Vatican Enters Illegal-immigration Debate

Arizona Republic | April 16, '08 | Chris Hawley

[T.L.Sink]

The Vatican is helping to pay for construction of a shelter for Central Americans traveling to the United States, angering immigration-control advocates. The Pontifical Commission for Latin America donated at least $20,000 in January to help erect a $120,000 building for the Brothers on the Path refuge in the southern city of Ixtepec. The number of Central Americans crossing illegally is high. Critics accused the Vatican of fostering illegal immigration to enrich the church. Guatemalans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans and other Central Americans are becoming a larger percentage of the migrants crossing the U.S. border. The Brothers on the Path charity owns two warehouses and adjacent land on the isthmus, where it provides food, bathrooms and a place to rest for as many as 1,000 people a night, said Alejandro Solalinde, a priest and project director. Pope Benedict has said he intends to discuss immigration issues with President Bush and empathizes with families split by migration. But immigratiion-control advocates said the refuge encourages migration, and they called it an affront to Americans worried about illegal border crossings.

[T.L.Sink]

The article concludes as follows: "It's not only provocative, it's sinful," said Al Garza, executive director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corp. "What they're really saying is, 'Look, even though the United States has laws, we're going to help you break the laws to realize your dream.' By funding the refuge, the Vatican is "undertaking policies that had the effect of facilitating illegal immigration into this country," said Jack Martin, director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "There is definitely a particular interest on the part of the Catholic Church that derives from the fact that the majority of illegal immigration into the country is from Catholic countries," Martin said. "It helps fill the pews, it helps fill the coffers, it helps fill the recruits to the priesthood."

[SkyPilot]

All illegals are welcome here! Come and live and get Free Stuff!

[the invisib1e hand]

nice collage of non-sequitir images.

well, really, it's petty and juvenile, but surely Goebbels would chuckle that your heart's in the right place.

[bcsco]

This is a ping list promoting Immigration Enforcement and Congressional Reform.
If you wish to be added or removed from this ping list, please contact me.

Bank robber gives teller her name, address

Vatican Support of Illegal Immigrants (Vanity)

Mentor restaurant part of five-state raid (Jalapeno Loco in Mentor is mentioned-smuggling illegals)

Atlanta Illegal Immigrant Aid Includes Cleveland (TN) Restaurant

Joint US-Holy See Communique (following private meeting between B16/Bush)

About 100 Pilgrim’s Pride workers detained, chaplain says

ICE Agents Raid Local Poultry Plant in Illegal Immigration Probe

Nationwide Immigration Arrests Ongoing Now (Breaking....)

Immigration raid nets almost 30 arrests at Houston Shipley Do-Nut plant

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Maybe the church needs to address the reason these people are leaving their countries and work to fix that problem.I agree with the statement about filling the pews.Follow the money.

[Just mythoughts]

Obviously the Pelosi, Kerry, Kennedy types...

[chatham]

First the “Bishops” in this country haven’t done Squat in controlling and Punishing Thousands of Homosexual Predator
Priests.
Cardinal Mahoney has been fighting and obstructing the solution of the Problem in his Diocese.

For these Feckless and pernicious Hierarchs to use the Peoples Donations to assist Alien emmigration from central America or from Any where to the United States is truly Sinful. They are supporting breaking the laws of the United States, while their biggest source of Money is the United States.

We as catholics have one big Hammer to control these interfering Hierarchs, who don’t give a Damn about the Faithful Catholics ,is to STOP THE MONEY.

And I Mean , STOP ALL DONATIONS. I WILL.

[Bernard]

Makes you wonder if all the priests in this country are supposed to be here, and how many shepherds have come here illegally to tend to the flock.

[Just mythoughts]

There is NOTHING juvenile about this religious blessing of wholesale lawlessness.

[T.L.Sink]

I think so too. If the Church wants to involve itself in what it considers to be national injustices it should focus on the cause of the whole problem: the corrupt and oppressive state of Mexico which suppresses millions of peons and mestizos. Of course, they want those billions the illegals return to prop up their national infrastructure. In this respect the Church chooses to superficially deal with a problem in terms of its consequences, not the cause.

[T.L.Sink]

In agree. By the way, Lou Dobbs had a whole series on how Mahoney was aiding and abetting Mexican illegals to cross the border and render them assistance once here. He even had video tapes of the Cardinal in the pulpit preaching this.

[47samurai]

Here is what you are NOT being told ....
100% of the growth that Roman Catholic congregations have experienced over the past two decades has been from Hispanic immigrants (mostly illegal). Without the Hispanic influx, Catholic congregations would have experienced a 15% contraction since 1985. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether or not its all about the money.

[T.L.Sink]

It does make one wonder but I think the real problem is money and power. It wouldn’t be the first time that a church goes go for full pews and the cash rather than do what it knows to be right. It’s sometimes too much for our fallen human nature!

[SkyPilot]

well, really, it's petty and juvenile, but surely Goebbels would chuckle that your heart's in the right place.

Godwin's Law is often cited in online discussions as a caution against the use of inflammatory rhetoric or exaggerated comparisons, and is often conflated with fallacious arguments of the reductio ad Hitlerum form. The rule does not make any statement whether any particular reference or comparison to Hitler or the Nazis might be appropriate, but only asserts that one arising is increasingly probable. It is precisely because such a comparison or reference may sometimes be appropriate, Godwin has argued[4] that overuse of Nazi and Hitler comparisons should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their impact.

[Dr. Ursus]

How about 100,000 Albanians running around the Vatican,Your
Holiness?

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

When Jesus intervened and showed mercy to a transgressor, he also said “sin no more.” He didn’t condemn her, but He didn’t enable sin either.

[BlackbirdSST]

well, really, it's petty and juvenile, but surely Goebbels would chuckle that your heart's in the right place.

You lose! Blackbird.

[ovrtaxt]

Maybe the church needs to address the reason these people are leaving their countries and work to fix that problem.

You bet. If they were really concerned with social justice, they woudl do so. But that isn't as profitable at offering time I guess. You make a lot less in Mexico than here.

[TonyRo76]

According to that map, the Vatican certainly appears to have secure borders and a wall!!!

Go figure...

[TonyRo76]

» There is NOTHING juvenile about this religious blessing of wholesale lawlessness.

Bump!

And as others have already pointed out...if the Vatican seriously wanted to address poverty in Mexico and elsewhere, then you'd see the pope pushing for less bureaucratic oppression and greater economic opportunities for individual citizens—i.e. capitalism.