Posted on 06/02/2010 7:48:49 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
The starting point for ministering to migrants, refugees, trafficked persons is to understand their situation and all its components, personal, social, economic, political in the light of God’s Word and to recognize its commitment to get involved. Naturally it also has to address those factors that cause their uprootedness. In this commitment the Church is guided by the “permanent principles” of its “social doctrine [that] constitute the very heart of Catholic social teaching.”
So said the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, in his opening speech at the Regional Consultation of the American Bishops' Conferences on Migration being held in Washington, DC, June 2-4, on the theme: Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice. The Consultation is focusing on responding better to the needs of migrants and refugees in the Americas, confronting the deeper causes of migration through a more efficient coordination of services, pastoral care, and advocacy policies.
Archbishop Veglio pointed out that the United States is home to 38 million immigrants and “the USA has been shaped by the efforts of migrants, in former days but also nowadays. Many immigrants arrive to the U.S. with economic goals, expectations and their contribution. Migrants have become essential for the US economy. They make up a large part of the national workforce.” However the changes seen in society - the rapid growth in the Spanish language spoken in the churches, pastoral work that largely depends on foreign priests, the concentration of ethnic restaurants in a given area - “do not reflect an increased acceptance of “otherness” and a willingness to a mutual - reciprocal change. A change in the person arriving, but also a modification in the receiving society.”
Referring to the issue of undocumented immigrants, the Archbishop explained that many of them “have been living in the country for years, working and contributing to the economy and the social security system. The number of deportations in 2008 surpassed 350,000 people, and “one of the not foreseen results in Central America has been the increase of gang-based violence by youngsters. The children of immigrants, who have been raised in the US, the only country they really know, see their future threatened by not being able to continue their studies. The Church supports them through the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), working for the regularization of the approximately 12 million undocumented migrants.
However, Archbishop Veglio said, this should be united to immigration reform and in order to achieve this, the necessary political will is required to address humanely undocumented migration. Over the last thirty years more than 2 million refugees were allowed to settle, spontaneously or in a resettlement process, in the USA. The Reception and Placement Programs of the Department of State supports them for a relatively short time, with a one-time grant, the Archbishop said.
After this, according to the archbishop, illegal immigrants are considered to have become sufficiently integrated to take care of themselves and be self-sufficient. It is more than evident that this does not work. They lack sufficient support.
Many end up with hardly any money left after paying their rent and will join the American poor and end up in the same situation. "One has to note that the process of resettlement cannot be the same for each individual or for each community. In order to be realistic, one has to take into account the unique needs and experiences of the individual, which will result in different programs, also with a request for a different and, most probably, a longer period of support. This should lead to self-sufficiency, employment and in the end integration in the country to become participants in society."”
Archbishop Veglio referred to the drama of human trafficking that is present in almost every country, whether it is sexual exploitation, forced labor or bonded labor, child soldiers, or abusive ways of adoption. The Archbishop continued, “The root causes of trafficking are not just poverty and unemployment in developing countries. The demand for cheap labor, low priced products or 'exotic or unusual sex' is also a root cause of trafficking than must be addressed. The different forms of trafficking constitute human rights violations, which demand distinct approaches and measures in order to restore the dignity of the victims.”
A new form of displacement is now on its way, Archbishop Veglio said, “People are moving away, since they can no longer make a living as a results of desertification and growing water scarcity, increasing sea-levels and 'salinization' of agricultural land. Climate change is also increasingly causing natural disasters, like flooding and storms. As a result, conflicts over resources increase. This new form of displacement will have enormous consequences for decades to come. The frequently cited and accepted estimates of 200 million climate-induced displaced persons by 2050 indicate the gigantic dimensions of the problem, said the archbishop. Human migration will undoubtedly be one of the most significant consequences of the change in climate, he said.
In concluding his address, Archbishop Veglio recalled how the Church and dioceses have been active in this area, promoting a series of projects, activities, etc. This is why “the risk exists that we are so much taken up by our involvement that we just perceive those in migration as work, cases or a job.”
“Hospitality can protect us from such behavior. Hospitality is not so much a task as a way of living our lives and of sharing...Welcome, compassion and equal treatment are all part of an appropriate Christian response, which will break down social barriers. It is a response to the needs of persons, but also a recognition of their worth and common humanity.”
....Referring to the issue of undocumented immigrants, the Archbishop explained that many of them “have been living in the country for years, working and contributing to the economy and the social security system...The children of immigrants, who have been raised in the US, the only country they really know, see their future threatened by not being able to continue their studies. The Church supports them through the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), working for the regularization of the approximately 12 million undocumented migrants. However, Archbishop Veglio said, this should be united to immigration reform and in order to achieve this, the necessary political will is required to address humanely undocumented migration....
