Posted on 03/03/2011 7:50:01 AM PST by Alex Murphy
ATLANTA—Legislation that proposes new penalties for employing illegal immigrants, possessing fraudulent identification and for transporting or “harboring” illegal immigrants will be debated in the full Georgia House of Representatives. The legislation also proposes giving law enforcement officers in the state the power to enforce federal immigration laws in certain circumstances and requires employers to use a federal verification system before hiring.
House Bill 87, the “Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011,” sponsored by Rep. Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City), was favorably voted out of a House judicial committee Feb. 28.
In the first half of the legislative session, the bill has been in committee where it has been debated and to some extent revised.
Among those taking a position on the bill is the Georgia Farm Bureau, which has opposed the legislation because of the impact on the state’s largest industry, agriculture. Farmers say they have difficulty already finding enough agricultural workers and the verification that would be required would be insurmountable.
Frank Mulcahy, executive director of the Georgia Catholic Conference, testified against the bill in committee because of its impact on Catholic Church ministries. Earlier provisions would have put individuals at risk of being arrested if they transported people found to be in the country illegally. Mulcahy said the impact on many church ministries, from driving youth to a confirmation retreat, taking a soccer team to a game or taking a sick person from a homeless shelter to a hospital, would be devastating and criminalize acts of charity.
While that provision has been re-worded in the version sent to the full House, the Catholic Conference is still opposing the legislation, Mulcahy said Feb. 28.
He wrote, “As recommended by the House Judiciary (non-civil) committee, HB 87 creates the risk of criminal prosecution against churches and social welfare organizations by prohibiting any person from ‘harboring’ any person present in the United States in violation of federal immigration law.”
“‘Harboring’ is broadly defined as ‘any conduct that tends to substantially help an illegal alien remain in the United States in violation of federal law.’ (This) could include many services provided by churches and social service agencies, such as women’s shelters, homeless shelters, retreat house, clinics and the like. The offense of ‘transporting or moving an illegal alien’ creates a similar risk,” he wrote.
Other concerns about the bill cited by the Georgia Catholic Conference include that it criminalizes actions that tend to help undocumented immigrants, criminalizes transporting undocumented immigrants, requires law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of anyone stopped for a criminal violation, which would include a traffic violation, and creates new documentation requirements for persons seeking public benefits with no exception for pregnant women or unborn children.
....Frank Mulcahy, executive director of the Georgia Catholic Conference, testified against the bill in committee because of its impact on Catholic Church ministries. Earlier provisions would have put individuals at risk of being arrested if they transported people found to be in the country illegally. Mulcahy said the impact on many church ministries, from driving youth to a confirmation retreat, taking a soccer team to a game or taking a sick person from a homeless shelter to a hospital, would be devastating and criminalize acts of charity....
....“As recommended by the House Judiciary (non-civil) committee, HB 87 creates the risk of criminal prosecution against churches and social welfare organizations by prohibiting any person from ‘harboring’ any person present in the United States in violation of federal immigration law.”
I have come to ignore my Church, more and more, on political or economic issues.
On Faith, I think the Catholic Church is closer to the truth than the rest.
However, the Eastern Orthodox do not embarrass me as much. How many Catholics switch due to the idiocy of the Church’s liberal politics?
The road to Hell is paved with the skulls of bishops.
Idiot bishops don’t reflect on the Church as a whole.
