U.S bishops greet Supreme Court decision on immigration with hope and caution

WASHINGTON (USCCB) —The U.S. bishops greeted with hope and caution the June 25 Supreme Court decision to strike down provisions of an Arizona immigration law that would have allowed warrantless arrests of people suspected of an offense that is deportable, that would have made it a crime to seek work in the state and that would have made undocumented presence a state crime.

The bishops found hope in the decision in Arizona vs. United States and said it reflects the bishops’ call for humane and just immigration laws and concern for laws that could tear families apart. Their caution lay in the lifting of an injunction against immigrants having to show papers in some circumstances.

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, expressed concern regarding the one part of the 5-3 decision that narrowly upheld a provision that permits state law enforcement personnel to determine the immigration status of any person stopped, detained, or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is not lawfully in the United States, and to verify the immigration status of any person arrested before releasing that person.

In the opinion, the justices left the door open that the provision that was upheld — known as 2(B) of SB 1070 — could later be found unconstitutional.

"While we are concerned with the Court’s decision to lift the injunction on section 2(B) of the law, we are encouraged that the Court did not rule it constitutional," Archbishop Gomez said. "As we articulated in our amicus brief, the implementation of this provision could lead to the separation of families and undermine the Church’s ability to minister to the immigrant population."

A copy of the brief can be found at http://www.usccb.org/ogc/amicus-briefs/upload/state-of-arizona-v-united-states-of-america.pdf.

"We stand in solidarity with our brother bishops in Arizona, as they prepare to respond to the implementation of this provision and its potential human consequences," Archbishop Gomez said.

Opponents of the law have expressed concern that the decision would lead to the racial profiling of immigrants and the violation of civil rights laws.

"The Court’s decision to strike down the other provisions of the Arizona law reaffirms the strong role of the federal government in regulating immigration," said Archbishop Gomez.

Archbishop Gomez urged state governments not to rush to pass laws similar to SB 1070 and called upon Congress to assume its responsibility and enact comprehensive immigration reform. He vowed that the Catholic Church in the United States would continue to fight for humane and just reform of the nation’s immigration system.

"The U.S. Catholic bishops across the nation will urge their state governments to not pursue laws such as in Arizona, but rather to pursue humane reform on the federal level," Archbishop Gomez said. "Humane enforcement of our nation’s laws are part of any solution, but enforcement by itself, unjustly administered, only leads to abuses and family breakdown."

"The Church will continue to stand by immigrants and their families and seek justice on their behalf," stated Archbishop Gomez.

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, expressed concern regarding the one part of the 5-3 decision that narrowly upheld a provision that permits state law enforcement personnel to determine the immigration status of any person stopped, detained, or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is not lawfully in the United States, and to verify the immigration status of any person arrested before releasing that person....
...."While we are concerned with the Court’s decision to lift the injunction on section 2(B) of the law, we are encouraged that the Court did not rule it constitutional," Archbishop Gomez said. "As we articulated in our amicus brief, the implementation of this provision could lead to the separation of families and undermine the Church’s ability to minister to the immigrant population....We stand in solidarity with our brother bishops in Arizona, as they prepare to respond to the implementation of this provision and its potential human consequences," Archbishop Gomez said....
....Archbishop Gomez urged state governments not to rush to pass laws similar to SB 1070 and called upon Congress to assume its responsibility and enact comprehensive immigration reform. He vowed that the Catholic Church in the United States would continue to fight for humane and just reform of the nation’s immigration system.

"The U.S. Catholic bishops across the nation will urge their state governments to not pursue laws such as in Arizona, but rather to pursue humane reform on the federal level," Archbishop Gomez said. "Humane enforcement of our nation’s laws are part of any solution, but enforcement by itself, unjustly administered, only leads to abuses and family breakdown."

A copy of the brief can be found at http://www.usccb.org/ogc/amicus-briefs/upload/state-of-arizona-v-united-states-of-america.pdf.

Not everyone is aware that Archbishop Gomez became a U. S. citizen the RIGHT way, by studying, taking the test and reciting the oath of allegiance to the United States of America.

Videos available at The Sacred Place

2. Archbishop José Goméz (San Antonio)

Helpful sources:
--Archbishop Goméz's page at the Diocese of San Antonio's website.
--Catholic-Hierarchy.org
--Wikipedia
Archbishop Goméz was born in Mexico. He is one of five children--the only boy. He earned a degree in business and philosophy in 1975 at the National University in Mexico. He went on to the University of Navarre in Rome and graduated in 1978 with a degree in Theology. That same year he was ordained as a priest in the Prelature of Opus Dei. He eventually earned a doctorate in Theology in Spain at the University of Navarre.

