New L.A. Archbishop…Discusses Immigration & Church

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Quote from Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Most Rev. José Gomez

**" **The Church is not a political party or interest group. It is not the Church’s primary task to fight political battles or to be engaged in debates over specific policies. This task belongs to the laity. The Church’s interest in immigration is not a recent development. It doesn’t grow out of any political or partisan agenda. No. It is a part of our original religious identity as Catholics, as Christians. We must defend the immigrant if we are to be worthy of the name Catholic. For bishops and priests, our job as pastors is to help form our peoples’ consciences, especially those who work in the business community and in government. We need to instill in our people a greater sense of their civic duty to work for reforms in a system that denies human dignity to so many.

While we forcefully defend the rights of immigrants, we must also remind them of their duties under Catholic social teaching. Chief among these duties is the obligation to respect the laws of their new country. We need to help ensure that these newcomers become true Americans while preserving their own distinctive identity and culture, in which religion, family, friendship, community, and the culture of life are important values.

I’m not a politician. I’m a pastor of souls. And as a pastor I believe the situation that’s developed today is bad for the souls of Americans. There is too much anger. Too much resentment. Too much fear. Too much hate. It’s eating people up. In this volatile debate, the Church must be a voice of compassion, reason, and moral principle**."**

See: Wanderer for Article in entirety.
thewandererpress.com/ee/wandererpress/index.php

This New Archbishop for LA is going to short circuit the shennanigans and name-calling of Mahoney. Score one for the Good Guys. 👍 Thank you Pope Benedict.
He even quoted the CCC (Second Edition) in article.
 
A few years ago I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Archbishop José Gomez at a Catholic Men’s conference here in San Antonio. I can assure all that the city of Angels is truly in good hands now with him as their shepherd. I’m just sad that he is no longer my Bishop.
 
WatchingMedia said:
Quote from Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Most Rev. José Gomez

**" **The Church is not a political party or interest group. It is not the Church’s primary task to fight political battles or to be engaged in debates over specific policies. This task belongs to the laity. The Church’s interest in immigration is not a recent development. It doesn’t grow out of any political or partisan agenda. No. It is a part of our original religious identity as Catholics, as Christians. We must defend the immigrant if we are to be worthy of the name Catholic. For bishops and priests, our job as pastors is to help form our peoples’ consciences, especially those who work in the business community and in government. We need to instill in our people a greater sense of their civic duty to work for reforms in a system that denies human dignity to so many.

While we forcefully defend the rights of immigrants, we must also remind them of their duties under Catholic social teaching. Chief among these duties is the obligation to respect the laws of their new country. We need to help ensure that these newcomers become true Americans while preserving their own distinctive identity and culture, in which religion, family, friendship, community, and the culture of life are important values.

I’m not a politician. I’m a pastor of souls. And as a pastor I believe the situation that’s developed today is bad for the souls of Americans. There is too much anger. Too much resentment. Too much fear. Too much hate. It’s eating people up. In this volatile debate, the Church must be a voice of compassion, reason, and moral principle**."**

See: Wanderer for Article in entirety.
thewandererpress.com/ee/wandererpress/index.php

This New Archbishop for LA is going to short circuit the shennanigans and name-calling of Mahoney. Score one for the Good Guys. 👍 Thank you Pope Benedict.
He even quoted the CCC (Second Edition) in article.
Click to expand...
:clapping::clapping::clapping:
 
It is refreshing, to me, to see someone attempting to address ALL the issues of immigration:thumbsup:👍
 
In Australia we have a similar debate but about ‘boat people’ - refugees that arrive on our shores by boat. I’d say the greater part of the population would like to send them back to where-ever they came from but the Catholic church here has done a lot to defend them and plead compassion.
 
Although I agree that the Church’s responsibility lies in the support of the souls of those in its care, there are two concerns with this statement. The first is the topic line as discussing ‘immigration’, not ‘illegal immigration’. The second is that, as is stated in the post, the immigrants must ‘respect the laws of their new country’.

In the fashion this is presented, there appears to be an understated support of illegal immigration by referring to it merely as immigration and illegal immigrants have violated that respect upon their unlawful entry. If I am incorrect about the content of the message, I apologize. If I am correct, then this IS a political postion. For those lawful immigrants, I have found America to be a welcoming and supporting culture. I have some concerns about those who refuse to become part of the American culture, who fail to appreciate their adopted American values and traditions, and instead remain isolated in a culture within a culture. I don’t understand why people would seek to immigrate and yet never assimilate into their new culture.

