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[Catholic] Bishops Decry Failure of Immigration Reform
PR Newswire & US Conference of Catholic Bishops ^ | 6.29.07

Posted on 06/30/2007 8:27:21 AM PDT by hardback

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. bishops decried failure of immigration reform and its implicit exploitation of millions of people.

The position was voiced by Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino, California, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration.

"As a nation, we cannot continue to employ an immigration system that leads to the exploitation of millions of our fellow human beings," bishop Barnes said.

"We cannot accept the toil of a large underclass which does not have full rights in our society. This strikes at the very character of our nation and lessens us as a people."

Bishop Barnes called on "Congress not to abandon this issue and to return to it as soon as possible." "The status quo is morally unacceptable and should not be allowed to stand," he said. "The U.S. bishops shall continue to point out the moral deficiencies in the immigration system and work toward justice until it is achieved."

The June 29 statement follows. On behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), I am deeply troubled that fair and comprehensive immigration reform legislation has failed to move forward in the U.S. Senate.

I applaud those U.S. Senators of both parties who showed courage in working for comprehensive reform legislation and encourage them to continue their efforts to fix our broken immigration system.

As a nation, we cannot continue to employ an immigration system that leads to the exploitation of millions of our fellow human beings. We cannot accept the toil of a large underclass which does not have full rights in our society. This strikes at the very character of our nation and lessens us as a people.

I urge our elected officials in Congress not to abandon this issue and to return to it as soon as possible. The status quo is morally unacceptable and should not be allowed to stand. The U.S. bishops shall continue to point out the moral deficiencies in the immigration system and work toward justice until it is achieved.

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops


TOPICS: Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aliens; collaborators; congress; deathofthegop; illegalimmigration; quislings; sellouts; usccb; vampirebill
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To: hardback
They are here because there are people hear willing to hire them, often by people who exploit them and the American people by not for paying taxes and health that would be paid to a citizen. Because American company owners don’t pay the American people do. They mainly coming from contries where every law has price to get around and bribes are a way of life. Even with the risk of being deported and being cheated by employers life is better here than where they came from. Their home country taught them not to respect rule of law by putting a price on everything.

If the American people really wanted to solve this problem would not deal with companies the knowingly hire illegals. This would take an effort on are part, more than many people yelling for a fence are willing to do. It would cost us both money and time. One of the few jobs really assigned to the Federal Government by the Constitution is to protect the boarder. Yes, the goverment needs to do their job, but if we really belive in a limited federal goverment WE need to do our part of the job too.

41 posted on 06/30/2007 9:51:51 AM PDT by ThomasThomas
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To: Clemenza

Thanks for that info! Here in Oklahoma the Mormon Church in my area is doing an outreach into the illegal community which I thought was odd.

Most of the Catholics here that I know do not support the illegals, but then they go to the new Church across town not the older church that has a Mass in Spanish.


42 posted on 06/30/2007 10:01:49 AM PDT by PhiKapMom ( Inhofe for Senate 08 -- Broken Glass Republican -- vote out the RATs in 2008)
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To: hardback; All

Well .. they should be on their knees begging God to have mercy on them for supporting people who commit crimes against America.


43 posted on 06/30/2007 10:04:07 AM PDT by CyberAnt (What is it about "ILLEGAL" that people don't understand ..??)
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To: hardback
Have we heard from the Catholic Bishops who applaud the failure of the amnesty bill?

Have we heard from the Catholic Bishops who are for rule of law and against an illegal invasion and lawlessness?

44 posted on 06/30/2007 10:04:53 AM PDT by Old Landmarks (No fear of man, none!)
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To: hardback
Revolution Theology. Hey Bishops, don’t hear about you guys protesting commies or Mexicans. Go mind your own business. Better yet, go protest the corruption and socialism in Mexico that destroys peoples lives and drives them to come to America for their future instead of running off to say Castro’s Cuba. I won’t hold my breath.
45 posted on 06/30/2007 10:05:57 AM PDT by Nuc1 (NUC1 Sub pusher SSN 668 (Liberals Aren't Patriots))
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To: Mogollon

The USCCB, known in some Catholic circles as the United States Country Club of Bishops, might indeed do better to decry the failure of the Mexican government to take care of its own people and stop misleading American Catholics. The bishops are not even in line with the Catechism. It states that honoring one’s country and it’s laws must be adhered to as falling under the 4th Commandment.


46 posted on 06/30/2007 10:06:34 AM PDT by rljv
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To: hardback

It was immigration Deform that failed. Good.


47 posted on 06/30/2007 10:09:49 AM PDT by dr huer
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To: hardback

HUH?


48 posted on 06/30/2007 10:11:08 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: hardback; All
"As a nation, we cannot continue to employ an immigration system that leads to the exploitation of millions of our fellow human beings," bishop Barnes said."

The willingness of the illegal worker to invade the country and break the law in order to falsely obtain legal work here is what placed them in a situation that made their "exploitation" possible. Not the American people. They were not dragged across the border kicking and screaming and demanding to be allowed to go home. In fact, 60% had jobs back home.

"We cannot accept the toil of a large underclass which does not have full rights in our society. This strikes at the very character of our nation and lessens us as a people."

We don't accept it. It's illegal and the illegal worker and the employer who abets their illegal toil need to be held responsible for it. The illegal worker needs to go back and get in the legal immigration line, and the employer who knew they were illegal needs to go to jail. Those who created this "system", the illegal worker and the unscrupulous employer, need to be held to account; morally and legally.

