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Mexican bishops denounce Arizona immigration law: Catholic World News

The bishops of Mexico have released a press statement denouncing the controversial Arizona immigration law. The statement was signed by Bishop Víctor René Rodríguez Gómez of Texcoco, secretary general of the Mexican bishops’ conference.

“With deep sadness, we have received the news that the immigration law SB1070 has entered into force,” the statement begins. Expressing solidarity with Latinos residing in the United States, the bishops “ask with insistence that the Lord of life and all the earth move the hearts of all people who do not know the Father of all and have not been able to discover brotherhood, tolerance, and mercy.”

“We value and we are thankful to the noble and generous people of the United States of America, who for years have offered a warm welcome and support to Mexico and so many countries in need on the continent and in the world,” the statement continues. “We are disappointed to see, and we firmly condemn, the selfish and irresponsible attitude of certain powerful groups which aim to separate countless families, leaving them to drown in deepest misery and poverty after having made enormous sacrifices and risked their lives in the search for a better life and a future of wellbeing and justice for their children.”

“We join our voices with those of all men and women of goodwill calling on Mexican authorities, and Mexican families and parishes, to warmly welcome with specific pastoral care our brothers and sisters forced to retrace their steps.”

“We intend to continue our activity to render our people of Mexico ‘A Home and a School of Communion,’ enabling them to be present in faith and prayer. We give them our blessing as Bishops and we commend them to the Heart of God, to His Son Jesus Christ, and to Holy Mary of Guadalupe.”

The bishops of Mexico with deep sadness should acknowledge their country -- its politics, its culture, and the how the Catholic faith is acted out in the temporal order -- have failed Mexicans and the United States has been successful in creating opportunity, wealth, and hope for millions of Mexicans. I call upon the bishops of Mexico to convert the selfish, irresponsible, and powerful elites who keep so many of Mexico in poverty and misery to create a future for Mexico that doesn't depopulate itself. God bless Mexico and God bless the United States of America.

Labels: catholic, hispanic, immigration, politics

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:51 PM   Permalink  

 
Venezuela: Chavez supporters occupy cardinal's residence: Catholic World News

Caracas, Feb. 28, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have occupied the residence of the Archbishop of Caracas, the newspaper El Pais reports.

Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino denounced the action by members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Cardinal Urosa Savino said: "Interrupting our work is an act of violence."

President Chavez has frequently denounced the Catholic hierarchy of Venezuela, charging that the bishops are undermining his government by criticizing his tendencies toward autocratic government and mob rule. Chavez supporters have become steadily more aggressive in their hostility toward the nation's bishops.

It's an extension of the policy of the bishops of the Western Hemisphere who argue there should be no borders, no wall, no barriers to migration, and the laws which order society to impose them are manifestly unjust.

What we have here is a migration from inferior housing to better housing. Why shouldn't the people of Venezuela have access to quality of housing enjoyed by the Catholic hierarchy?

What privileges the Cardinal's residence in a way that doesn't also privilege the US border?

Labels: church-state, immigration

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:51 AM   Permalink  

 
What sign would Jesus hang around a giant inflatable rat?

	The inflatable rat is ever present as the visible sign that there are scab workers. The last time I saw them, it was a protest in front of a former union supermarket that had closed and re-opened as a non-union supermarket. The reason it had closed was because paying union wages made it non-competitive.
Who would Jesus deport?

An immigration policy that discriminates on a strictly racial or national origin basis would be immoral. But who is advocating that?

What immigration policy did the Jesus' own people have? They were very tough. Read Nehemiah 13 which condemned the presence of foreigners and intermarriage.

For that matter, look at the Holy Family, they fled to Egypt, but returned, rather than becoming immigrants to that land.

Who would Jesus deport? I think he'd leave it to the people to decide as a matter of collective prudential judgment.

What's my contribution to the collective prudential judgment? Enforce the law and reduce new illegal immigration. For people currently who entered illegally or overstayed visas, etc., they should return to the country where they are citizens and apply to enter legally.

Labels: immigration

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:54 PM   Permalink