Posted on 09/13/2013 5:04:08 PM PDT by moonshinner_09
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After a gut-wrenching visit with young children in the El Paso, Texas, area who are in immigration detention, the bishops of the border region of Texas and Mexico have decided to write a joint pastoral letter on how families are harmed by the current immigration system.
San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller told Catholic News Service in a Sept. 12 phone interview that after visiting the children who were brought to meet the bishops at an El Paso parish and learning their stories, the bishops wanted to draw attention to the family effects of the broken immigration system.
He told about meeting a girl of 6 who has been in detention since her parents were deported four years ago. Apparently both her mother and father were killed soon after they were returned to Mexico and their daughter has been a ward of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency ever since, as official systems of two countries have slowly churned to place the girl with another member of her family.
That girl and the other children in ICE custody intensely long to be with their families, he said. "Here in this country are 11 million undocumented people. How many of their children risk losing a parent because they lack documents" and could be deported, he asked.
The pastoral letter to be issued in the next month is intended to "bring some sane, rational understanding" of the many ways families are broken apart by the current immigration system, Archbishop Garcia-Siller said.
In a Sept. 8 statement as the meeting closed, the bishops said the burdens on families divided because of problems with the immigration system particularly concern them.
(Excerpt) Read more at themessageonline.org ...
For years, the bishops of U.S. and Mexican dioceses along the border have met twice a year to discuss issues of mutual concern, heavily focused on immigration-related matters. Archbishop Garcia-Siller said such sessions more than a decade ago led to the first joint pastoral letter of the U.S. and Mexican bishops conferences, "Strangers No Longer: Together on a Journey of Hope."
Archbishop Garcia-Siller said the bishops realize there's a lot of ground to cover -- particularly in Texas -- in changing hearts in favor of supporting comprehensive immigration reform. He said each bishop will determine how to implement the pastoral letter in his own diocese, but each of them will have a plan, whether it includes organized dialogues, radio, television, newspaper or Sunday homilies.
I would like any Catholics,why is the church only pointing out one side of the affects of illegal immigration.Many ,many illegals have broken up American families,children,women,men lives forever changed from drunk drivers,sex crimes, kidnapping, home invasions.etc,etc.The Catholic church dismisses the darker side of illegal immigration and therefore alienate Americans and their families do not matter . We want hear the church give any sermons on how the illegals who used someone's personal information and how this ruined their lives and credit.The church seems to be indifferent to Americans who are victims of crimes by illegals.The church just wants to select heart wrenching stories about illegals and how unfair life is and our laws are..here..How many of their children risk losing a parent because they lack documents" and could be deported, he asked.
Lets change this around so it is equal to all...How many of their children risk losing a parent because they lack drivers licenses and insurance" and furthermore the parents also could be financially ruined because the parents were hurt so bad in the accident their lives have forever been altered so badly that caregivers will be needed 24/7 to help them for the rest of their lives.
Perfect nonsense. I am more than a little sick of the ‘bishops’ telling those of us who live in a CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC what we should be doing....particularly since the countries they live in and supposedly practice their faith in are such swamp pits. Take care of your own home first
Seal the border to end these family breakups, churches could raise cab fare and bus fare to reunite those already here with their families in Mexico.
To answer your question: The bishops are taking the left-wing line on immigration because they are political liberals.
Any pro-life activist will tell you that the vast majority of U.S. bishops have always been loyal Democrats, and that this is so ingrained that only a minority of bishops have been courageous and outspoken about abortion.
The bishops’ conference (USCCB) is even more left-wing than the average bishop. It is staffed largely by former Democrat staffers from Capitol Hill, and former community organizers and social workers.
The exhausted multitudes of USA citizens also deserve compassion.
Jesus also taught people to guard against allowing “false spiritual leaders” of corrupted religious sects to sow corruption into nations.
And, the Vatican, for some strange reason, typically leaves the American bishops alone ...
Let the Bishops tell these people to stay home and keep their families together and stop entering another country illegally.
It’s a problem of their own making.
He said it's in Syria.
I think he really means Mexico.
I would be thrilled - if this were limited to Mexicans or even Latin Americans in general. But the problem is that the bill is so broad it will bring in mostly Muslims, since Obama has actually taken away from the legal Latin American quota to give it to “Muslim countries.”
He did this only a week or two after his first inauguration, and nobody has commented on it and the immigration bill seems to ignore it, even though he has specifically renewed it every year by executive order.
That’s where the real problem lies.
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