We have asylum laws. If someone claims that, their case may be looked at. We already have laws for that.Right. So why not welcome those trying to escape the violence, even if they are undocumented?
ThisOne of the big question, and one that Fr. Toracco does not answer, but assumes, is whether our immigration laws are just. I am of the opinion that they are not, as they favor those who are better off and discriminate against the poor, in a direct reversal of the principle of preferential option for the poor.
“I think that it is time to profoundly reevaluate the role of Catholic education in Latin America and North America,” he said.
“I hope that this congress will be a providential occasion for a firm and unbreakable affective and effective communion of the churches on the American continent, around the successor of Peter, so that the Church throughout the continent will have a more effective presence in public life,” Carriquiry added.
This unity could help to put an end to the prejudice that exists among some in the United States who see Hispanic immigrants as “invaders” who threaten the American experiment, he said. Hispanics should for their part understand themselves as “a providential contribution to the national life with their productivity, as well as with their sense of the supernatural.”
“The Catholic Church respects the legitimate laws of each country, but she cannot cease to care for immigrants from a human and charitable point of view,” he noted.
I wouldn’t want the Church to suppress it.True.
But at this point the Church would not try to suppress any of them. Wasn’t it the suppression of teaching Polish that led to the schismatic Polish National Church?
Why do people in this forum say “praying for you” when they encounter those they disagree with? Is it some passive-aggressive way of putting down the person? Does the public really need to know that you are praying for someone?
So we should let anyone come into this country? The Church allows countries to dictate who can and cannot come in in order to protect.Because we limit those who can enter, and then offer preferential preference against the poor, not everyone is able to wait their turn. They have not turn to wait. Our bishops here have consistently told Catholics that we need to reform our immigration system. Since we do not know what is being proposed, it is premature to speak against it. For sure it should not discriminate against those who try an obey immigration law, but then the current law should not discriminate against the laborer.
Nothing wrong with that! The first two are intrinsic evils, the last one is not, regardless of how “unfair” it may be. It is my opinion, which is just that, that the US Bishops would push for amnesty because the majority of immigrants tend to be Catholic and of course it would boost Catholic numbers in the US. I don’t blame them for this but it would hurt our country. I am of Mexican descent and I witness first hand what illegal immigration did to our neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals. I am not for separation of families, but amnesty is not the way! Secure our borders, enforce our current laws and reform the immigration system.The Church approved of immigration reform and what many around here would call “amnesty”.
Church teaching on abortion- yes, I agree!
On Gay marriage- Yes absolutely!
Immigration- Well, not so much.
I did not say that. Those words are yours. Of course countries can dictate who can and can not come in. They can also dictate executions for speeding violations. Just because they can do something does not mean it is moral to do so. Laws that discriminate against the poor are not moral.So we should let anyone come into this country? The Church allows countries to dictate who can and cannot come in in order to protect.
I don’t think our immigration laws discriminate the poor. If we want to help other country’s poor we ought to help ours first!I did not say that. Those words are yours. Of course countries can dictate who can and can not come in. They can also dictate executions for speeding violations. Just because they can do something does not mean it is moral to do so. Laws that discriminate against the poor are not moral.
Immigration quotas give priority to skilled labor and professionals over manual labor. That is contrary to Catholic teaching. “Charity begins at home” is not Catholic teaching. Charity begins with the most in need.I don’t think our immigration laws discriminate the poor. If we want to help other country’s poor we ought to help ours first!