For twelve years (1987-1999) he served as a priest at a parish in San Antonio. During these years Archbishop Goméz emerged as a highly regarded national leader among Hispanic priests in the US. He has served as regional representative, president and executive director of the Association of Hispanic Priests.

After serving as a priest in San Antonio, Archbishop Goméz worked in the Diocese of Denver. He was made an auxiliary bishop of Archbishop Chaput in 2001. There he helped to establish Denver’s Centro San Juan Diego for Family and Pastoral Care, which provides care to immigrants in the community as well as formation for lay leaders. While in Denver he also served as Rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception as well as Moderator of the Curia and Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Denver.

In 2004, the then Bishop Goméz was appointed head of the archdiocese of San Antonio. In fact, his ties to the archdiocese long pre-date his earlier ministry there. His mother was apparently raised there and his maternal grandparents were married in the city.

Like Bishop Soto, Archbishop Goméz's work has been widely celebrated and he is recognized as one of the rising stars of the Hispanic hierarchy. In 2003 he was awarded the prestigious "El Buen Pastor" award. In 2005 he appeared on Time Magazine’s list of the 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States. The article about him stated:

. . . Gomez is a natural conciliator admired for uniting rich and poor and Anglo and Hispanic Catholics behind Denver's Centro Juan Diego, a hybrid Latino religious-instruction and social-services center hailed as a national model.

In 2007 he was also featured on CNN’s list of “Notable Hispanics” in a web special celebrating “Hispanic Heritage Month”.

He has also served on the board of directors of the National Catholic Council of Hispanic Ministry as well as on the steering committee for Encuentro 2000, which commemorated the Jubilee Year of 2000. The event took place in Los Angeles and was sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Archbishop Goméz has also been very much involved in priestly formation and in building community among priests. He has written a book on the spiritual formation of priests, entitled, Men of Brave Heart: The Virtue of Courage in the Priestly Life (Our Sunday Visitor, 2009). He was instrumental in the founding of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Mexico in 2000, a seminary which trains priests who serve in the United States. He has served on the United States Council of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) committees for priestly formation and priestly affairs. In fact, Archbishop Goméz serves on a number of distinguished committees. His own site lists the following:

• Chair: Ad Hoc Committee on the Spanish Language Bible for the Church in America (USCCB), 2003 ‐
• Chair: Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church (USCCB), 2008 ‐
• Member: Committee on Doctrine (USCCB), 2003‐
• Member: Committee on Catechesis (USCCB), 2005 ‐
• Member: Subcommittee on Hispanics and the Liturgy (USCCB), 2005 ‐
• Board Member: Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
• Board Member: Mexican American Cultural Center
• Board Member: ENDOW – Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women
• Board of Trustees: The Catholic University of America
• Board of Trustees: San Fernando Cathedral Historical Centre Foundation
• Director: The John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation
• Episcopal Moderator: National Association of Hispanic Priests
• Episcopal Moderator: National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana
• Spiritual Advisor: Catholic Life Insurance
• Founding Member: Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (C.A.L.L.)

Note that at the top of the list is his role as Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Spanish Language Bible for the Church in America. This is an especially important post. Archbishop Goméz is deeply committed to helping Spanish speaking Catholics read the Bible. In fact, he reads the Spanish reflections on the Sunday Readings produced the St. Paul Center each week. For more, go here. These are excellent.

This sort of thing is not unusual for the good prelate. Last year he also headed up the effort to bring a teaching segment to the local population on AM radio.

The Bishop made national headlines last year when he expressed disappointment over the fact that a Catholic college in his diocese, St. Mary's University invited Hilary Clinton to speak. Bishop Gomez insisted, "“Our Catholic institutions must promote the clear understanding of our deep moral convictions on an issue like abortion, an act that the Church calls ‘an unspeakable crime’ and a non-negotiable issue" (source). In addition, go here to see a TV news report, with excerpts from an interview with the bishop.

I might also mention that I personally met Archbishop Goméz last year at a conference I was invited to speak at in San Antonio (I have never met the other bishops I write about here). I was especially struck by his warmth. I thoroughly enjoyed a homily he gave at the conference as well as his keynote address at the Saturday night dinner. He's a great bishop and his flock loves him.

Here is a link to a video of the Archbishop (which I cannot embed here) speaking about the Sacraments as something more than merely a cultural expression. In addition, take a look at this video in which he speaks about immigration--though once again I must add that the video does not fully explain the Archbishop's views (i.e., he believes that illegal immigrants should face penalties, though he urges that since deporation breaks up families, those who break immigration laws should be punished in some other way).

I also like this short little clip of the beginning of a talk he gave to a Catholic women's conference:

The talk apparently went well--it led this woman to want to do Bible study:

Finally, there is this video he did on the special offering for the Church in Latin America as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America:

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