I know his answer won't make everyone on here happy, but it's certainly a starting point for a discussion.
Catholic ping!
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I thought the Pope's comment was absolutely as beautiful as it is true as it is refreshing as it is unexpected.
Of course. Wouldn't the solution be that all nations were just? And isn't that a picture of "Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven?"
Another reason I love being Catholic is...reason.
Bingo!
As long as Mexico is a corrupt, violent hell-hole, people will risk their lives and freedom to get out.
Disincentives to illegally immigrate will help reduce the numbers (and some people will self-deport), but at some balancing point the risks of staying in Mexico will outweigh the risks of illegally immigrating. So there will always be a certain number of illegal immigrants, so long as there is such a strong incentive to get out of Mexico.
Listen to this man AMCHURCH™.
HE GETS IT!!!
I have no objection to his comments. For one thing, he makes a point of giving the U.S. credit for being a welcoming nation. This is better than many of the immigrants themselves will give us credit for.
Welcome to America, Holy Father!
So, he’s saying Mexico should clean up its own act and start building a country where more people have a say than the 1% who control 95% of the wealth?
A Mexico where they take some of those ever-increasing pertrol dollars they’re earning and actually invest it in their country instead of stealing it, using it for bribes, payoffs and other shenanigans?
A Mexico that respects the rule of law and agrees that all people are equal under it?
A Mexico that isn’t corrupt, envious of its Northern neighbor, and happy to roll up its sleeves and get busy in its own house instead of exporting problems elsewhere?
Thank you Pope Benedict!
Why? I just wrote a check to the IRS, and frankly, I don't feel an obligation to help an oil-wealthy country get it together so that a majority of their population isn't trying to break our laws to get here, costing me MORE in tax dollars.
Wow, I’m impressed.
The Church is free to do just that. And for the most part they have. At least for those that wanted the help from the Church. Not all Mexicans are Catholic, and in fact there is a significant anti Church sentiment in Mexico.
Our first exchange student from there told our daughter that the order of your weddings (official and church, the state does not recognize church weddings, you have to be married by a state official) makes a political statement. Ana Alejandra and Jorge Fernando, were "married" by some well padded lady from the government in Ana's house before we arrived for the real wedding, which was in a church building built in the 15th Century with the service conducted by the priest who had been assigned to her Church when she was a young child. My daughter spoke for her (as is their tradition), in Spanish. That buxom blue eyed blonde stood out like a sore thumb, but everyone (save me) understood every word she said. The couple did not live together until after the church wedding. You figure out what statement they made (aside from the fact that their mothers would have killed them if they'd done it any differently :) )
BTTT
There is no “anti-immigrant” movement in America. Most Americans have immigrant ancestors somewhere in the family tree.
There is an "anti-illegal" movement in America since the Rule-of-Law is a core value of American society.
btt
I think the pope has it. Mexico with all its resources ought to be able to take care of its people. It cannot, because its political culture will not allow development. Wealth in concentrated in the hands of a few thousand families, and these families lack the entrepeneural spirit that grows an economy. Simplistically perhaps, I blame it on the culture that the conquistadors brought to America, which owned much to the Arabs the Spanish Christians displaced.
"I’d like to say that I’m going with joy. I’ve been in the United States several times, I know this great country, and I also know the great life of the church despite all the problems. I’m happy to be able to meet in this historical moment, both through the church and my visit to the United Nations, this great country."