If the position is one of asylum for those who are beseiged in some of the more horrible areas in Mexico, that is a reasonable discussion. However, to omit the fact that much of the ongoing debate is on ‘illegal’ immigration is to avoid the issue. In this country we seek to hold the individual up, not the group from which they arise, and proclaim and protect their individual rights under God. Those lawful immigrants can claim the full support of our constitution and the laws of the land, but can we really be expected to support the millions of illegal immigrants within the limit resources we have available?
 
I read it differently. Clearly immigrants must obey the law. Immigrants who do not obey immigration laws are clearly breaking the law - thus ILLEGAL.

To take this one step further, the Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states:
#2241 - Second paragraph.
**"**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."

2245 The Church, because of her commission and competence, is not to be confused in any way with the political community. She is both the sign and the safeguard of the transcendent character of the human person. "The Church respects and encourages the political freedom and responsibility of the citizen."52

2246
It is a part of the Church’s mission "to pass moral judgments even in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it. The means, the only means, she may use are those which are in accord with the Gospel and the welfare of all men according to the diversity of times and circumstances."53

Unlike Mahoney who had no regard for the law or these parts of the Catechism, when putting it all together, the New LA Archbishop is right down the line - with the teachings of the Church.
Clearly the Bishops are also limited in their political activity - which needs to be monitored.
I really urge (like a broken record) everyone to read the CCC 2nd Edition, first printed in US in 2000. The teachings and philosophy behind them are very interesting.
Footnotes point to Bible, Canon Law, and other important Document teachings.

The Vatican web site is a good way to find many documents for those who are interested.
 
My personal opinion -

Our government must be blamed for immigration problem, due to purposeful, lax
monitoring of our borders, and - not prosecuting employers for hiring illegals.

Illegals are at the mercy of unethical employers regarding fair wages and other issues. If the illegal does not do what the employer wants they are threatened with deportation.
This type of treatment and intimidation must stop.
  1. The fence must be competed first, as the start toward orderly immigration.
  2. Then our government must have orderly system for those who are here and have been law abiding while here - to get Green Cards, and citizenship classes for those who are interested.
Each illegal immigrant has the legal right to due process in our Immigration Courts. The system would collapse under the burden of millions of cases, and therefore this is not a reasonable option.
Scare tactics on the part of Mahoney and others is false and inappropriate.
 
Air_Force_1 said:
A few years ago I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Archbishop José Gomez at a Catholic Men’s conference here in San Antonio. I can assure all that the city of Angels is truly in good hands now with him as their shepherd. I’m just sad that he is no longer my Bishop.
Click to expand...
One of the last things he did as bishop here in San Antonio, was to kick out of the diocese Traditional Catholic priest Fr. Kloster. Fr. Kloster preached the Catholic Faith from the pulpit and had a great love for the Traditional Mass.
 
Sword_Brethren said:
One of the last things he did as bishop here in San Antonio, was to kick out of the diocese Traditional Catholic priest Fr. Kloster. Fr. Kloster preached the Catholic Faith from the pulpit and had a great love for the Traditional Mass.
Click to expand...
Could you please provide link? I found this letter from Father Kloster praising Archbishop Gomez.
newoxfordreview.org/letters.jsp?did=0508-letters
dated May 2008.
See last paragraph praising Archbishop Gomez.
Titled “A Glorious Transformation”

" Here in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, we have had a glorious transformation. The Traditional Latin Mass has not been very well viewed, over the past 35 years, by a presby*terate very suspicious and critical of things traditional.

The Traditional Latin Mass had been relegated to a nursing home chapel that seats about 45 people. There were usually two Masses on Sunday, except when, on occasion, one was canceled due to the lack of priests willing or able to say both Masses. That meant usually between 60 and 90 people came to the Sunday Masses over the past eight years.

Then, on the Second Sunday of Lent (Feb. 17), Fr. Francis McHugh, pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, invited us to have an inaugural Mass at his parish near Fort Sam Houston. What a miracle, considering no pastor had before even hinted at being sympathetic to the Traditional Latin Mass!

Here’s where it gets phenomenal and almost unbelievable in a religious climate that can only be described as hostile to the Traditional Latin Mass. He agreed to move an existing 12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass to the 5:30 PM time slot. He allowed the Traditional Latin Mass to be moved to 12 noon to better suit the priest saying the Mass. He allowed a communion rail to be constructed. He allowed the high altar to be reconstructed and enlarged. Finally, he asked that the Traditional Latin Mass be said on First Fridays as well, so that the schoolchildren could be exposed to it!

