Posted on 05/17/2007 8:02:13 PM PDT by pgyanke
To Whom it Concerns,
Note: We are devout Roman Catholic laypeople who are sorely disappointed at our Church representatives in America...
You left off a word in your title for your million prayers... that word is "illegal".
The United States is a nation of immigrants. Everyone acknowledges that. However, for some reason, you and many who share your views seek to make those who flout our just laws citizens of a country they had no legal claim to enter. We have a door in this country through which visitors and would-be family members are welcome. Jesus talked about using doors in John 10:1 when He said, "Amen, amen I say to you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber." -- from Douay-Rheims Bible.
Your implacable defense of lawlessness is unconscionable. I was raised by my clergy to respect the just laws of this land. Can anyone possibly say that legal immigration laws and processes are unjust laws? Of course not!
You do the Church a great disservice in this country and hemisphere. Why should anyone respect you? Why should an American patriot join and defend a church which is actively participating in the reordering of our society? I know many Protestants who express admiration for our theology but abhorrence for some of our social stances--this one being primary.
I try not to simply gripe but to also offer a solution... What should you do? I would think you would consider the condition of the country of Mexico in your deliberations. The largest contribution to the Mexican economy is remunerations sent back from illegals in this country. These illegals, by the way, in large numbers congregate separately, speak their native tongue and actively seek unification with the corrupt country they left behind. My own Church holds separate Sacraments for Mexicans in their native tongue rather than seeking to help them assimilate. Surely you know that any country which does not generate new citizens is doomed. How so for a country which allows an invasion of those who have no desire to live as one with the native population? The Church should be sheltering those who need shelter, teaching those who are ignorant, feeding those who are hungry and encouraging those who are able to return to their own lands.
Why do you do this? Do you think you are filling your pews, enriching your coffers? So what if you are... what becomes of the Church in Mexico while your diocese prospers? What about the American devout that you are driving away by your anti-American behavior? To whom do they go? Why can Catholic politicians choose among you to find those who will publicly provide the Sacraments to bolster their Christian credentials?
By what right do you flout the laws of this country? I know, the Congress and President today agreed on a comprehensive immigration package so it will likely become the law of the land. They do not do so with the blessing of a majority of the people who were meant to be the masters of their own government. You are encouraging this lawlessness among the political bodies as well.
I pray to our Lord fervently that you will repent of this evil--yes, evil--that you are doing to this country and return to the teachings of our Church which never encouraged such behavior. May God bless you and lead you in the paths of truth and communion with the Holy See.
I’m not against doing whatever it takes to secure the borders and protect our citizens that have been burdened with this massive migration. That can and should be the priority. My concern is for respecting the human dignity of those who are, for better or for worse, already here. If we violate that, regardless of how they got here, we will be called to account as individuals and as a nation.
I can’t do much better than the words that came directly from Jesus. Whether we like it or not, there is a hierarchy of sin, and the Church, from the very beginning, has given special concern to the poor. Heck, one of the sins that cries out to heaven for vengeance is exploitation of the poor.
If someone invades my home by punching through my living room window, and in the process slices through an artery, I can’t just stand there and watch him bleed to death because he violated my property.
If a pregnant illegal alien enters an emergency room to give birth, should she be turned away? First reaction might be “yes, they’re not entitled to healthcare”. But then, our higher calling is to defend life. What do we do?
I know this is going to sound trite, but in the end, do we want to be the people in Pilate’s praetorium crying out, “we have no king but Caesar”?
However, regardless of the original intent of the amendment, it doesn't say "within", it says "subject to". This was to preclude the children of foreign diplomats, enemy forces, American Indians and those simply on holiday from gaining automatic citizenship of our country by happenstance of their location at birth.
This deliberate "misunderstanding" has given us the perversion we see now of pregnant illegals coming here close to their due date for the purpose of gaining their anchors. Now you, and others of the same reasoning, say they can't be deported because that would be tearing a family apart due to their dissimilar citizenship.
We are commanded to do unto others as we would have done unto us. Well...
1) I wouldn't illegally enter another country
2) I wouldn't break other laws of that country
3) I wouldn't break my own family apart regardless of our location and its desirability.
We do these families no great service in perpetuating the myth that they belong here simply by squatters' rights. The Church does them no favor in encouraging this. No, obviously, the favor done is when our government grants the next amnesty... they win. Doesn't make it moral, though.
But wait...there is more. It isn’t just the “anchor babies”—and the fact that taxpayers in a given state are liable by federal mandate to carry the burden of the medical care involved, nearly breaking the system. (all of which you have indicated happens by plan and not by chance).
There are other important things to consider. There are the “safe houses”-—houses used for the purpose of legitimate address, so that children actually living across the border can use that address to come daily across the border to get an eduation here at taxpayer expense. Or the houses are used as “legitimate” addresses for multiple residents who are here illegally.
