Posted on 05/17/2007 8:02:13 PM PDT by pgyanke
Ping... for your review and comment.
I agree with you. If the immigration laws of this country were draconian and/or unreasonable, then I would have much more sympathy with the position that some of these bishops have taken.
I will say, however, that not all priests share the so-called “Social Justice” view on immigration. What bothers me is when certain church officials actually endorse the violation of just/reasonable laws regarding immigration. There is a short-sightedness here; and they do not seem to be aware of the fact that they are encouraging truly criminal behavior.
Great email. Thanks for posting.
Just to let you know, I sent of copy of your letter to the USCCB and signed my name to it as well. Thanks for posting.
I’m flattered and humbled. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
To everyone else who may post tonight: I’m going to bed. I’ll reply tomorrow. Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your e mail. You speak for a lot of us.
Calling an illegal alien an immigrant is like calling a shoplifter a customer.
“Calling an illegal alien an immigrant is like calling a shoplifter a customer.”
Great line.
ANytime you see the words Social Justice, you know it’s lib speak for some horrendous liberal social program. In the most recent Bishop’s appeal for $$, I told them no dice. Not until they pull their heads out of their butts and respect America’s laws. I give to my Parish and to selected charities only.
Bookmark.
Matthew 25:31-46
31 And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty. 32 And all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. 34 Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:
36 Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. 37 Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? 39 Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? 40 And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.
41 Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. 44 Then they also shall answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee? 45 Then he shall answer them, saying: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.
46 And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.
In the end, how they got here is of lesser gravity than what you and I decide to do to these people. Are we going to cry out for justice or mercy? Because, frankly, your sins and mine were enough to crucify the Lord, and we'll be begging for the mercy that neither you nor I deserve when the time comes for us to make account of our lives. The good news is, Jesus will show us that mercy. Bad news is, if we don't demonstrate it to His other children (and that especially includes the poor), we're totally screwed. I have no doubt in my mind that if Jesus (whose own family fled to a foreign country when He was a baby), were here in the flesh, He would call for mercy. And in fact, He is here and speaking through the bishops, who are only echoing what the Church has taught about loving thy neighbor for the past 2000 years. Shattering families and punishing innocent children is not part of our creed.
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.
I understand this is very emotional, but if Jesus' teachings are any indication, the greater moral expectations lie on us, as Catholics, to demonstrate His mercy.
Matthew 18:23-35
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. 29 And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
31 Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord called him; and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: 33 Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee? 34 And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. 35 So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.
I think you both have some good points. On the one hand, it is our duty as Christians to minister to those in need, including lawbreakers.
On the other hand, it is not doing good to our neighbor to encourage him to continue to do wrong.
I’m surprised that our Bishops don’t see that they are supporting the exploitation of Mexicans in the United States, particularly women and children. People as anti-business as many of the Bishops are (no further discussion on that) are nonetheless favoring the provision of peon labor to big business, at the expense of both American workers and American taxpayers. This makes no sense.
We are to love and minister to one another as if we were ministering to ourselves (from the Bible and the Catechism). That is why I say that the Church should shelter them, feed them, educate them and then encourage them to go back to strengthen their own country and the Church in Mexico.
What I didn't write (because it was late and I was angry) was that Mexico's immigration laws and enforcement are far harsher than ours--yet nary a peep from the Church. Are we to have the only borders in the world not worthy of defense?
Living within 20 miles of the border between the US and Mexico can make a significant difference in how a person will look at this whole situation.
It can be seen from many perspectives and show some real-time valid concerns for all involved.
I extend the invitation to you to come to where I live and we can talk about it some more.
Perhaps it’s the fact that you’re angry that makes the letter seem more hostile than the words truly are.
Wow, this one should hit home (if they really care about scripture).
If they got here illegally, send them home. Simple as that.
In no way am I suggesting that these people are not guilty of transgressing our law. By no means. They have certainly broken the law by circumventing the naturalization process. I'm saying that, by turning around and displacing twelve million people - many with children who are natural citizens of this country - we are breaking a much higher law that commands us to be compassionate to the poor, merciful to the stranger in our midst, and mindful that every person is imbued with the kind of dignity that can only come from God, and thus, should never be taken away.
If anyone on this site thinks I haven't agonized over my outrage at the blatant skirting of our laws versus the command of Christ to love others as the Father has loved me, they would be greatly mistaken. I don't believe in liberation theology. I don't believe this can be categorized as a question of liberation theology. This is about millions of innocent children who either stand to be separated from their families, or illegally compelled to accept deportation. This is about human decency. We live in, BY FAR (excuse the caps), the most blessed and smiled upon nation in the history of the world. God has blessed us with an abundance that is unprecedented. Are we really going to say "f' you" to all of these people now that we've absorbed them into our society? Are we really going to say to God, be merciful to us while we're deporting innocent children back to that squalorus, corrupt nation?
We shouldn't be worried about what will befall our great nation by letting these people stay. If God is truly Lord of the universe, we will be blessed a hundredfold for our compassion. Anyone who thinks otherswise doesn't understand God's mercy.
As for the borders, I'm not against using whatever measures are necessary to keep people from coming in. Walls, soldiers, whatever it takes. That's our right.
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