Posted on 02/23/2009 11:20:21 AM PST by pulaskibush
Bishop's pastoral letter hits home for parish employee
By Marilyn Lanford
Rogers Correspondent
ROGERS -- In November, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor released his first pastoral letter to Catholics in the Diocese of Little Rock called, "I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me: A Pastoral Letter on the Human Rights of Immigrants." In the weeks that followed, staff members at St. Vincent de Paul Church gathered to meet and discuss the pastoral letter. It was at the end of one of the meetings that staff members were asked if they had any experiences related to immigration. A slender, dark-haired young woman, Soledad Hernandez, stood and told her story. "I was arrested here in Rogers on June 26, 2001, at the bank where I was working because my social security number was false. An immigration officer and a private detective came to the bank and asked me for my documents, but I didn't have anything. The officer asked me if I knew my rights, and he wanted me to sign a voluntary deportation paper. I said 'No.' He said, 'In that case, you are going to need a lawyer.'" At the time, Hernandez had lived in Rogers for 10 years. Considering Hernandez a flight risk, the officers of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (now known as Citizenship and Immigration Services) "did not want me to post bond. I have four brothers in Chicago, one sister in California and one brother in Arizona." For the next five weeks, Hernandez stayed in the Washington County jail.
During Hernandez' time in jail, several people reached out to her. Father Miles Heinen, a Vincentian priest working with the Catholic Charities Immigration Services in Springdale, and Sister Mary Paulita Philippe, a Dominican nun, were able to locate legal aid for Hernandez through the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Established in Little Rock in 1994 and in Springdale in 1997, Catholic Charities Immigration Services offer a variety of services to low-income families with regard to family-based immigration law. The current director, Frank Head, said the mission of the organization is "both 'to welcome the stranger among us,' as we are instructed in the Bible, and to help unify families torn asunder by the historical situation we find ourselves in." In an unusual move in August 2001 U.S. Magistrate Beverly Stites Jones of Fort Smith set a $100,000 bond for Hernandez. It was the first time Jones had set bond for anyone facing deportation, according to a 2002 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The leniency was due in large part to her church community, her family and friends. "Father Miles told the judge I was a very nice person. I was a good citizen, a nice Catholic, a nice mom and a nice neighbor. Other people came forward too," Hernandez said. When the magistrate made her decision, Hernandez said, "She told the court, 'I am going to set up bond for this lady. I have a priest from the Catholic Church who said this person is a good citizen. People of the community have said she is a good mother.'" The $100,000 bond was posted by family and friends, who signed their properties to secure the bond. At the hearing, the judge sentenced her to serve three years of probation. In November 2001, Hernandez pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to using false identification in order to obtain employment, which is a felony, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. For nearly a year, Hernandez fought her deportation in Arkansas and Tennes see courts before the situation was resolved. But it took a toll on her and her family. Her marriage ended in divorce. Her children -- a 13-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son --were cared for by family members.
Hernandez said, "It was during this time that I get close to God in my faith. It is in hard times that you remember. I have a hard time wondering how my children were doing while I was in jail. I was sitting in jail thinking, 'I hope I have another chance to respect myself.' My self-esteem was so down."It was during this year that Hernandez, fearing deportation, worked with her children to learn to read and write in Spanish "in case we had to go back to Mexico." In 2002, as Hernandez went through the final few months of her ordeal to gain lawful status, she and her attorney, Jon Comstock, went to the last hearing at immigration court in Memphis. Hernandez said, "Before going into court that last time, Jon asked me if I was OK. I said, 'Yes, I am OK. I am very confident. If I lose the case, it means that God has something better for me in Mexico. Maybe he wants me to go back to my country. I am in God's hands. You and me, we're going to fight the case. We have already done what is humanly possible. So it is in God's hands." Now Hernandez has her legal permanent resident card and is waiting to become a U.S. citizen. She has fulfilled the five years of residency required and is ready to apply to take her citizenship test. Hernandez said, "When we were reading the bishop's letter and I started talking in the meeting, it was nice to share with the staff -- to show my appreciation during that hard time to those who had been with me. Now we have a bishop who will give us a chance." After she received her work permit, she began volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul Church office. In June 2003 she was hired as the Spanish ministry secretary. Now she is the assistant children's ministry coordinator for kindergarten to fifth grade. "In December of 2003, I was able to get my little house. For the first time in 15 years of living in the U.S. I was going to have my own house for me and my children. I was full of joy. My co-workers gave me a microwave, a Christmas tree and presents for my children." Hernandez said she does not forget that those two years were the hardest years for her. "With all the paperwork, the divorce, my church community has been there for me with all kinds of support -- financial and emotional," she said. "They remember what was going on in my office -- the crying and the laughing. When I think, 'Where did all these blessings come from?' I say, 'Just receive it -- it is from God.' I definitely have an angel on my side. Sister Paulita used to say that I had more than one."
One of those core beliefs is that Christ established ONE Church. His Body. The fact that there are humans who are in that Church and who are charged with stewarding that Church doesn't change that. Look at the example of Christ and St. Peter. When Christ gave him the keys, He knew that Peter would deny Him not that long afterward. What greater evil could there be than that? But look: the same Simon Peter who denied Christ was the same Peter who gave that preached so powerfully on the day of Pentecost, as recorded in the Acts Chapter 2!
You can take a look through the Acts and throughout St. Paul's writings and see the effects of human frailty throughout. In fact, you can see in one of St Paul's letters that some of the particular churches that make up the Church were not without their own problems. Especially 1 Corinthians. Especially chapter 5. But it's also in that same letter where Paul calls to unity (1 Cor 3) and teaches on the Body of Christ in great detail (1 Cor 12). What he didn't write about was people separating themselves, despite the fact that there was grave evil going on in the Church in Corinth.
