Posted on 07/19/2017 11:17:32 AM PDT by ebb tide
A U.S. bishop on the border of Mexico hopes his new pastoral letter on migration will turn the hearts of Catholics to encounter their migrant brothers and sisters in a concrete way.
“It is first and foremost a reflection on the signs of the times by the light of faith,” Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso told CNA of his new pastoral letter on migration.
The letter is not meant to be “simply abstract,” he said, but “has to come down to the daily life and daily realities.”
Bishop Seitz’s letter on migration, “Sorrow and Mourning Flee Away,” was released on Tuesday.
He explained to CNA that the letter was prompted by reflection on the current situation for migrants in the U.S. At present in the country, there is a “great deal of fear in the midst of our migrant community,” he said.
“We had all hoped that maybe there would be a different tone when a new president came into office, and we really didn’t see much of a different tone” on immigration, he said.
It was by reflecting on this problem that his idea of a pastoral letter was born. The bishop hopes to teach Catholics and prod them to think about what Jesus said of the poor and the migrant.
“By sharing these reflections with people of faith, just by inviting them to step out of their preconceptions and the tendency that we have in this country to deal only with the level of politics,” the bishop hopes to encourage readers to “reflect from a standpoint of faith on what this might mean.”
“What does Jesus have to say about the poor, about the marginalized, about what they can actually teach us and how they are the really important ones in the Kingdom of God?” he reflected.
Bishop Seitz began his letter by stating some of the great challenges facing migrant communities in the U.S., and how the Church should respond to them.
“Since Jesus announced Good News to the poor, our Church has been called to stand with the suffering,” he wrote, saying that “migrants are living through a dark night of fear and uncertainty.”
“Recently we have witnessed indefensible, hateful words towards our neighbors in Mexico, the demonization of migrants, even of those children known as Dreamers, and destructive language about our border,” he said.
He also pointed to other problems – the breaking up of families by deportations, an increase in deportations of those without criminal records, and the detention of asylum seekers.
The journey north to the U.S. through Mexico is a dangerous one, Bishop Seitz said, with harsh desert conditions, drug trafficking, and smugglers all posing a danger to migrants. Yet once they reach the border, “increased militarization and more walls will only make this journey even more dangerous.”
“As God’s people here on the border, we are called to transform this desert, making refreshing pools of the burning sands of injustice and quenching the thirst of the oppressed,” he wrote.
The Diocese of El Paso has a long and storied Catholic history, he said, outdating the British colonies. Spanish migrants in the area held a Mass of Thanksgiving there in 1598, along with a feast with the local Manso indigenous tribe.
“Life in the midst of an immigrant community is really much more pronounced,” Bishop Seitz told CNA, and has a “richness” to it “that I really couldn’t say I anticipated.”
The Catholic culture continues today, he wrote in the letter. “With our brothers and sisters across the bridge, we speak the same language. We wake up each morning to the same beautiful mountains, we dance to the rhythm of mariachis, and we share burritos and champurrado. With San Juan Diego, we stand together under the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
And Catholic ideals of hospitality and “encuentro,” or encounter, are practiced today in the services provided by the Diocese of El Paso to migrants coming to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The Pope talks about accompanying the migrant,” the bishop told CNA, and he “talks about recognizing their face” and asks that people “see them as a fellow human being, and even more than that, as a brother and sister.”
“It’s just amazing, when that is allowed to happen, how the perspectives and the attitudes of people change,” he said. This theme of encounter is the focus of a significant part of the bishop’s letter.
Yet Catholics also must work to meet the needs of migrants in a concrete manner at the parish level, he said. This includes denouncing the injustices of today like “family separation,” “for-profit immigrant detention,” and “the disparagement of our Muslim brothers and sisters.”
And Catholics must also “address the plague of substance abuse afflicting our people” which is connected to “the drug trafficking destabilizing Mexico and Central America, driving migration to our border.”
Bishop Seitz emphasized the role of Catholic education in improving the lives of immigrants in the U.S., and promised to create a fund for tuition assistance at diocesan schools for children from migrant families.
He also recognized members of law enforcement for their “dedication and bravery in serving our community and protecting our country.” He exhorted them to uphold human dignity in their line of work and to uphold “the noble ideals in the Constitution of equal treatment under the law and due process.”
However, the bishop instructed parishes and schools to respectfully decline immigration officers access to churches in cases where there is no “imminent danger,” unless they have a warrant signed by a judge.
This “bishop” needs to be investigated. I’m sure there’s a better than 50/50 chance that he is a child molester and/or homosexual. In the meantime he should pack up and head for Mexico where his amigos are.
This “bishop” can wipe his butt with his “pastoral letter.”
