Posted on 04/11/2006 9:25:00 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOL!! Is that why the first we heard of that was last Sunday, from Peter King, who was backpedaling like mad, insisting that Mahoney was reading more into the provision than was there?
The damage was already done.
That sounds like they've taken this right out of GWB's compassionate "guest worker" play book! Ain't that special!
I'm not familiar with what Peter King said, to be honest.
I just know that the BP can and does arrest those who aid and abet illegals.
It happened to a Minuteman volunteer back in October in New Mexico, too.
Great post. Thanks for the ping. Very interesting.
"As for American bishops saying that sort of thing to the Mexican government, I'm sure all it would do is further inflame anti-Catholic prejudices amongst the elite of Mexican society"
What they're saying and doing here isn't inflaming anti-Catholic prejudices in the US?
The problem with the Church hierarchy seems to be they've distanced themselve from Christ. Or, at a minimum, cherry picked which of His teachings to follow and which to reinterpret to meet their own ends.
Dear EDINVA,
"What they're saying and doing here isn't inflaming anti-Catholic prejudices in the US?"
Well, Mexico has a very long, very harsh, and very recent history of oppressing Catholics and the Catholic Church. The Mexican government has murdered countless priests and faithful laity. The Mexican elites are not far removed from this bloody history.
I would have liked to have thought that the United States was beyond this level of anti-Catholic bigotry and hatred, but are you trying to persuade me that I'm wrong? I'm certainly willing to listen.
"The problem with the Church hierarchy seems to be they've distanced themselve from Christ."
There are days when I would agree with you. But not this day. I don't agree completely with everything that Bishop Barnes said, but I think he has it right, in the main.
I think it is the Gospel that requires us to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, care for the sick, without regard to immigration status. If the government wants to deport these folks by the millions, they can have at it. Better yet, how about keeping the millions of illegal immigrants out of our country in the first place?
Look at what Bishop Barnes says:
"The Catholic Church is not supportive of illegal immigration (but) the laws right now do not accommodate the needs of these people and the needs of this country."
Bingo! The Catholic Church IS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION! However, once the folks are here, once the federal government refuses to do its job, and permits these folks to slip in by the millions, simple Christian decency requires aiding those in distress.
For the most part, the Catholic Church is trying to ameliorate a problem caused by the US government. The US government permitted millions of these folks to come into the United States to provide cheap labor for those that want it. A lot of the folks who want the cheap labor are the folks who have power in our society. These power elites wanted their cheap labor, and didn't mind getting it from illegal immigrants, since illegal immigrants are hard-pressed to ask for better working conditions, decent benefits, fair and equitable treatment, etc.
The Church sees this, and comes to the immediate aid of those getting the shortest end of the stick.
The Church should not be blamed for trying to reduce the suffering of those cynically permitted to come here illegally to provide cheap labor for the power elites, Republican and Democrat alike.
sitetest
You and me both, but I ain't holding my breath.
Inland area Roman Catholic priests and churches will continue to serve undocumented immigrants even if federal laws require them to review a migrant's legal status before giving aid,...
Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles also denounced the proposed restrictions on whom the church can assist.
If you accept federal dollars, you accept the strings attached to them. Break the government's hold on you, Roger. Set yourself free!
Anywhere public money flows, public control soon follows. This is a cost that has long corrupted Catholic Charities USA. Indeed, calling it a charity stretches the truth, given the extent to which it has grown dependent on taxpayer-conscripted capital to support its social services. (Sixty-seven percent of its $2.3 billion budget was derived from government in 2000.) Today it is little more than a nominally Catholic branch of Housing and Urban Development – a shadow welfare system that grants a degree of ecclesial legitimacy to socially destructive wealth redistribution schemes.
As I understand it, the House-passed immigration reform bill does not penalize priests, ministers, rabbis, and other clergy or church groups for aiding the illegals. It goes after the cayotes.
So why have Mahoney and others inserted themselves into this debate? I hate to even think this, but it seems their interest is like that of the Democrat Party, i.e., we can't attract the people we used to to our Church/Party, so we can work on this new, mostly poor and uneducated group to fill the pews/voting booths.
I am sure these bishops believe in what they are doing/saying, but have to marvel at their choice of issues to suddenly champion so vocally. I really don't remember their becoming so outraged over other affronts to basic Catholic beliefs, like abortion, euthenasia, gay marriage, etc.
then, the churches need to start paying taxes...
I can tell you this much: If I were a district attorney in Los Angeles, I would note very carefully the fact that the Cardinal has instructed his priests to break the law, obstruct justice, and stonewall enforcement. After all, what he is stating is the opposite of what was stated in the encyclical, Rereum Novarum, which describes what his family farm did with illegal aliens as "a crime which cries out to the Heavens for vengence."
>> (Sixty-seven percent of its $2.3 billion budget was derived from government in 2000.) <<
I can't imagine that to be true, but it does make me realize that it is unethical for the government to financially support any organization which advocates breaking federal law.
By the way, you did notice my new tag?
Mahoney has done NONE of those things.
He has said that, if the law is interpreted in such a way that the ministry of his priests to ANYBODY is subject to interference, his priests will simply ignore the interference.
How many were in crayon?
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