For those who are saying that the bishops, rabbis and Protestant pastors who have written have no place in this discussion, we have to stop and reconsider that position. The Church has a right to make her presence felt in all areas of society. This is within her mission to preach the Good News to all nations. When there is a moral issue that has to be addressed, the Church has every right to speak.
There are moral issues in this bill, as other posters have pointed out. The greatest moral problem with this bill is that it allows police to detain an individual who cannot provide documentation that they are here legally. This raises several serious questions. Does the individual have to carry his passport and visa with him? Will the person be detained if he does not have them? If these answers are affirmative, that’s a grave injustice, as this is not required of any other ethnic or language group. Injustice always falls under the moral authority of the Church.
In addition, there is the potential for racial profiling. There are many American Hispanics. Some are honest hard working people and others are criminals too. Just because they are Americans, does not mean that they always do the right thing. The motivation for this bill was crime and violence. To pass a bill that singularizes one group of people can give the rest of the world the impression that this group is culpable for all the crimes and violence in that state. That would be a falsehood. Falsehoods are immoral. The Church has a right to speak out on this.
If you notice, the bishops, rabbis and pastors who have reacted to this bill are not opposing fighting crime. They are opposing the fact that the bill opens the door for injustice against a sector of society. It also makes that sector very vulnerable. If an illegal immigrant is assaulted, raped, burglarized, does he have to remain quiet out of fear of being deported? Is this fair? Does this conform to the Gospel? Again the bishops have a right to speak up for the Gospel and proclaim that this is not morally acceptable.
As to the question of obedience to the bishops, when a bishop takes a position on something that is not a moral or doctrinal position, the individual is allowed to make a personal judgment. When a bishop presents a moral teaching, it is not the bishop whom we are obeying, but the moral teaching. A moral teaching remains a moral teaching, whether it is communicated by a bishop, council or a pope. Yes, we are bound to obey the moral law over the civil law. When the civil law creates situations for immoral actions, then the civil law has to be called into question and modifications have to be made to it so that it protects the innocent from the guilty and so that it does not place individuals in positions where they are afraid to call upon law enforcement when they need assistance or protection. It is contrary to the Gospel to allow for the existence of civil laws that are in conflict with moral law.
As Catholics we must remember that civil law is never to be taken as moral law. It is also to be understood that our examination of all civil laws must be against the background of the Church’s teachings. Finally, as Catholics we have a duty to take seriously what our bishops say and examine why they say what they say, before we simply dismiss them. These are not perfect men, but they remain the lawful successors of the apostles. Therefore, we cannot simply dismiss a statement by an apostle. If we’re unsure what is being said or why, we have a duty to ask and to learn, always against the backdrop of Church teaching.
I hope this helps someone.
Brother, I hope it helps many people.
It’s shocking to hear many say the Bishops, rabbis, ministers should keep silent.
If such are moral leaders (and they are), why would they keep quiet on morality of laws?
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