Like I said earlier, I'm not trying to suggest you come back. Better for you to be docile to the Holy Spirit. But your prayers for the health of the Church are appreciated *AND NEEDED*, whether you wish to be in communion with her or not.
A church that allows **corrupt** leaders to lead people down to spiritual and temporal destruction can not be a true church.
If I were to participate in the Catholic Church, I would be teaching my children to support a Pope and bishops who turn a blind eye to evil. I would also be teaching them to tolerate evil within a system in which it is **impossible** to remove these people.
Supporting evil that has no mechanism for reform is simply not God's will.
Ok...The above are the rational reasons not to return to the Catholic Church. There are spiritual ones as well.
In my heart I **knew** that there was a fundamental conflict with the Catholic Church and God's will for us that we not support evil. Thankfully though prayer and the Holy Spirit I was led to the denomination that my husband and I have attended for 26 years.
The Body of Christ that you speak of is not confined to the Catholic Church. It includes all those who accept Christ and his sacrifice on the cross, and are willing to follow Him.
As for Catholics I support their **true** belief system. I wish we had a nation full to the brim with Catholic bishops and faithful Catholic followers of Christ who would practiced **all** of their religion and worshiped God instead of Karl Marx.
I think not. What you actually have an issue with is the current pap that is being foisted off as true Church teaching. If you read the Cathechism, you will find that there are TWO PARTS to the Church's authentic teaching on immigration. 1) we should welcome the stranger and 2) all nations have the right to determine nad control who comes in. The liberal wing of the Church is all about "Door Number 1", but for some reason "Door Number 2" is completely ignored, and boils down to the "let'em all in" perspective that shows up in the pulpit with regularity.
Here are the relevant quotes:
"The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him."
"Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens."
No, I'm afraid I can't.
I am to support a system that is evil (hurts people spiritually and temporally) and can not be reformed because I am needed to reform something that is impossible to reform? Huh?
Is it the system that is evil or that there are (either) evil people who are abusing the system? Apparently, you see the former, while I see the latter.
If I were to participate in the Catholic Church, I would be teaching my children to support a Pope and bishops who turn a blind eye to evil. I would also be teaching them to tolerate evil within a system in which it is **impossible** to remove these people.
From your perspective, I understand your statements altogether. From my perspective, I see that that the system set up by Christ (from my understanding, I understand it's not yours) has been hijacked, in many cases, by liberals. I also see that the pendulum is swinging in the opposite direction.
I see the analogy like this: the US has a fundamentally profoundly good constitutional system of governance. Truly unique in the world!
If you look at the current situation, you will see another thing altogether: a socialist Manchurian president. A Congress dominated by flaming moonbats. Courts that are simply rubber stamps for the agenda of the left. Couple that with a press that is basically a group of sycophants for the most extreme leftist elements. It looks grim. It also looks completely evil, as well as impossible to reform (due to state-sponsored voter fraud implemented by Rahm Emmanuel's census bureau and ACORN "volunteers" with their rampant voter registration fraud).
Should I renounce my citizenship? Regardless of what you (or anybody else) believe, I have no intention of doing so. I'm keeping my head down and watching my back...but I am also speaking out where and when it can be profitable. The only way I would ever renounce my citizenship is if I stopped believing in the idea of America, regardless of what the current nightmare situation is.
Whose fault is America's current situation? It's obviously the fault of the usual suspects on the left. But we conservatives also have some fault to blame. We were tolerant when we shouldn't have been tolerant. We retreated into our enclaves rather than engaged the culture. We ceded the realm of education and the media rather than demanding that they do their jobs rather than try to engineer society (which, by this time, they have done very effectively).
I see this as analogous to the situation the Church found herself in starting about 150 years ago (with the advent of socialism), slowly building until after the War and peaking in the 60s and 70s.
Your mileage may vary, but that's the way I see it. And so, no, I don't see my argument as being circular.
Look, once again (third time in three posts), I am not asking you to come back. If I understand correctly, your issue with the Church is not a doctrinal issue so much as it is a behavior issue (if I understand, the objection is that the hierarchy is basically apostate and Marxist). So it's sort of pointless to ask you to come back since the situation is not fixed yet. It's better than it was 30 years ago, 20 years ago or even 10 years ago, but it could hardly be expected to be called "fixed."
Again, for the third time, I ask you to pray for the Church and her leaders. That's all. (Shoot, I've prayed for the Anglicans, for the Orthodox, and for various Protestant groups...doesn't mean that I have the slightest desire to join any of them...just means that I ask for the Holy Spirit to move in them for the good of their followers)
Your stated desire, As for Catholics I support their **true** belief system. I wish we had a nation full to the brim with Catholic bishops and faithful Catholic followers of Christ who would practiced **all** of their religion and worshiped God instead of Karl Marx, is a nice desire and one that we share. Putting a request up to God to make it so would be greatly appreciated!
Re: The United States of America
Our Founding Fathers gave us a means for reform. The first is the electoral process. The second means of reform in very extreme cases of complete tyranny is the Second Amendment. The Declaration of Independence goes so far as to state that is our “duty” to overthrow a corrupt government.
What would you suggestion for getting rid of the spiritually corrupt leadership in the Catholic Church? I don’t see where one exists.
Public pressure and speaking at church conventions is about the only thing I can think of. I wrote the letter to help Christians inform each other and challenge their leaders if they decide to support illegal immigration.
It's called the Holy Spirit.
That's why I have repeatedly asked you to pray.
O'Malley is right. God will take care of it. He's done so in far worse situations throughout Church (and of course, secular) history. I forget who said it, but it's true..."work like it all depends on you, and pray like it all depends on God".
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