Legislation which attacks the family, such as homosexual "marriage" or any anti-life initiatives such as the human spare parts industry (embryonic stem cells, cloning etc.,) or abortion is well within the ambit of the Church's mission. To remain silent on these issues is simply to clear the way for the return of Hitler and Dr. Mengele.
Tax exemption does not stifle free speech. The Church may not campaign for a particular party or candidate but it certainly must speak up when morally reprehensible legislation is proposed.
True. Furthermore, any attempt to revoke a church's tax-free status will ultimately come back to bite conservatives in the tush.
The ironic thing here is that if people put their religious loyalty first (as they are supposed to do), the sides on the immigration debate would be reversed 180 degrees. If Hispanic immigrants voted their traditionalist Catholic beliefs conservatives would welcome them and liberals would oppose them. But unfortunately, religion is all too often completely swallowed up in ethnic, racial, and "civilizational" loyalty. Hispanic immigrants, whatever their personal beliefs, will be herded into an ethnic ghetto where their political power will be allied with that of abortionists and homosexuals (like Black Fundamentalists), and as for the other side, more and more the fight for universal morality (rooted in G-d's Law) is being swallowed up in the fight for White European Civilization.
In theory G-d comes first. Unfortunately, in practice, G-d is usually turned into a tribal totem and invoked against "co-religionists" from other tribes.
Your point is interesting, yet clouded by your apparent unwillingness to characterize the problem as being one of illegals, since you used the 'Hispanic Immigrant' tag more than once.
If the Church gets out and speaks to Hispanics, they will be a great conservative force. But if Mahony speaks to them, he's going to destroy them, not only as a force in this country, but personally and individually.
Many Mexicans converted to Pentecostal and Evangelical churches in Mexico because after VatII the Church went over to liberation theology/social gospel garbage. Interestingly enough, many former Protestants are now converting to Islam, because the Muslims are working heavily Protestant territories such as Chiapas.
I think Mahony is being left in place to deal with the mess he created. But maybe he needs a coadjutor bishop? LA is a huge and important diocese, and turning it over to a heretic like Mahony, even on a punitive basis (for him) until he retires in five years could be very dangerous to the faithful there.