Some related threads:
Defeat of DREAM Act only a temporary setback, says Archbishop Gomez
CSF interview: Father Moises Agudo [on illegal latinos entering Catholic seminaries & schools]
Vatican official steps down after stirring debate on French immigration policy
President's immigration reform speech a good sign,says US Conference Catholic Bishops migration dir
Curia archbishop addresses illegal immigration [solutions "other than" sanctions, border closures]
New L.A. Archbishop...Discusses Immigration & Hispanics In Church
Solving illegal immigration requires fixing economic causes, stresses Bishop Wester
Immigration Integration [Catholic Bishops Advocate for Humane Treatment of Illegal Immigrants]
Vatican official prods US on immigration reform
Archbishop Wenski of Florida urges Catholics to act up
Catholic bishop calls for new thinking on illegal immigration
How to Train Catholic Citizens to Elect Morally-Perverted Catholic Politicians
Some Church Leaders Are Wrong On Immigration
Toning Down the Immigration Debate among Catholics (Lots of Interesting Comments)
Bishop Slattery calls for secure borders, immigration reform [Tulsa, OK]
Immigration, Politics, and the Church (Ecumenic)
Cardinal: Catholics are key to achieving immigration reform [ or stopping it ]
US Catholic Latino leaders meet with Vatican officials, discuss ‘Hispanic reality’
Welcome the Stranger (Catholic theology & Church history against illegals)
Arizona immigration law shows need for reform, Archbishop Chaput writes
Bishops to the Left of Senate Dems on Immigration
Mahony blesses L.A.'s rally [pro-(illegal)immigration rally]
Jose Gomez (future LA Archbishop), champion of illegal immigrants [2005 post]
Catholic Money and Tax Dollars Finance Illegal Alien Rally
Cardinal Mahony speaks on illegal immigration
Catholic Church Facilitates Foreign Invasion
Archbishop Timothy Dolan: Immigration Reform. Here We Go Again
US Catholic Bishops Opposition To Arizona Immigration Law Leaves Many Unanswered Questions
USCCB OPPOSE ARIZONA LAW
US Catholic church attacks 'draconian' Arizona law
Pope Benedict urges bishops to work for recognition of immigrant rights
Arizona's Proposed Illegal Immigration Crackdown Akin To Nazi Tactics, Cardinal Roger Mahony Says
Hispanics increasing Catholic numbers in US, but assimilation has downside
Fewer receive sacraments
Does the American Catholic Church Have a Numbers Problem?
Denver Archbishop Supports Tuition Equity [Chaput favors extending in-state tuition to illegals]
US Catholic bishops condemn US immigration raids
Gathering calls for 'fair and humane' immigration policies [Catholic Bishops on immigration reform]
Journey to Justice: A Catholic Vision of Immigration
Catholic Church Chooses Wrong Side Again
Survey: Catholics Adapt to Culture at Cost of Committed Faith
GOP Senator: Immigration Bill's Fate Hangs in the Balance [SBC, Catholic Church support the bill]
Recognize Christ in every immigrant, bishop urges U.S. Catholics
Local Catholics celebrate diversity [Catholic "Immigration Mass" in Apple Valley, CA]
Putting faith in search for rights [Catholic "Immigration Mass" in Chicago, IL]
Praying for immigration reform [Catholic "Immigration Mass" in Los Angeles, CA]
Irish, Latino Catholics march for immigrant rights [Catholic "Immigration Mass" in San Francisco]
Catholics push for immigration reform [Catholic "Immigration Mass" in Raleigh, NC]
Catholic bishop calls deportation policies immoral
Withholding their 'amens' [Catholics object to a call for a revised immigration policy at Lent]
Denver Archdiocese Reacts To ICE Raid
The pope overrules idiot bishops.
Plus, I find it disturbing that you keep such a collection of articles on hand like this.
“And yet, it was just yesterday that you were saying you were thankful that wikipedia keeps long lists of strange fetishes.”
Hey, what can I say? I’m kinky like that :)
But really, if I’m going to look up what a fetish is, its good to do it on wikipedia, instead of googling it, so I don’t get dirty results.
Also, I thought we weren’t supposed to bring arguments from thread to thread.
But if we can, weren’t you the one to post a song about Jesus’s foreskin?
Do you mean the Holy Prepuce? The Catholic Church displayed no fewer than fourteen Holy Prepuces as objects of veneration during the Middle Ages, and a fifteeth was claimed to have been received by Catherine of Sienna as a wedding ring.
You probably knew all that already. But what would you know about any songs that I've posted, when you joined a brief eleven days ago?
“Do you mean the Holy Prepuce? The Catholic Church displayed no fewer than fourteen Holy Prepuces as objects of veneration during the Middle Ages, and a fifteeth was claimed to have been received by Catherine of Sienna as a wedding ring.”
Yes, I’m not denying that it’s weird. However, there is still the need to distinguish between idiots in the Church and the Catholic Church.
