Now THIS is the Catholic Church I used to know and love

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/opinion/03fri1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

"It has been a long time since this country heard a call to organized lawbreaking on this big a scale. Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, urged parishioners on Ash Wednesday to devote the 40 days of Lent to fasting, prayer and reflection on the need for humane reform of immigration laws. If current efforts in Congress make it a felony to shield or offer support to illegal immigrants, Cardinal Mahony said, he will instruct his priests — and faithful lay Catholics — to defy the law."

Some of the immigration laws they are talking about are horrible - I regularly hear AM talking wingnuts saying that illegal immigrants should receive NO medical care (I guess they should be left bleeding on the hospital steps) and NO education for their children. So Christian of our religious right, isn't it.

More:

The cardinal's focus of concern is H.R. 4437, a bill sponsored by James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin and Peter King of New York. This grab bag legislation, which was recently passed by the House, would expand the definition of "alien smuggling" in a way that could theoretically include working in a soup kitchen, driving a friend to a bus stop or caring for a neighbor's baby. Similar language appears in legislation being considered by the Senate this week.

(snip)"As his disciples, we are called to attend to the last, littlest, lowest and least in society and in the church," he said."

Good for him! And good for the Catholic Church! I bet my wingnut Catholic friends are going to be screaming about this.

to do anything about the corporations who hire illegals. That's the real problem. But the cheap labor repugs need their slaves.

Nice to see a RC priest taking the lead.

I'm not Catholic and this man makes me proud.

....The cardinal's focus of concern is H.R. 4437, a bill sponsored by James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin and Peter King of New York. This grab bag legislation, which was recently passed by the House, would expand the definition of "alien smuggling" in a way that could theoretically include working in a soup kitchen, driving a friend to a bus stop or caring for a neighbor's baby. Similar language appears in legislation being considered by the Senate this week.

i was also madly in love with the catholic church when they were the real heros in el salvador and guatemala.

before jpII cracked the whip on socially active priests and nuns in south america -- there was a movement a foot to make any one glad.

not that they stopped working with the poor -- but they had to change their message re: land reform, etc.

1990 I ran against a very conservative Democrat for US cOngress in the primary. I was given a chance to get 6% of the votye, but wound up with 42%.

We made this Congressman spend 558,000.00 when the average winning incumbant was spanding 200,000.00

The point of the run was to get him to quit funding for the SOA in Ft. Benning. This run was started right after the killing of the six Jesuits.

I was strongly suppported by the liberal faith community in my town and while I didn't win...it definately shone a spotlight on his voting record and he ultimately voted to stop funding the SOA.

It also woke up to some degree the liberal community in Tacoma, Washington (the heart of his district) since then he has been a little bit more careful about his vote.

I totality I firmly believe that issue moved the community to the left. But for me the most important part was that we were making a statement on behalf of those who are poor, marinalized and have no voice of advocacy. IMHO

I'm not so sure that H.R. 4437 is a good idea. From the article it seems to focus on private citizen's illegal use of illegal immigrants yet the corporation are the ones making huge profits off the illegals.

Yet I don't approve of this Cardinal promoting illegals. I can understand giving them medical care and other much needed items. It is just inhumane to ignore their basic needs. But how do you know when you smuggle or assist an illegal, you aren't helping a drug runner or criminal?

We have to do something to secure our borders and at the same time treat people humanely. I'm not sure H.R. 4437 does this nor do I believe this Cardinal's ideas address the problems either. There is a solution, we just have a bunch of incompetence in congress who can't be bothered to look for a truly humane solution.

Once they cross the border, they've got "friends" who will take care of them.

It's good to see a Catholic leader irritating the people who need to be irritated.

And it's something that doesn't recognise international borders. Looked at from a certain perspective, this Cardinal's words are the only consistently "Christian" response to the question of illegal immigrants; they're certainly more "Christian" than a call for these people to be deported or arrested, or than the ideas that mercy is only for one's fellow-citizens, and that the Church's oblligation to social justice stops at the US border.

the right wingers I know who are Catholic (and I live in NY, mind you!) has been drowned underneath their hatred of abortion and gays.

It's good to see a Cardinal try to get back to what's important, even if one disagrees with his point of view.

most non-Hispanic Catholics (who are largely the descendants of Irish, Polish and Italian immigrants in the 19th century) are thoroughly assimilated Americans, who are solidly working- and middle-class; so in a large part of the country, the idea of social justice has been abdicated by the Church in favour of debates about 'traditional values'...probably at least partly a result of the fact that it's their Roman Catholicism that now sets them apart from mainstream secular/Protestant culture, rather than ethnicity.

That there are people out there who think illegal immigrants shouldn't be given medical care. Basic medical care is the least we can do for any person, no matter what nationality they are. It's nice to see the Catholic Church is taking action on this matter. On health care issues, I hope the Catholic Church will also put some pressure on Catholic hospitals to make sure those with and without insurance are charged the same rates for the same care. I know a couple lawsuits have been filed demanding this issue of fairness be addressed.

and not contribute back via taxes like the rest of us?


IMO, if an illegal goes to a clinic or tries to enroll their kid in school, round them up and deport them!


Let them come in the legal way.