The inaugural 12 noon High Mass attracted nearly 600 people to a church that seats 650. The collection was nearly double what the 12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass had previously averaged. The Traditional Latin Mass, over ensuing weeks, has averaged around 400 people every Sunday, and the collection continues to exceed the previous 12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass average.

St. Pius X now has a Wednesday 7 AM Traditional Mass attended by about 40 people, and a Saturday 8 AM Mass attended by about 80 people. The inaugural 8 AM First Friday Mass of March 7 (Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of Catholic schools, according to the traditional calendar) had about 300 students and about 300 family members and parishioners present.

The Most Rev. Jose Gomez, our Archbishop, and Fr. Francis McHugh deserve a huge deal of credit for withstanding the barrage of criticism they have received for allowing the Traditional Latin Mass into the mainstream of Catholic life here in San Antonio.

The Rev. Fr. Donald Kloster
Hospital Chaplain, Archdiocese of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas "
 
I too applaud the bishop and hope he does manage to navigate the rock filled waters of the immigration issue without becoming partisan (can’t help but be a bit political).

I disagree with an earlier poster that the fence is priority #1 for immigration. To me, the clear path appears as follows:
  1. We must massively increase the legal immigration quotas for Mexican and South American immigrants with no special skills, no political connections and no wealth requirements. Re-establish the principle of America being a haven for the tired, poor huddled masses yearning to be free. Set the legal quota at about 85% of how many are currently coming here illegally anyways. Screen out criminals and terrorists, of course.
  2. Set up a plea bargain for illegals currently here. They must plead guilty, pay a nominal fine (possibly related to paying Social Security and not getting any credit for it during probation) and go on probation for a period of years before they can begin a track to citizenship. This process should be just BARELY harder on these folks than things have been for would-be immigrants that have refrained from entering illegaly and waited long and patiently on our ridiculous legal immigration process. This is NOT amnesty, this is a restitution and a path to restored dignity for illegals who made a bad choice, but never felt they had any other viable option. Now they do. Any felonies or serious misdemeanors during probation and OUT they go. Anybody who fails to turn themselves in during the program time frame and is later caught: deport.
  3. Build the fence and beef up border security AFTER we establish a generous and fair immigration system. Nobody can protest it anymore at that point since there are clear and legal alternatives for those desiring to immigrate.
  4. No guest worker nonsense. We don’t need a permanent underclass of disposable humans. We need the next generation of immigrant Americans to make us stronger (we mutts are much tougher than ‘purebreds’). Come, BE Americans. Earn your money here, spend it here, live well. Make a bright future for your children and leave the homeland behind like all the rest of us did. It’s a great country, enjoy.
 
manualman,

I would agree mostly with your points 1 and 3, but not two and four.

When the Washington Post does stories on immigrants here, a large majority of them arevnot people who come here with the intention of making the US their permanent home. They come to work, live in substandard conditions, and take all of the money they make in one or two years back to their home country.

They have no desire to be on the “citizen track”. They are on the “make money and send it home” track.

They are, in effect, “guest workers”. Provisions need to be made for them.

And, my personal view is that if you entered this country illegally with the hope of getting amnesty some day, well, there should be no citizen track for you. Permanent resident alien, yes. But, if your entry to this country thumbed your nose at our laws…
 
manualman said:
I too applaud the bishop and hope he does manage to navigate the rock filled waters of the immigration issue without becoming partisan (can’t help but be a bit political).

I disagree with an earlier poster that the fence is priority #1 for immigration. To me, the clear path appears as follows:
  1. We must massively increase the legal immigration quotas for Mexican and South American immigrants with no special skills, no political connections and no wealth requirements. Re-establish the principle of America being a haven for the tired, poor huddled masses yearning to be free. Set the legal quota at about 85% of how many are currently coming here illegally anyways. Screen out criminals and terrorists, of course.
  2. Set up a plea bargain for illegals currently here. They must plead guilty, pay a nominal fine (possibly related to paying Social Security and not getting any credit for it during probation) and go on probation for a period of years before they can begin a track to citizenship. This process should be just BARELY harder on these folks than things have been for would-be immigrants that have refrained from entering illegaly and waited long and patiently on our ridiculous legal immigration process. This is NOT amnesty, this is a restitution and a path to restored dignity for illegals who made a bad choice, but never felt they had any other viable option. Now they do. Any felonies or serious misdemeanors during probation and OUT they go. Anybody who fails to turn themselves in during the program time frame and is later caught: deport.
  3. Build the fence and beef up border security AFTER we establish a generous and fair immigration system. Nobody can protest it anymore at that point since there are clear and legal alternatives for those desiring to immigrate.
  4. No guest worker nonsense. We don’t need a permanent underclass of disposable humans. We need the next generation of immigrant Americans to make us stronger (we mutts are much tougher than ‘purebreds’). Come, BE Americans. Earn your money here, spend it here, live well. Make a bright future for your children and leave the homeland behind like all the rest of us did. It’s a great country, enjoy.
Click to expand...
I totally agree; compassionate yet sensible at the same time.