“You probably knew all that already. But what would you know about any songs that I’ve posted, when you joined a brief eleven days ago?”
I was looking at some religious forum threads, and with a few links, I found a thread where you mentioned and linked back to your song. The song was deleted by the moderator, but just judging by people’s reactions, it didn’t seem like something good, and you seemed quite proud of it.
We can always rely on Alex for a Catholic scandal or slight we never heard of to be posted.
There are so few Presbyterians and so few articles about them, what else can he collect? Although, you do have to admit his collection is pretty lopsided regarding what type of article about Catholics is collected.
There's another Calvinists here who collects posts Catholics have made and tries to attribute them as teachings of the Church.
Do any of you have links to the most “official” Catholic opinion on the subject? If I recall correctly, it is something that conservatives would agree with, or there really is no “official” opinion.
I have to give my hat off to Alex, though: I vote him for most effective anti-Catholic on Free Republic. Unlike other anti-Catholics, he is actually sane and rational, so he can convince unsuspecting people that the Church is evil, liberal, and un-American.
My friend a Yankee fan would walk into work how he would cheer against the Mets by cheering for any team they played on tv. He would even avoid the Grand Central Parkway which is next to the Mets stadium even if it would take him longer to get home. All because it was near what he hated.
We all would tell him thats not normal. Well, I pray for you. Something is not right with these list of posts. It's not healthy.
The spirit that guides such efforts is pleased.
I might try to stretch that analogy with this:
Your Yankee friend was wasting his time on the Mets when he should have been focusing on the Yankee’s biggest enemy- the Red Sox.
Alex, instead of wasting time fighting Catholicism, should spend more time focusing on Christianity’s biggest enemies- Islam, postmodern secularism, and communist totalitarianism.
This is what they actually say:
Vatican to America: ‘Social Justice’ is About Relationships, Not SocialismWhether he intended to or not, Cardinal Turkson has now echoed what many conservative Catholics in America have been calling for repeatedly — subsidiarity in economic policy. More importantly, the Cardinal observes the heart of the matter in noting that a ‘handout’ and a ‘gift’ are not at all the same, with the latter being more in keeping with the Gospel message.Peter Cardinal Turkson, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, has a message for Catholics in America, particularly those involved in social justice ministry, that could put a damper on the political machinations of the Shadow Party.
The message? “Social justice” is about “relationships,” not “socialism.” This clarification may very well be the catalyst to set the Catholic Church in America back on course with authentic Catholic teaching on hot-button issues involving massive government entitlement programs and other forms of overreach. If nothing else, it will almost certainly jump-start the “social justice” debate among Catholics.It would be useful if we just observed our sense of justice as our ability to fulfill the demands of the relationships in which we stand.
This is in contrast to socialism, he explained, which is an ideology in which private property and private interests are totally placed in the service of government policies. What the Pope proposes in ‘Caritas in Veritate,’ said Cardinal Turkson, is ‘achieving the common good without sacrificing personal, private interests, aspirations and desires.’
Cardinal Turkson said the Council was also surprised that the Pope’s concept of the ‘gift,’ was perceived in some circles as encouraging government welfare handouts. In ‘Caritas in Veritate,’ Pope Benedict described the concept of “gift” as a way to understand God’s love for men and women in his gift of life and his gift of Jesus.
One of the key principles of Catholic social thought is known as the principle of subsidiarity. This tenet holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In other words, any activity which can be performed by a more decentralized entity should be. This principle is a bulwark of limited government and personal freedom. It conflicts with the passion for centralization and bureaucracy characteristic of the Welfare State.You may remember that Pope John Paul II worked closely with President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to bring down communism in the Soviet Union and Marxist governments in Latin America. With the worldwide Left now in such kinship with Islam, and with no modern-day Reagan or Thatcher in sight, Pope Benedict XVI certainly has his work cut out for him. If they recognize that America has become polarized, perhaps America’s Catholic bishops will bite the bullet and commit themselves to following in the footsteps of the just-beatified Pope John Paul II…to morally undermine the Left as he morally undermined the Soviet Union
Subsidiarity is an excellent concept.
I WISH that the Church would make sure every Priest and Bishop knew what Subsidiarity MEANT!
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