Posted on 05/03/2010 3:31:46 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
A brief walk through one country’s history reveals why people migrate.
In the turbulent early years of the 20th century the Catholic Church seemed to face persecution almost worldwide. In his book on the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, Triumph (Forum, 2001), H. W. Crocker III writes of one particular country that in 1917 became “the first explicitly socialist, anti-religious, and constitutional revolutionary republic in the world” (p. 395). In the two decades that would follow, the Catholic Church in this country would witness all its property confiscated and nationalized and more than 40,000 Catholics killed and martyred, including 90 priests (equivalent to two-thirds of the Catholic population of East Tennessee and all of its priests and deacons).
Three papal encyclicals would be written between 1926 and 1937 concerning the dire situation in a country where 4,500 priests once served—but by 1935, according to some reports, fewer than 340 would remain to minister to a much persecuted and suffering Catholic population. At the turn of the millennium Pope John Paul II canonized 25 of this nation’s saints and martyrs from this period.
You may be surprised to learn that the country in question is not the Soviet Union but Mexico, and included in the list of those martyred were 70 Knights of Columbus, eight of whom have since been declared saints. Pope Pius XI would include Mexico with the Soviet Union and Spain in describing the “terrible triangle” of terror afflicting the Church at this time in history. But the blood of martyrs is never shed in vain, and much was shed in Mexico.
As one would expect, as a result of persecutions and the resulting civil war (1926-1929), large numbers of Mexicans were uprooted and fled from the terror. Up to one-quarter million people were internally displaced in the 1920s, with an additional half million people emigrating to the United States, sharing in the tragic mystery of the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt in order to escape Herod’s murderous rampage. Although by mid-century the persecution eventually gave way to a reluctant but nonetheless still harsh tolerance of religion, it was not until 1992 that many anti-Catholic restrictions were officially lifted.
With the advent of World War II, the United States turned to Mexico to help fill its vast labor shortages in industry and farming. In the decades that followed, the demand for foreign laborers only increased, especially for temporary and seasonal workers in the Southeast and Southwest. As a result of the economic crisis in Mexico of the 1980s the number of its people living in poverty increased dramatically.
As poverty and migration are so often intimately linked, many people are surprised to learn that one of the largest and most efficient programs for directly reducing global poverty levels is not a specific kind of aid program or global charitable effort but the result of remittances—money that foreign workers send back to their families. According to a 2007 World Bank study, remittances represented almost $170 billion in external financing for needy countries in 2005, a figure that today is likely well in excess of $200 billion.
The reasons for migration are complicated, as a snapshot of Mexico’s past century proves, but solutions are even more complex. Comprehensive immigration reform is as much about fixing a broken immigration system as it is about addressing the “push” factors behind migration—and none of these will be easy to address.
When it is difficult to be the face of Jesus to others, it is often because we first fail to see Jesus in the other person. Perhaps this is why God especially hears the cry of the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner (Exodus 20:20-22) and reminds us to be particularly mindful of their needs.
The widows and orphans of our time are the unborn and the despairing pregnant women whose boyfriends or husbands have abandoned their responsibilities to them. But let us not forget the third figure of this scriptural mandate, in whose history we share. For we too sojourn as foreigners in this life’s pilgrim journey and struggle to learn the one language that is most essential to learn: the language of faith.
Ending with my traditional play upon the words of Pope Paul VI, “If you want peace,” care for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger.
Mr. Simoneau directs the Knoxville Diocesan Justice and Peace Office.
Please be sure to read Mrs. Don-o's comments at #1.
Good and heart-felt. Thank you.
no problem I am not a good typer so I tried to cut it down as best as I could .
Please keep up the good work
Interesting....I’ll take your word for it....he just sounds muddled to me.
That all sounds well and good, but I would say that any sinner that wants Christ as his boss, should not pull the lever for a President that is openly going to appoint pro abortion judges to the Supreme Court.
For full disclosure, I am only a sinner saved by Grace. There is Scripture that says when a member of the Church continually does something terribly wrong, you are to confront him. If he continues then you tell the Elders and they confront him, and eventually when he rejects that counsel, you have nothing more to do with him.
Sorry I do not have the Scripture at hand at the moment, and for sure we are not talking about a struggle with sin as we all have. Some struggle with very serious issues and we are to love them and forgive 70 times 7 times Jesus said.
This Scripture was referring to very very serious anti Christian positions that were harmful to the Gospel of Christ.
People that attend Churches that are pro abortion and anti Christian family values, fit this Scripture in my very strong opinion!!
Churches that allow their members to vote Democrat in any way shape or form fit this Scripture. Jesus will say I never knew you, is what I think.
I was not referring to anybody here btw, I just got a mail message asking me to join the conversation, so sorry if I am off topic a bit in some of your minds. It`s just that I feel so strongly about this, I turn on so called Christian Churches on the tv, they say they love Jesus but they vote Democrat. I CHALLENGE THAT THEY ARE EVEN CHRISTIAN.
Anybody that claims to be a pro choice/pro abortion Christian, I have no use or respect for you at all.
Again not referring to anybody here.
So maybe you want to withdraw my invitation? If you ever had a Democrat sign on your property and you say you are Christian....I CHALLENGE
Wow! Most impressive Mrs. Don-o. Please alert me when you have Paul’s response.
