04/10/06
IMMIGRATION
AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
In an article published here over a year ago (see http://www.puritans.net/news/comeonin010804.htm), we documented the Catholic Church’s use of
immigration to further its goals. Now
immigration is at the fore-front of national news, and it is pertinent to
update our previous article with this information:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immig26mar26,0,7628611.story?coll=la-home-headlines
:
“A crowd
estimated by police at more than 500,000 boisterously marched in Los Angeles on
Saturday to protest federal legislation that would crack down on undocumented
immigrants…
It
coincides with an initiative on the part of the Roman Catholic Church, spearheaded
by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles, to defy a House bill
that would make aiding undocumented immigrants a felony. And it signals the
burgeoning political clout of Latinos, especially in California…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/01/AR2006040101206.html
:
“Now Cardinal Roger Mahony, he leads the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It is the largest Roman Catholic diocese in the country, and Mahony has recently placed himself and the church in the middle of the national debate on immigration.
On March 1, during Ash Wednesday Mass, the Hollywood-born clergyman attacked a House bill that would turn most people and institutions that aid illegal immigrants into felons. Calling it "blameful, vicious" legislation, Mahony vowed a campaign of civil disobedience in the archdiocese's 288 parishes if it becomes law.
Protest organizers and participants credited Mahony's fire from the pulpit -- and the educational campaign he initiated in January throughout his archdiocese -- with playing a critical role in organizing opposition. They say his efforts helped prompt half a million people, including many illegal immigrants, to feel safe enough participate in one of the biggest demonstrations ever in downtown Los Angeles on March 25, calling for a more liberal immigration bill…
Mahony has been criticized by parishioners and other Catholics for his stance in the [child abuse cover-up] scandal. He directed a tough legal battle against the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, which wants access to the diocese's personnel records to investigate possible felony child-molestation charges against as many as 100 priests. The archdiocese wants to keep the records closed.”
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/041006dnmetrallymain.805fdfb.html :
"...The
rally was to begin at 1 p.m. at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of
Guadalupe, at Ross Avenue and Pearl Street. Long before then, however,
participants, most of them Hispanic, flowed in from remote parking lots and
began taking their places in line. Some carried large U.S. flags; another group
had a 5-foot banner reading "Legalización. It's our American dream
too."
Pressured
by the pent-up energy of the crowd, organizers moved the barricades at 12:52
p.m., and the marchers began proceeding slowly from the church west on Ross
Avenue, accompanied by shouts through megaphones, cheering and drumbeats.
At
City Hall, they listened to a series of speakers and waved their flags. Among
the loudest ovations was for Bishop Charles Grahmann of the Dallas Diocese, who
told the crowd: "We're on a journey, and it is a journey that is sometimes
very difficult. ... We welcome the opportunity to voice our support for all of
our people to become part of the American Dream."
"Between
350,000 and 500,000 participants showed up, according to Dallas police
estimates. In Fort Worth, about 10,000 to 30,000 people marched.
Sunday's
march brought together U.S. citizens and immigrants, both legal and illegal. It
drew families and teenagers and a mix of veteran activists and those
demonstrating for the first time."
http://www.news10.net/storyfull3.aspx?storyid=16658
:
“On
24th Street in Phoenix, marchers were waving American and Mexican flags with
signs that said, "We are not criminals," and shouting "Si se
puede," (It can be done.) They walked from St. Agnes Catholic Church at
24th Street and McDowell Road north to Camelback Road to Kyl's Phoenix office.
Kyl, a Republican, is sponsoring a bill along with by Sen. John Cornyn,
R-Texas, that would give illegal immigrants up to five years to leave the
country.”
We should not be naive about what is going on here.