Dear Friends,
It seems like not a day goes by when there is not some discussion of immigration in the news. There is even an attitude developing now in Washington to make legal immigration more difficult.
By any assessment, the current system of immigration in this country is not working. Our laws are allowing entry for some and decade long waits for others, they have been selectively enforced, and have created a dangerous situation. Fear and suspicion dominate; there has been a sad increase in nativist anger that is unbecoming a nation of immigrants with a Judeo-Christian heritage. We are seeing the same attitudes that existed long ago when the Irish and Italians came to this country and faced great hatred.
Catholics ought to approach this issue as Catholics, deeply rooted in Scripture and in our established teachings that summon us to welcome and assist others to contribute to our great land. Catholics have suffered much from nativist sentiments in the past. We are and always have been an immigrant Church in America. We have a proud history of coming here, making a positive difference, and helping others to do so. Our parishes have always been centers of both familiar culture and of acclimation to our country. This is the origin of our Catholic school system. Come and visit All Saints School, which is filled with children of immigrants.
In our charity, we ought to be very hesitant to demonize the majority of immigrants as scofflaws and criminals. Even those who are currently without legal papers have most often come here to escape from desperate conditions of poverty and injustice. Some originally arrived legally but have since had their status expire and now cannot reasonably return.
I know the personal stories of many immigrants from my work at Our Lady of Guadalupe and here at Cabrini with our Sudanese members. Their stories are complex and often tragic. No one leaves his country and his relatives behind on a whim, just to go and live in a foreign land. They risked their lives and endured substantial hardship in order to come here because they are so desperate and see so few alternatives.
My family immigrated from Germany to avoid being forced into military service. Do you know your family’s story? Why did they come here and how were they treated when they arrived? I hope most of my relatives were decent, hard-working people who wanted to survive and to contribute as well.
We are Catholics and as such we need to think about this issue as Catholics. Our Scriptures and our teachings are unambiguous. The human rights of the immigrants, sojourners, and strangers among us are to be respected. We also need to help them to respect our laws and traditions. We can and should enrich one another.
The World Herald said last week that there are 35,000 jobs that need to be filled in Nebraska alone. Is there not some way that we could all benefit from having immigrants fill some of those jobs?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church seeks to strike a balance between the need of a nation to protect its borders and reasonably manage immigration with the command to welcome and care for others:
The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.
Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws, and to assist in carrying civic burdens (Catechism 2241).
Please add your Catholic voice to this ongoing national debate.
Peace,
Fr. Damian