My dear, late mother, who was as about as conservative as possible, and thoroughly, traditionally Catholic, held what would be regarded as a very “liberal” point of view about immigration (“It’s a big country…if they want to come, let them!”) Her parents were Irish immigrants in the early part of the 20th century. While we must, of course, screen out criminals and terrorists - vigorously - I tend to agree with her.

My daughter has worked for several years with the poorest of the poor, first in Texas, and now in the San Francisco Bay area. She tells of undocumented Mexicans being allowed in, while authorities look the other way, because certain industries need them. There will then be the periodic crackdown and all will be rounded up, sometimes separated from families, etc. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
 
WatchingMedia said:
Could you please provide link? I found this letter from Father Kloster praising Archbishop Gomez.
newoxfordreview.org/letters.jsp?did=0508-letters
dated May 2008.
See last paragraph praising Archbishop Gomez.
Titled “A Glorious Transformation”

" Here in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, we have had a glorious transformation. The Traditional Latin Mass has not been very well viewed, over the past 35 years, by a presby*terate very suspicious and critical of things traditional.

The Traditional Latin Mass had been relegated to a nursing home chapel that seats about 45 people. There were usually two Masses on Sunday, except when, on occasion, one was canceled due to the lack of priests willing or able to say both Masses. That meant usually between 60 and 90 people came to the Sunday Masses over the past eight years.

Then, on the Second Sunday of Lent (Feb. 17), Fr. Francis McHugh, pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, invited us to have an inaugural Mass at his parish near Fort Sam Houston. What a miracle, considering no pastor had before even hinted at being sympathetic to the Traditional Latin Mass!

Here’s where it gets phenomenal and almost unbelievable in a religious climate that can only be described as hostile to the Traditional Latin Mass. He agreed to move an existing 12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass to the 5:30 PM time slot. He allowed the Traditional Latin Mass to be moved to 12 noon to better suit the priest saying the Mass. He allowed a communion rail to be constructed. He allowed the high altar to be reconstructed and enlarged. Finally, he asked that the Traditional Latin Mass be said on First Fridays as well, so that the schoolchildren could be exposed to it!

The inaugural 12 noon High Mass attracted nearly 600 people to a church that seats 650. The collection was nearly double what the 12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass had previously averaged. The Traditional Latin Mass, over ensuing weeks, has averaged around 400 people every Sunday, and the collection continues to exceed the previous 12:15 PM Novus Ordo Mass average.

St. Pius X now has a Wednesday 7 AM Traditional Mass attended by about 40 people, and a Saturday 8 AM Mass attended by about 80 people. The inaugural 8 AM First Friday Mass of March 7 (Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of Catholic schools, according to the traditional calendar) had about 300 students and about 300 family members and parishioners present.

The Most Rev. Jose Gomez, our Archbishop, and Fr. Francis McHugh deserve a huge deal of credit for withstanding the barrage of criticism they have received for allowing the Traditional Latin Mass into the mainstream of Catholic life here in San Antonio.

The Rev. Fr. Donald Kloster
Hospital Chaplain, Archdiocese of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas "
Click to expand...
Look at St. Pius X Catholic Church web site. Fr. Kloster is no longer listed as on the Pastoral Staff.
stpiusx.cc/church.html
Fr. Francis McHugh fired Fr. Kloster and the Arch Bishop Gomoz then kicked him out of the diocese. Fr. Kloster is a good priest and he was the core of the Latin Mass community here in San Antonio. At St. Pius X now we only have two old priests to celebration the Traditional Mass. It sure seems that the bishop didn’t care about the Latin Mass community of San Antonio. The bishop was leaving but he had to kick out Fr. Kloster just a fews weeks before the bishop left himself . Fr. Kloster didn’t molest any kids!!! Fr. Kloster was the only priest who would celebrate the Traditional High Mass. Some people didn’t like that Fr Kloster preached the Catholic Faith from the pulpit. I heard that he got too popular for his own good. Over a hundred people of St. Pius X signed a petition to ask Fr. McHugh to let Fr. Kloster say two High Masses a month but it did no good.
 