"The status quo is morally unacceptable and should not be allowed to stand," he said. "The U.S. bishops shall continue to point out the moral deficiencies in the immigration system and work toward justice until it is achieved."

The status quo - that America's southern border is treated with disdain - is morally unacceptable. And we will continue to hold the Catholic Bishops accountable for their moral hypocrisy in not owning up to and advocating against the cause of most of the illegal immigration - the moral, economic and political corruption of the political class of Mexico, which prefers to export their economic problems instead of solving them. Where are the American Catholic-Bishop hypocrites on this? They are no where to be found.

I urge all American Catholics of good conscience to hold the American Catholic Bishops to account, privately and publicly, for their abject moral hypocrisy on so-called "immigration"; which is not immigration, because if it were then the people the Bishops were speaking of would be here legally and there would be no issue.

49 posted on 06/30/2007 10:21:59 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: hardback
"The U.S. bishops shall continue to point out the moral deficiencies in the immigration system and work toward justice until it is achieved."

Interesting the things these "bishops" choose to immediately condemn and point our "moral deficiencies," isn't it.

Condemn themselves for tolerating sexual perversion and molesting of Catholic boys, nah, need to "pray for sinners" and hide under the rug; condemn Americans for not desiring millions of illegals to use all of our natural resources and billions of our tax dollars, NOW THAT'S REAL MORAL DEFICIENCY!

50 posted on 06/30/2007 10:39:00 AM PDT by zerosix (Native Sunflower)
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To: hardback
"As a nation, we cannot continue to employ an immigration system that leads to the exploitation of millions of our fellow human beings," bishop Barnes said.

"We cannot accept the toil of a large underclass which does not have full rights in our society. This strikes at the very character of our nation and lessens us as a people."


I totally agree. We need to secure our borders to stop them from entering and we need to encourage those who are here to return home. That was what you wanted, wasn't it?
51 posted on 06/30/2007 11:14:25 AM PDT by goldfinch
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To: tflabo
I'll give you and some of the Bishops a clue:

The overwhelming majority of illegal aliens don't go to Mass and those that do rarely contribute to the collection.

52 posted on 06/30/2007 11:21:59 AM PDT by A.A. Cunningham
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To: Mogollon
Wonder why the Catholic Bishops never ‘decry’ the failure of the mexican oligarchs to provide jobs for their own poor?

Must be something in the AmChurch bylaws that says only anti-American idiots can become bishops.

53 posted on 06/30/2007 11:26:17 AM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: John Leland 1789
That’s okay, all Bible-believing patriotic Baptist preachers are very happy about the failure of that bill.

Based on what they've said, I seriously doubt that the alleged happiness you describe is absolute.

Baptists announce national immigration effort

Texas Baptists to launch immigration services

Texas Baptist agree to help migrants — legal and illegal

Southern Baptist leader calls for immigration reform

54 posted on 06/30/2007 11:45:41 AM PDT by A.A. Cunningham
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To: So Circumstanced
Bishop Barnes is a standard bearer for the church

a weakly standard bearer?????

55 posted on 06/30/2007 11:51:20 AM PDT by Mad Dawg (Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.)
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To: A Strict Constructionist
Got any facts? Those of us who one way and another have worked with migrant workers, noticed mostly that they don't come to church and they sure don't give money.

So you are contending that the Bishops think they do. And I'm asking if you have any basis for that contention.

56 posted on 06/30/2007 11:56:53 AM PDT by Mad Dawg (Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.)
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To: Regulator
I don't underwtand whatyou're saying.

I know a lot of protestant clergy who charge for special services, like say marriages and funerals. I don't think it's at all right to expect a fee for Baptisms, but fees for what you might call "individual services" are not a phenomenon confined to Catholics. I think it's far more a Mexican thing.

If you read my post to which you replied you will have noticed that I was writing about Catholics, including clergy, providing services to migrant workers (it wasn't a situation where we were concerned with who was legal and who wasn't) at no charge. So are you saying that we were NOT representative of Catholicism, that we were unusually charitable -- for Catholics that is?

57 posted on 06/30/2007 12:04:03 PM PDT by Mad Dawg (Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.)
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To: John Leland 1789
There should be no more inordinate fear of the clergy.

Whom do you know under the age of 75 who's afraid of contradicting the clergy?

58 posted on 06/30/2007 12:10:03 PM PDT by Mad Dawg (Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.)
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To: EverOnward

The Bishops are politically and spiritually wrong. But, that is not the importance of this stance. The old FDR coalition which had Roman Catholics in its hip pocket was broken by Reagan. This is an attempt to get it back in the Dem pocket once again. Not only Hispanic Catholics but those MidWest and Eastern Catholics who voted Pub for a few times. This is a ‘guilt’ ploy and my guess is, it will work. I see lots of Catholics deserting the Pubs in ‘08 and that will keep the Congress safe for Dems. The Pubs will not try to counter this because as The Stupid Party, they will just give up. They should not. They could gain some Catholic votes and ethnic votes but they won’t.


59 posted on 06/30/2007 12:26:23 PM PDT by phillyfanatic ( w)
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To: hardback

I was at the Vatican in April.
I wish our borders had one tenth the security the Vatican has.


60 posted on 06/30/2007 12:27:39 PM PDT by oldbill
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