There is the criminal element to consider as well. Not all illegal immigrants are law-abiding, truthful, trustworthy people. There are those who are also capable of plundering the neighborhoods or properties that are in close proximity of the border—especially the more rural or ranch-type areas. Cars are stolen and taken across the border to be “parted out” and sold. What once was considered an area of quiet beauty is now vulnerable to theft and misuse, with little or no protection or aid from any government source. Licenses are removed from one car and attached to another that is stolen so that it is very difficult to trace the theft of either.
At an even more sinister level, there are the 30+ tunnels that have been dug as underground conduits from Mexico to the US. These tunnels have been found to have steel-reinforced walls, capacity for air ciculation, -—and incredible amounts of stored drugs, ready for sale and dsitribution in the US. The drug trafficking and the crime connected with it is sobering and dangerous.
This is only a partial list of problems, and these considerations can’t be classified with those who come here to work in the fields, send money back—at an incredible 2 billion a year—to Mexico, never cause any trouble, never commit any crime, never seek to gain the privileges of free medical care, never steal or never drive drunk and illegally and so on.
The problem is very complex. Sanctuaries and safe houses and underground tunnels need to looked at for the realities that they are.
A guest-worker program—or by whatever name one can call it—is not the same as porous borders with no oversight.
My family recently helped an immigrant family that had come here legally, sponsored and then supported for 4 months rent and a meagre 4-month food allowance, after which they were on their own re; finding employment and self-support.
They were from Sudan, escapees from Muslim persecution of Christians there. They were processed through refugee camps and allowed into the US under sponsorship. We were able to help them for some time after their 4-month probation period was over. They did not come here illegally, they had to prove themselves in order to eventually get their green cards, and they now look to full US citizenship. They were required to do it the right way and in doing so, they learned to love this country and they are incredibly happy to have earned their citizenship.
These are differnces that can’t be swept under the rug.
As an individual family, (and in other cases, parishes), we have listened to the call for Christian charity and responsibility, but also recognize the difference between that and being without recourse in cases of unlawful and all-to-frequently criminal entry.
1) I wouldn't illegally enter another country
2) I wouldn't break other laws of that country
3) I wouldn't break my own family apart regardless of our location and its desirability.
That's fine. But you're looking at it from the wrong angle. Would you want to have your family and home upended and shipped off to a country you escaped from? Would you want to be separated from your naturalized chidren in the process? Would you want them to return with you to that squalor? If you answer is, "no, I would want to be shown mercy for my family", then you know what to do unto others.
Look, Jesus came unto the Israelites and said, "these Romans that are oppressing you and have invaded your land, you need to love them first. Even if they're your mortal enemies." And the Israelites said, "No, we need to make war on them and drive them out." And then Jesus says, "well, I wanted to protect you like a mother hen protects its chicks, but you have other ideas. Don't say I didn't warn you of the fruit of this animosity."
It's a hard saying, who can accept it? I don't think anyone of us is bold enough to say we would not have joined in with the other Israelis and said to Jesus - "what, LOVE the Romans? Give more to someone who's already taking from me? Yer out of your mind!" The cross was and still is the ultimate scandal to the world. It's the ultimate contradiction of human wisdom that God, by choice, took on the entire burden of sins that weren't His, suffered miserably, and died for our pitiable souls.
If we can't love these people in spite of our natural inclination to punish their transgressions, then we've missed the entire point of the Incarnation and the Gospel message He proclaimed.
ESCAPED FROM WHAT? I'm all for refugees and protecting those who would otherwise suffer persecution and death... but the vast majority of those we are discussing do not fall into these categories! They came here for the opportunities we've worked hard in this country to earn and many for the handouts we freely give away.
If you don't think I'm compassionate to the plight of families who came here expecting we would once again turn a blind eye, you haven't been reading my prior posts. And I won't rewrite what I've already written.
Besides, what makes Mexicans special compared to the rest of the world's downtrodden? There are at least 25 countries with poorer populations in the world... why don't we just absorb those populations too? Because it doesn't make sense that we are the world's nanny... regardless of location.
As we open our borders to the south, we are finding increases in diseases we had once conquered... tuberculosis is on the rise, bedbugs are returning, polio is making a comeback and so is smallpox. Are we not allowed to screen those who come for criminality and disease?
What of the hypocrisy of Mexico's own immigration policies? They police their borders well and harshly deal with those who illegally enter--all while lambasting us for wanting our government to do the same.
I sympathize and, yes, love the people themselves. However, rewarding lawbreaking that includes identity theft, fraud and other serious crimes that most have to commit to survive underground undermines our whole system of society. Why should anyone in this country respect any law if we won't even respect our own national sovereignty?
Finally, I'll give you a couple of taglines that say it well:
Illegal immigrants are the burglar, not the houseguest.
Illegal immigrants are the shoplifter, not the customer.
The Catholic Hierarchy are not alone in this crime.
They have company. The United Methodist Church, the Episcopalians, Lutherans, Quakers (Society of “Friends”
[Should read SUBVERSIVES], etc. are all in there with them.
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