Man should not consider his material possessions as his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need. Whence the Apostle with, ‘Command the rich of this world… to offer with no stint, to apportion largely.’"(12) True, no one is commanded to distribute to others that which is required for his own needs and those of his household; nor even to give away what is reasonably required to keep up becomingly his condition in life, “for no one ought to live other than becomingly.”(13) But, when what necessity demands has been supplied, and one’s standing fairly taken thought for, it becomes a duty to give to the indigent out of what remains over. “Of that which remaineth, give alms.”(14) It is a duty, not of justice (save in extreme cases), but of Christian charity - a duty not enforced by human law. But the laws and judgments of men must yield place to the laws and judgments of Christ the true God, who in many ways urges on His followers the practice of almsgiving - ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive";(15) and who will count a kindness done or refused to the poor as done or refused to Himself - “As long as you did it to one of My least brethren you did it to Me.”(16) To sum up, then, what has been said: Whoever has received from the divine bounty a large share of temporal blessings, whether they be external and material, or gifts of the mind, has received them for the purpose of using them for the perfecting of his own nature, and, at the same time, that he may employ them, as the steward of God’s providence, for the benefit of others. “He that hath a talent,” said St. Gregory the Great, “let him see that he hide it not; he that hath abundance, let him quicken himself to mercy and generosity; he that hath art and skill, let him do his best to share the use and the utility hereof with his neighbor.”(17)
- Work and the Emigration Question
Finally, we must say at least a few words on the subject of emigration in search of work. This is an age-old phenomenon which nevertheless continues to be repeated and is still today very widespread as a result of the complexities of modern life. Man has the right to leave his native land for various motives-and also the right to return-in order to seek better conditions of life in another country. This fact is certainly not without difficulties of various kinds. Above all it generally constitutes a loss for the country which is left behind. It is the departure of a person who is also a member of a great community united by history, tradition and culture; and that person must begin life in the midst of another society united by a different culture and very often by a different language. In this case, it is the loss of a subject of work, whose efforts of mind and body could contribute to the common good of his own country, but these efforts, this contribution, are instead offered to another society which in a sense has less right to them than the person’s country of origin.
Nevertheless, even if emigration is in some aspects an evil, in certain circumstances it is, as the phrase goes, a necessary evil. Everything should be done-and certainly much is being done to this end-to prevent this material evil from causing greater moral harm; indeed every possible effort should be made to ensure that it may bring benefit to the emigrant’s personal, family and social life, both for the country to which he goes and the country which he leaves. In this area much depends on just legislation, in particular with regard to the rights of workers. It is obvious that the question of just legislation enters into the context of the present considerations, especially from the point of view of these rights.
The most important thing is that the person working away from his native land, whether as a permanent emigrant or as a seasonal worker, should not be placed at a disadvantage in comparison with the other workers in that society in the matter of working rights. Emigration in search of work must in no way become an opportunity for financial or social exploitation. As regards the work relationship, the same criteria should be applied to immigrant workers as to all other workers in the society concerned. The value of work should be measured by the same standard and not according to the difference in nationality, religion or race. For even greater reason the situation of constraint in which the emigrant may find himself should not be exploited. All these circumstances should categorically give way, after special qualifications have of course been taken into consideration, to the fundamental value of work, which is bound up with the dignity of the human person. Once more the fundamental principle must be repeated: the hierarchy of values and the profound meaning of work itself require that capital should be at the service of labour and not labour at the service of capital.
Welcoming the Stranger
- We cannot insist too much on the duty of giving foreigners a hospitable reception. It is a duty imposed by human solidarity and by Christian charity, and it is incumbent upon families and educational institutions in the host nations.
Young people, in particular, must be given a warm reception; more and more families and hostels must open their doors to them. This must be done, first of all, that they may be shielded from feelings of loneliness, distress and despair that would sap their strength. It is also necessary so that they may be guarded against the corrupting influence of their new surroundings, where the contrast between the dire poverty of their homeland and the lavish luxury of their present surroundings is, as it were, forced upon them. And finally, it must be done so that they may be protected from subversive notions and temptations to violence, which gain headway in their minds when they ponder their "wretched plight.’’ (58) In short, they should be welcomed in the spirit of brotherly love, so that the concrete example of wholesome living may give them a high opinion of authentic Christian charity and of spiritual values.
- We are deeply distressed by what happens to many of these young people. They come to wealthier nations to acquire scientific knowledge, professional training, and a high-quality education that will enable them to serve their own land with greater effectiveness. They do get a fine education, but very often they lose their respect for the priceless cultural heritage of their native land.
- Emigrant workers should also be given a warm welcome. Their living conditions are often inhuman, and they must scrimp on their earnings in order to send help to their families who have remained behind in their native land in poverty.