....A new form of displacement is now on its way, Archbishop Veglio said, “People are moving away, since they can no longer make a living as a results of desertification and growing water scarcity, increasing sea-levels and 'salinization' of agricultural land. Climate change is also increasingly causing natural disasters, like flooding and storms. As a result, conflicts over resources increase. This new form of displacement will have enormous consequences for decades to come. The frequently cited and accepted estimates of 200 million climate-induced displaced persons by 2050 indicate the gigantic dimensions of the problem, said the archbishop. Human migration will undoubtedly be one of the most significant consequences of the change in climate, he said.
Illegal is illegal! Get out and enter LEGALLY and via the same process as the rest of us. I’m tired of articles with “fresh, new” approaches to this issue.
Yes, our priest has started up on this again also. The good news is that the diocese has dumped the “healthcare is a basic human right” mantra.
He needs to seek the face of YHvH in His Holy Word. This guy is smoking the same crack pipe as Marx, Lenin, Gore & 0bama.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
Why am I not surprised that the Church allows this man to take political positions and repeat lies.
American Catholicism = Socialism and Open Borders
So in the eyes of the Catholic church it is OK to break the Law??? How about someone robbing the church?
Catholic Legal Immigration Network
http://www.cliniclegal.org/
In 1988, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) established CLINIC as a legally distinct 501(c)(3) organization to support a rapidly growing network of community-based immigration programs. CLINIC’s network originally comprised 17 programs. It has since increased to more than 185 diocesan and other affiliated immigration programs with 290 field offices in 48 states. The network employs roughly 1,200 attorneys and “accredited” paralegals who, in turn, serve 600,000 low-income immigrants each year. CLINIC and its member agencies represent low-income immigrants without reference to their race, religion, gender, ethnic group, or other distinguishing characteristics.
USCCB Migration Chairman Decrys Arizona Law
http://www.cliniclegal.org/news/1004/usccb-migration-chairman-decrys-arizona-law
WASHINGTON, DC— In solidarity with the Catholic bishops of Arizona, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, issued a statement April 27, opposing the enactment and implementation of Arizona SB 1070, which criminalizes undocumented immigrants.
“This new law, although limited to the State of Arizona, could have impact throughout the nation, in terms of how members of our immigrant communities are both perceived and treated,” Bishop Wester said in the statement. “SB 1070 gives law enforcement officials powers to detain and arrest individuals based on a very low legal standard, possibly leading to the profiling of individuals based upon their appearance, manner of speaking, or ethnicity.”
Bishop Wester called SB 1070 “symptomatic of the absence of federal leadership on the issue of immigration” and called for “the Administration and Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to enact comprehensive immigration reform as soon as possible.”
Rodger that!
What ever happened to "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's"? (Mark 12:17)
We should not have a public official of the church encouraging people to break the law.
If the Catholic Church wasn’t constantly encouraging people to have babies early and often, with total disregard for whether they have any means to support them, there would be many millions fewer economically desperate people trying to swarm into the US from Latin America. I’m really tired of hearing sob stories about how 20-something-year-old so-and-so simply had to come to the US illegally to find work to support his 5 children. The Catholic Church isn’t interested in supporting all these children — but lectures the rest of us about how we need to be “humane” and let them all live and work here and send their hordes of children to the public schools that WE are forced to pay for.
You overestimate the influence of the Catholic Church in Latin America, and you conveniently leave out the fact that if whites didn't follow the siren song of the culture of death, there would be the children to fill all those jobs that the illegals are taking advantage of.
We’ve got plenty of native-born Americans available to fill those jobs. Just cut off their welfare checks, food stamps, and Section 8 vouchers, and they’ll be lining up for all the low-skilled jobs that illegals are taking.
Ping!
Church thought...
File RICO charges against the church!!!!
That's only because the bill was passed. Let's see what they say when a repeal bill comes up.
There is NO Biblical command to help criminals continue their criminal acts. The Christian response is to urge them to repent and stop their criminal activity. The Church should then help the repentant return to where they belong.
How about these Bishops staying the hell away from politics and cease making flakey statements? The drug gangs don't WANT to break down social barriers and integrate. They want to devour us!
If the Catholic Church had been doing its job in transforming its flock spiritually, they would be successful in their own countries. Why are so many predominantly Catholic countries so politically backward? So economically stifled? So corrupt?. Why has Catholic culture produced no John Stuart Mills, no Adam Smiths, no Lord Chesterfields? Instead, we get dreamers, utopian socialists (Rosseau and Voltaire), and finally 'Liberation Theology'.
OK, I know I've been very hard on the RCC, but use reason if you are offended. I do not hate Catholics, and am not trying to initiate a flame war. It is right to get on one's knees before God, but also necessary to stand and face the real world, learn its laws and act accordingly. As distinguished from merely hoping for something miraculous, embracing bs utopian ideals, or expecting successful countries to cure the cesspool these immigrants crawl out of.
Jesus, forgive me if I have misspoken, but this is what I really feel (and not the words of one who kneels).
By posting articles such as this, in my opinion, you put yourself in the same category as many northeasterners who posted signs:
No Irish Need Apply.
No Catholics Need Apply.
No Blacks need Apply.
That is how I would expect the Church to spend God’s money, doing God’s work and not the Devil’s.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.