Thanks also for this post. I was completely unaware of this particular angle to the problem of illegal immigration.
Matthew 18
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
It seems to me that Bishops, etc., who are pro amnesty absolutely do not have any idea of the realities associated with illegal immigration.
It’s like the difference between living an insulated life as a college professor vs. living smack dab in the real world.
We here in Little Rock are dealing with an influx of Illegals due to The Mexican Consolute and our Bishop who is PRO Illegals. Here is his First news letter from 2008.
Taylor's first pastoral letter teaches on rights of immigrants
Published: November 8, 2008
By Malea Hargett; Editor
Five months after being ordained the bishop of Little Rock, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor is issuing his first pastoral letter in hopes of teaching his flock about the human rights of undocumented immigrants.
"I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me: A Pastoral Letter on the Human Rights of Immigrants" was introduced to the priests of the state Nov. 5 during a study day. On Nov. 7, diocesan employees gathered at St. John Center for a similar event.
Bishop Taylor said he believes the human rights of immigrants is a topic that many Catholics are not informed about properly.
"I hope that people will open their hearts to the call of Jesus in our time," he said in an interview with Arkansas Catholic. "There is lots of information people don't have at their disposal that is really relevant to this topic. More than that, I hope it goes down from their head to their heart and see what the Lord is asking of us. ... It is the biggest area where the teaching of the Church is not well-known."
Bishop Taylor, who is fluent in Spanish and has worked in Hispanic ministry for 28 years, said he believes being able to immigrate to another country is an "intrinsic human right."
"They do have a right to immigrate when circumstances require," he said.
He agrees illegal immigration is bad because it is nearly impossible for immigrants, predominantly from Mexico, to come to the United States legally.
"We do support them being here illegally. They have a right to be here," he said. "We are here to serve everybody. Not just Catholics. We are not a country club. We are here to bring the love of Jesus to everybody. They are here because there is no way to get documents, not because they don't want documents. They do not want to immigrate without documents. ... You can't be obliged to do what you can't do. Immigration laws should correspond to the reality."
The 30-page document includes five appendices with additional resources, information on what the U.S. bishops' conference has said and supporting Scripture references. The bishop consulted with several priests and laypeople over the past three months when writing the letter.
Booklets of the letter will be made available in all parishes and missions in English and Spanish.
In order to get parishioners to read and discuss the letter, Bishop Taylor asked Cackie Upchurch, director of Little Rock Scripture Study, to write a three-week Advent study guide for small group sharing.
"The purpose of the pastoral letter is not to just go on record but rather to teach," he said. "People learn not just by reading a document but also by dialoguing and sharing with others, especially if the concepts are new and are hard to get your mind around."
The pastoral letter will be distributed to parishioners on the feast of Christ the King Nov. 23. At the Masses, parishes are also asked to play a recorded homily by Bishop Taylor. The study sessions are expected to be held in churches through Dec. 20.
snip
You can see what we are dealing with in Little Rock and why Illegals feel comfortable coming here in droves. I no longer go to church because of Bishop Taylor. There is no reasoning with his mind. It's insanity that he preaches. God help us.
A most excellent letter. The term “illegal” seems to have simply been forgotten. And the idea that illegals are here only for work is a sham. They come across the border for welfare, schooling, medicaid, etc. which we seem to gladly hand out to them.
I would be willing to have any illegal who wants to stay and work in this country. The caveat is that we no longer provided them with social services. Social services should only be provided to citizens or those who are legally in this country. I wonder how many illegals would stay and how Paul would feel about those terms.
That leaves us with the criminals.
Even the illegal aliens who are not committing additional crimes have what I call a “high school gum-chewing attitude”. They don’t love or even like America. At best they treat America as a rental car - they don’t worry about scratches or dings because they don’t own the car.
Quite simply - Paul is a 'religious' man - yet he encourages and supports people to lie and break the law.
But "Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD."
How can he rationalize supporting people to engage in actions that make them an abomination to the LORD?
The people who are breaking into this country aren't starving or in danger of persecution. They are coming here for material gain and for the accumulation of trinkets (I grant you that the god of the USA is materialism and the gathering of trinkets - but that is our problem that we need to address. It doesn't justify breaking the law just so illegal aliens can have a chance to indulge in American style materialism).
I suspect Paul is a slave to the 'social gospel' and is enticed by the numbers it adds to his church membership - and is not a servant to Christ and HIS Word.
Report those companies. That is tax evasion. No withhholding taxes. We can play this game too. We need to fight them on every front.
Trust me. You take away the benefits and they would head back across the border.
I’m not saying to stop border patrols or enforcing the laws such as employers having to verify the employees status. I’m just saying benefits is one piece of the puzzle.
They were caught. That’s how it made the news.
But I agree. Other similar companies should be reported. They risk the nation, they insult honest citizens looking for jobs, and they cheat the system.
“First of all, I believe, as Pope Pius XII stated, that a country has the right to control its borders, but it also mustn’t exaggerate its sovereignty.”
A challenge to the authority of my nation ought to be considered an act of war.
Beautifully stated. I will certainly refer to your work when I write my bishop.
Thanks Mrs. Don-o.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2505877/posts?page=59#59
You’re right. Just the free health care is a lure.
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