[Alex Murphy]

Bishop John C. Wester, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Migration issued a statement on Friday... "the United States has poured billions of dollars into immigration enforcement" and the money "has not only not solved the problem but in some cases led to the abuse of migrants." He suggested more foreign aid was the answer to keeping immigrants in their home countries.

However, Jim Russell, head of Catholics for a Moral Immigration Policy, told AIM that more money, not less, should be spent on border security, and that the Bishops are wrong to oppose Arizona's new immigration law.

Conservative Catholic James Todd of Pewsitter.com, which is "the voice of the Catholic lay faithful," has taken Cardinal Roger Mahony to task for comparing the Arizona law to Nazism. "His comments really served no purpose but to ratchet up the rhetoric," Todd noted....

....Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News & World Report has cited evidence that four times as many Catholics are leaving the faith as are joining it but that a surge in Hispanic immigration "has offset the steady decline of white Catholics."

The latest figures show that 40 percent of U.S. Catholics are Hispanic. The same evidence shows that many immigrant workers in the U.S. are "undocumented" and 74 percent of them are Catholic.

It is this demographic, rather than moral or religious concern, that is driving official Catholic concern for immigrants, legal and illegal. In fact, seventy percent of the country's largest Catholic diocese in Los Angeles, run by Cardinal Mahony, are Hispanic....

...."The number of Hispanics in America has grown from about 6 million in 1960 to about 50 million today. Nearly 70 percent of Hispanics in America are Catholic. With whites abandoning Catholicism in droves, a growing, vital American church depends on Hispanic families."

[San Jacinto]

Looks like he needs to stick to his field of expertise— covering up for perverts who bugger little boys.

[Williford]

“...the top Catholic in the U.S. on immigration issues says that it spends too much money on border enforcement and not enough on bailing out the economies of Mexico and Central America.”

Help, maybe. Bail out, why?

[GeronL]

Another reason to think the Catholic Church has split personalities.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Of course. With home-grown Catholics drifting off in droves, the only way the Catholic religion can sustain itself in America is to import a lot of fervent Third-Worlders to replace them, the kind of folks who still have idol processions to Mary, and all that other nonsense.

[Gay State Conservative]

My Lord and Savior said that His followers must sometimes “render unto Caesar”.Illegal immigration is one of those occasions.

[FrankR]

[WayneS]

I thought churches had to stay out of politics in order to maintain their tax exempt status...

[Cheerio]

If I am hearing the clergy correctly, I guess they are all for ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT. AND of course no borders.

[Mere Survival]

I do not believe it is in the Church’s interest to condone and encourage the breaking of laws related to immigration . . . it is contrary to the Bible. A Catholic in Mexico is just as good a Catholic as they are in the United States. The Church should be nuetral on immigration until the issue of religious asylum comes into play.

[Irish Owl]

My suggestion to Catholics is that they withhold contributions to the usual weekly collection, as part of it goes to the USCCB. Look for ways to make dedicated donations to your parish school, or some other fund which would keep your money at the parish level. Also, there are many religious orders which do great charitable work around the world which have websites in English. With a little effort, worthy recipients can be located. (I do not recommend “Catholic Charities.”)

Also, The Knights of Columbus support the USCCB’s position on immigration. Knights may wish to make their objections known, or consider resigning. The KOC is otherwise a rock-solid organization.