Cardinal, bishops draw support in immigration reform debate
Mar 22, 2006
As the discussion and debate on federal immigration reform continued in the local newspapers, Cardinal Roger Mahony --- whose public opposition to a House-passed reform measure has ignited much of the debate --- urged a California Senator to adopt legislation "that is both just and compassionate."
(The Tidings, March 10, 2006) "There are many sound ideas for immigration reform in discussion these days," the cardinal wrote March 1 to California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Please take the best of them, and help set aside those that are punitive and not in the long tradition of America's welcome."
In his letter, Cardinal Mahony pointed to Scripture citations from the Old and New Testaments --- Exodus 23: 9 ("You must not oppress the stranger") and Matthew 25: 35 ("I was a stranger and you welcomed me") --- to emphasize that newcomers to this country must be treated with dignity and respect.
"We do not have the option of treating the alien or the immigrant in a punitive manner," the cardinal said.
He included a Parish Resource Kit, produced by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and made available to all parishes, in his letter to Sen. Feinstein, to assist in drafting sound legislation. And he noted that, as a senator of the state with the nation's largest immigrant population, she is being looked to "for leadership with your fellow senators on this important issue."
Last week, Cardinal Mahony urged Catholics to oppose H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act that was passed Dec. 16 by the House of Representatives, 239-182. The bill would require humanitarian groups --- including religious organizations --- to find out a person's legal status before offering any assistance, and would place stiff penalties on any individuals who assisted undocumented immigrants.
In interviews with The Tidings and other news agencies since mid-February, Cardinal Mahony noted that such a bill would make criminals out of priests who offered sacraments to worshippers who were undocumented. "We're not going to do it," he told The Tidings, and he encouraged priests to continue to provide pastoral services to undocumented people, even if H.R. 4437 became law.
Public reaction to the cardinal's proposal was widespread, with letter writers to newspapers (including The Tidings) voicing either strong support or opposition. Editorials lauding the cardinal's position appeared in several newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and San Diego Union Tribune.
Ventura County-Star columnist Colleen Cason, in the March 3 edition, noted that "no one needed to show Jesus some stinking badge before he ministered to them…. He only needed to know they bled red, they ached, they thirsted and they despaired."
In Los Angeles, representatives of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights delivered to the Archdiocesan Catholic Center a letter signed by 296 parishioners, thanking Cardinal Mahony for his "voz profética" (prophetic voice) regarding "humane immigration reform…. We are encouraged to know that the Church stands with the stranger in our midst."
Cardinal, bishops draw support in immigration reform debate