Posted on 04/18/2006 3:45:55 PM PDT by HEMICRASHBOX
A new poll shows U.S. Catholics, like Americans at large, oppose granting amnesty to illegal aliens, despite their bishops' stance in favor of such a path to citizenship.
"Catholics appear to be slightly to the left of the American public at large on the issue of immigration," said Zogby spokesman Fritz Wenzel, adding they are not as liberal as the U.S. bishops, who have issued six pastoral letters on immigration in the past 20 years.
When asked "Do you support or oppose amnesty for undocumented workers who are already in the U.S.?" 34 percent of Catholics said they support it, 49 percent oppose it and 15 percent were unsure. Fifty-two percent of Americans overall oppose amnesty while 32 percent support it, according to a Zogby survey taken from March 31 to April 3.
"Catholics are slightly more in favor of granting amnesty to undocumented workers already working in America," Mr. Wenzel said. "They are slightly less concerned that increased rights for those workers could lead to split allegiances among those workers between America and Mexico, and they trust Democrats slightly more than Republicans to better handle the immigration issue."
But despite Catholics' generally softer stance on immigration, their bishops go much further by supporting an "earned legalization" program for illegals. Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has said he'd go to jail rather than follow a proposed law that he said would require priests to demand legal documentation before assisting immigrants, and Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick gave the opening speech at a recent massive immigration rally on the Mall.
(Excerpt) Read more at wpherald.com ...
Were they "party hacks" when they were refusing to grant pro-choice politicians Holy Communion?
The fact is that Catholic teaching does not infallibly support their perspective. The issue of illegal immigration falls into the category of justice which has as its overriding concern the common good. The common good is not well served where contempt of the law is urged.
Which is why I make the argument that the "common good" would mandate legalizing those already here.
A nation has both a duty and responsibility under the natural law to protect its citizens while being generous in admitting persons from outside its borders needing refuge. The US has never faltered on that last account and it doesn't intend to do so now.
Never? We have, in the past, shut down all immigration - and several on these threads want to do that again.
The prospective laws are merely intended to try to stem the flow of illegals to a manageable level. Those laws are reasonable while the reaction of many of the bishops is wholly unreasonable and fostered more by politics than religion.
If said laws would have authorized the arrest of Priests for simply saying Mass and offering Holy Communion to illegal aliens, I fail to see how opposition to that is fostered more by politics than religion.
As such they should be held accountable under the law and arrested for egregious violations.
I completely agree that Priests will go to jail over their "violations" on Man's law on this point - not sure you want that PR crisis on your watch though ; )
Care to explain your stance?
Who authorized Bishop Barnes to spend this money for the home?
Does Bishop Barnes have a Board of Directors in his diocese to approve this purchase?
Here's one of your questions, Rick.
I don't know the answers to your question (although $650,000 doesn't buy as much home as you would think anymore in California). I take it you skipped right over the part where the good Bishop had been living in a tiny home, among the working poor, for all those years?
Your concern about the living arrangements of the Catholic hierarchy is interesting, but ultimately irrelevant to anything, in the long run.
How does Bishop Barnes reach out to the people?
Does he telecommute?
Who are the people that Bishop Barnes reaches out to?
Do you have any information on this unique kind of ministry?
Well we agree on one thing, until 2001 when President Bush began his "Guest Worker" Amnesty encouragement, that house might have been to small to accommodate 8 people in one room, now it can hold 20, zoning laws be darned!
A little-mentioned silver lining to all that illegal immigration was the economic growth from the booming housing market - you really want the prices to drop dramatically in California?
Silver Lining? For whom and for how long? I prefer to look a little longer down the road than this month's income and assets. The country is being destroyed and Balkanized and you are looking for your 30 pieces of silver...
Well, for the 2/3 of Americans who own their home, for starters. I doubt the bottom falling out of the housing market would do anyone but speculators any good.
Only 57% of Californians own their own home, second worst state in the nation. Is that part of your silver lining of inflated home prices? There is one good thing, one could sell their home in Mexifornia and move to an illegal alien non-friendly state like Georgia and probably improve their standards of living without having to learn Spanish. Where do you live?
California.
California
Um that's a big state, whereabouts?
Orange County - you?
San Diego County, entryway to the USA for millions of lawbreakers. Many of whom end up in Orange County.
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