the growing influx of illegal immigrants in our area "destructive of the social fabric" in ways that make it morally problematic for Catholics and other Christians?
Do people concerned about the stability and integrity of their neighborhoods have no claim on justice? These are all legitimate and important questions, and they deserve a thoughtful response, not sentimental speechifying and back-of-the-hand moral preening from prelates.
Bishops, priests and clergy of all faiths could and should play a constructive role in the wrenching and divisive public debate over immigration. We need the prophetic voice of the church to help all of us – immigrants and citizens – navigate between the demands of justice and the call to mercy.
But those bishops and other church folk whose idea of moral leadership is to write off immigration skeptics as nothing more than nasty nativists who make the baby Jesus cry aren't helping.
A News reader wrote this morning to say:
While most of us Catholics agree that we should extend a loving hand to legal immigrants, one has to wonder if our clergy has considered the debilitating effect on our own working poor of the super cheap wages for which illegal immigrants are forced to and are willing to work. Do illegal immigrants deserve more consideration than our working poor? Next time you are debating with a Catholic priest, ask him how he interprets Section 2241 of the Catechism which states in part, “Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying its civic burden.” Entering illegally, regardless of industriousness, to accept unfair wages to the detriment of resident working poor, using social services without contributing to their cost and refusing to assimilate does not meet the requirements of the Church’s teaching set forth in Section 2241.
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I would love for a bishop to publicly state that business owners who hire illegal immigrants for sub-standard wages are not eligible to receive communion.
This is the problem I have with applying Biblical principle directly to a political situation. The question of politics is not whether to do right and care for the poor (or baby Jesus), but how to do that most effectively.
Rod, My hat is off to the good Bishop for speaking up. His is a truly prophetic voice. One interesting piece from your oped: "Those who are weaker, for their part, in the same spirit of solidarity should not adopt a purely passive attitude, or one that is destructive of the social fabric, but, while claiming their legitimate rights, should do what they can for the good of all." I know you're offended by these people illegally coming here. I guess that that is what you are trying to get at with the previous quote. It sounds to me like their mere presence is a nuisance to you. In one previous post you compared them to squatters. Many of these people are fellow Roman Catholics. Maybe a more appropriate term would be "brothers in Christ." What would you have done Rod had you been faced with the same circumstances that these people face in their countries? Stayed in Mexico or wherever else they came from and continued to be unable to support your family? What would you have done in the same situation? Tell us Rod! I am half expecting a response like: "I would have stayed and fought to make my country better." That's the pat answer I normally hear. Tell that answer to a mother whose baby is crying for milk and who doesn't even have diapers for her baby, Rod. Give that answer to a father who makes 40 bucks a week working full time in an economy where food costs just as much as here. Show them the love of God by instructing them on how they shouldn't break some lousy border law when the misery they make here is like manna from heaven to a starving family. Walk in the tin shack barrios, Rod where children have worms and electrical wires run on the ground and kids get electrocuted when it rains. Enlighten them Rod! It's rather easy speak in terms of idealistic platitudes, Rod. And it sounds oh so reasonable and intellectual. But the question boils down to this: Would you be one of the inn keepers would turn them away. The answer is obviously "yes". Long live the Bishop and long live justice and compassion! Peace, Jim
So, JIm, America should continue to allow Mexican oligarchs and plutocrats(mostly Spanish) to export their poor(mostly Indian) here? And we won't hold them or their society responsible, nor will we hold their exploiters in out midst responsible? And the fact that this squeezes working poor (mostly black and Latino) Americans out of their own job market doesn't bother you a bit?
Bugg, Secure the border. Be fair with the ones who are here. It is not just the Spanish oligarchs who pushed them here. If only it were that simple. NAFTA decimated their agricultural industry. We dump subsidized agricultural goods on the Mexican market. Illegal immigration spiked tremendously in the wake of NAFTA. So our country has a role in it too. No jobs in the city, they moved further north. Message sent by our government's lack of enforcement: if you can make it past the border, there's a job waiting for you. Do you care to comment on the appaling conditions from which these people came, or is it just not your problem, Bugg?
Jim
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