Immigration - Thank-You Cardinal O'Malley

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godisgood77

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Thank-you for leading on this important topic Cardinal O’Malley and for doing it the Catholic way.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-u...lley-america-always-preferential-option-poor/

“I see this anti-immigration spirit that flares up occasionally in our history as an aberration. It’s something that’s un-American and it’s certainly not Catholic, and we need to resist it…knowing that they [immigrants] are our brothers and sisters and make wonderful contributions in the long run to our country,” he told Crux.
 
godisgood77 said:
It’s something that’s un-American and it’s certainly not Catholic, and we need to resist it
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I wonder if these bishops have any conception of how their comments poison the discussion from the start. Cardinal O’Malley’s comments imply that if someone disagrees with him about immigration policy then that person is somehow less of a Catholic. He has made agreement with his immigration policy a test of whether one is a good Catholic, or, presumably, a bad one.

I really don’t think labeling ones political opponents as un-American and un-Catholic can be considered the Catholic way…or at least is shouldn’t be.
 
Cardinal O’Malley is clearly a student of history. Because it wasn’t all that long ago that Catholics were the immigrant whipping boys. Those foreign, Un-American Roman Papists. Or at least that’s how the rhetoric went. Stealing all the jobs and undermining our democracy and corrupting the ballot box.
 
Not at all. If the US is to help the poor, then according to some people’s logic, we should just allow any person in who is from a developing nation.
 
In fact, very few Americans are anti-immigration. Our birth rate is so low that we would have a huge labor shortage without immigration. Our anti-child, anti-marriage bias is a huge problem, but that is another topic. People can be against massive illegal immigration with being anti-immigrant. Bishop O’Malley certainly knows that.
 
I haven’t encountered anyone with that view.

I have seen plenty of reasonable folks with the view that we do not have an immigration problem in terms of the number of people entering the country… instead our system is broken as it takes years to immigrate legally. These people advocate for a more efficient intake system that doesn’t have people waiting 5, 10, 15 years to move.
 
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I’m all for immigration.

But, sneaking across the border without the US knowing is not immigration. At least not the type that the Irish did.

I love that Hispanics are coming over from Mexico. They have a wonderful culture (except for the drug cartels). But don’t do it illegally.
 
Agree. The system is broken…

I can’t figure out why it takes longer now than it did during the great Irish immigration. That’s the problem that needs to be fixed… the ingestion engine.
 

Mass immigration opponents are usually inconsistent. Are we bound to accept these people because of their poverty, or are they productive people who will make the country better? The two lines of argument are mutually inconsistent.

As it happens, it’s frequently the worst of both worlds. Many immigrants are better than average in their home country (as economic assets), but worse than average here. The result being that their migration both drags our country down, and causes brain-drain on theirs.

In any case, current immigration levels are poised to demographically transform the country. If that happen, America will neither be able to provide refuge for the destitute nor the massive amount of aid it currently provides for the third world.
 
godisgood77 said:
It’s something that’s un-American and it’s certainly not Catholic
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The Church recognises the right of nations to police their borders. It also recognises an obligation on nations to help those in genuine need. The Church says nothing about specifics of immigration policy. There are a wide variety of positions a Catholic could legitimately hold.

It’s a problem when people are accused of racism for suggesting that the immigration laws should be enforced.
 
Preferential option for the poor – would that be applied to the poor of our own country first? Because I think illegal immigration must be hurting our own poor in a variety of ways.
 
An “anti-immigration spirit” is un-Catholic since there is a natural right to migrate (based on the fact that God originally gave the whole world for the support of all men.) The right to migrate is the starting point, so a predisposition against it is contrary to the faith.

On the other hand, I’m not sure if this is what the Cardinal intends, but it would not be fair or just to make a blanket judgment and ascribe all concerns about any particular immigration policy in any particular circumstances to an “anti-immigration spirit.” At the same time, when considering the appropriate limits (because men live in a society, the exercise of each individual’s rights must often be limited in consideration of the common good) we need to make sure we are approaching this issue the right way.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be in English anywhere online, but there is a portion of Pope Pius XII’s Christmas message of 1952 that is especially on point (it can be found in Italian beginning on page 41 of the 1953 edition of the AAS.) He warns against an immigration analysis that is strictly based on a cold economic calculation and of rigid and inflexible systems and policies that lack mercy and any moral considerations or acknowledgment of the solidarity of all men. Interestingly enough, the whole passage draws a parallel between such policies on immigration and policies that promote the use of contraception, as each subvert the order of nature based on the pretext of false conceptions of the common good.
 
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You’re absolutely right that it is a problem when people are accused of racism for looking to have laws enforced. I don’t think that is what is happening in general… of course there are always going to be radicals… there are some real problems with the Presidents repeated comments toward certain countries and peoples that do raise the ugly specter of racism… whether purposeful or not his comments are truly unfortunate - as the good Cardinal says.
 
‘Anti-immigration’ is an extreme descriptor and left-wing buzz-word. Regulated immigration is legal, prudent and desirable. In one sense, the US is a lifeboat - it cannot hold the world. Access must be controlled or it will ultimately result in societal chaos. Look at the EU for a prime example of this.
 
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