When large numbers of foreigners move into your country without permission bringing their language, culture and customs taking over chunks of your country, it’s not immigration, it’s colonization.
Americans ‘encounter immigrants’ every day when family members are killed or injured by Mexican drunk drivers or victimized by Central American gangs.
Hey Bishop- wake up!
Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants
http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_crime_summary.html
In recent Testimony of District Attorney John M. Morganelli before the House Subcommittee on immigration, Border, Security and Claims he stated:
“Unfortunately, the majority of illegal aliens who are here are engaged in criminal activity. Identity theft, use of fraudulent social security numbers and green cards, tax evasion, driving without licenses represent some of the crimes that are engaged in by the majority of illegal aliens on a daily basis merely to maintain and hide their illegal status.
In addition, violent crime and drug distribution and possession is also prevalent among illegal aliens. Over 25% of today’s federal prison population are illegal aliens. In some areas of the country, 12% of felonies, 25% of burglaries and 34% of thefts are committed by illegal aliens.”
•In Los Angeles, 95% of some 1,500 outstanding warrants for homicides are for illegal aliens. About 67% of the 17,000 outstanding fugitive felony warrants are for illegal aliens.
•There are currently over 400,000 unaccounted for illegal alien criminals with outstanding deportation orders. At least one fourth of these are hard core criminals.
•80,000 to 100,000 illegal aliens who have been convicted of serious crimes are walking the streets. Based on studies they will commit an average of 13 serious crimes per perpetrator.
•Illegal aliens are involved in criminal activities at a rate that is 2-5 times their representative proportion of the population.
•In 1980, our Federal and state facilities held fewer than 9,000 criminal aliens but at the end of 2003, approximately 267,000 illegal aliens were incarcerated in U.S. correctional facilities at a cost of about $6.8 billion per year.
•At least 4.5 million pounds of cocaine with a street value of at least $72 billion is smuggled across the southern border every year. ..
•56% of illegal aliens charged with a reentry offense had previously been convicted on at least 5 prior occasions.
•Illegal aliens charged with unlawful reentry had the most extensive criminal histories. 90% had been previously arrested. Of those with a prior arrest, 50% had been arrested for violent or drug-related felonies.
•Illegal aliens commit between 700,000 to 1,289,000 or more crimes per year.
•Illegal aliens commit at least 2,158 murders each year – a number that represents three times greater participation than their proportion of the population.
•Illegal alien sexual predators commit an estimated 130,909 sexual crimes each year.
•There may be as many as 240,000 illegal alien sex offenders circulating throughout America. Based on studies, they will commit an average of 8 sex crimes per perpetrator before being caught.
•Nearly 63% of illegal alien sex offenders had been deported on another offense prior to committing the sex crime.
•Only 2% of the illegal alien sex offenders in one study had no history of criminal behavior, beyond crossing the border illegally.
•In Operation Predator, ICE arrested and deported 6,085 illegal alien pedophiles. Some studies suggest each pedophile molests average of 148 children. If so, that could be as many as 900,580 victims.
•Nobody knows how big the Sex Slave problem is but it is enormous.
•The very brutal MS-13 gang has over 15,000 members and associates in at least 115 different cliques in 33 states.
•The overall financial impact of illegal alien crimes is estimated at between $14.4 and $81 billion or more per year. Factor in the crime as a result of the cocaine and other drugs being smuggled in and the number may reach $150 billion per year.
Where does Rubio come off berating Trump for citing FACTS?
[[Congressman Steve King (R-IA) estimates that illegal alien drunk drivers kill 13 Americans every day — that’s a death toll of 4,745 per year.[4]
The 23 percent criminal traffic offenders figure is only part of the overall picture. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, another 23 percent, more than 43,000 illegal aliens, were convicted of drug offenses. The violent crime category of assault, robbery, sexual assault, and family offenses comes to 12 percent. The non-violent crime grouping of larceny, fraud, and burglary totaled seven percent, and on the list goes — equaling 100 percent of illegal aliens who have been through the criminal justice system and inflicted thousands to millions in cost per alien on the system, for issues having nothing to do with their illegal entry into the country]]
http://www.constitutionparty.com/illegal-alien-crime-and-violence-by-the-numbers-were-all-victims/
I strongly support immigrants. All they need is to have legal papers, to obey the law, and to stay off welfare, and I welcome them with open arms. As for illegal invaders and other criminals, I have no sympathy for them. Deport the parasites and predators, and permanently bar them from returning.
I wonder if this idiot has ever considered that citizens being unable to avoid encountering the damned illegals is a big part of the problem.
Will do. The MINUTE the Pope throws open the heavy iron gates on the wall surrounding HIS VATICAN “SAFE SPACE” bubble!!
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