PaulinVA,

I agree that there are migrant workers here simply to make money for a time and send it home. This NOT good for America (IMO). We no longer have enough babies to even replace ourselves, much less grow into the vast unpopulated reaches of rural America. It is neither in our long term economic best interest or our cultural best interest to have a “disposable” labor class that we can use and discard when we are finished. Open the doors to those that want to BECOME Americans and close them to those that just want to suck money out of our economy and send it elsewhere.

There will be plenty of takers, believe it.
 
My idea for immigration reform, in order:
  1. Completely secure the border. Allow no body in illegally.
  2. For those that are here, they will be given 6 months to register to become legal immigrants. They must pay a decent fine, to back pay for taxes unpaid. Anyone that is found to be an illegal immigrant after these 6 months, WILL BE DEPORTED.
  3. These people are now on a 5 year probation. If they do not pay their taxes or are found guilty of a misdemeanor or felony, they will be deported. Once this probation period is over, they are allowed to apply for citizenship.
  4. During this 5 year period, the path to citizenship in general needs to be clearly defined and reformed. These legal immigrants have rights! They may not vote during these 5 years though. I feel that all other rights besides voting, they are entitled to, but they need to assimulate to the American culture. There also needs to be a cap put on the amount of money allowed to be shipped home, BUT they are encouraged to buy things here, such as clothes and canned goods, and send them back home.
Take it or leave it, I think this would be a way for Republicans and Democrats to be happy. I think after 5 years of assimulating to the culture, there will be a greater mix of how people vote versus automatic citizenship.

Pax!

P.S. Sword Brethren, I too ask for proof of this kicking out of hte Priest. I am sure that there would have been a good reason if it happened anyways.
 
Sword_Brethren said:
Look at St. Pius X Catholic Church web site. Fr. Kloster is no longer listed as on the Pastoral Staff.
stpiusx.cc/church.html
Fr. Francis McHugh fired Fr. Kloster and the Arch Bishop Gomoz then kicked him out of the diocese. Fr. Kloster is a good priest and he was the core of the Latin Mass community here in San Antonio. At St. Pius X now we only have two old priests to celebration the Traditional Mass. It sure seems that the bishop didn’t care about the Latin Mass community of San Antonio. The bishop was leaving but he had to kick out Fr. Kloster just a fews weeks before the bishop left himself . Fr. Kloster didn’t molest any kids!!! Fr. Kloster was the only priest who would celebrate the Traditional High Mass. Some people didn’t like that Fr Kloster preached the Catholic Faith from the pulpit. I heard that he got too popular for his own good. Over a hundred people of St. Pius X signed a petition to ask Fr. McHugh to let Fr. Kloster say two High Masses a month but it did no good.
Click to expand...
I normally don’t reply to things in the Traditional area but i have to speak up for the bishop. You have no idea why Fr. Kloster was asked to leave the diocese. You say he was a good priest but you don’t know what was going on behind the scene. Instead of bashing the bishop why not give him the benefit of the doubt in having more infomation and making a decision based on that infomation. Support him as your shepard.

Remember being catholic is not a democracy. Just because you signed a petition doesn’t mean the bishop has to do what you ask. Because once again you don’t know know why Fr. Kloster was asked to leave.

I have a friend who just became a priest in your dicoese. He has nothing but good things to say about what is going on. He talks about how traditional these priest are now. But it will take time. You also have to remember that they are not trained in the latin mass. I don’t think most of them would mind doing a mass in latin but they don’t know how. They have respect for the mass and don’t wish to screw it up!
 
I have to disagree with the poster who wishes the law reform first & border security last for one, glaringly obvious, reason. How do we keep thousands & thousands who hear of the law debate & amnesty proposals from rushing to get in here so they can take advantage?
In all the conversations I have had on this topic, one thing seems clear, people simply do not trust the government to enforce the border after amnesty, they had been promised that after the Regan amnesty. I believe they would support some kind of resident alien or citizenship path for those already here, but will not believe in government promises to secure the border afterwards. You know the fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me? They dont want to be taken for fools again, by a government, now more than ever, which seems completely deaf to the citizens wishes.
 
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