Refugees — what position should Catholics take?

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No we are not a nation of wealth. You can’t be a nation of wealth and owe 20 trillion dollars and have 50 trillion in unfunded debt on promises made to people for future payments. The math is no longer able to support your statement. Our government has written checks that it will not longer be able to cash. There some great You tube videos “Learn Liberty” start with “What can we cut to balance the budget” You can also watch “Will Taxing the Rich Fix the Deficit”? there is also “How to Fight Global Poverty - Learn Liberty” , 5 Inequality Myths. Is Social Security Bankrupt? Unlike progressives I don’t have the luxury of allowing my feeling to determine decisions that I get to make. I have to use facts and only facts. I don’t have a government job in which I know I can’t be fired and there will be a cost of living increase to cover the inflation thats been created by government printing money. (The real cause of inflation, not supply and demand)
 
Define refugees. Bona fide refugees, yes, opportunistic illegal immigrants and enemies of the state masquerading as ‘refugees’, no.
 
We must take care of the needy, but we must also take care of our own families. Bringing a potentially dangerous person into the house to endanger the family is not taking care of our family.

Of course, if said person can be proven to be harmless, we should take them in without second thought. But that’s usually impossible.
No I don’t have to take them into my home. I have to provide an environment in which the needy can get a job and provide for their families. That is true charity.
 
It was in the news some weeks ago that for every one refugee we bring here, we could support 12 refugees in the area where they are. So maybe caring for refugees where they are would allow us to do more to help refugees?

Another problem with bringing refugees here is that a lot of refugees did not really have that in mind before whatever drove them away from their homes. They didn’t prepare mentally, they didn’t learn English, etc. Is bringing people out of the place where they know the language and how to function a good idea?

Moreover, refugees are in a really bad situation. They have left their home for reasons beyond their control, but are not permanently situated elsewhere. Should they sit out the bad situation so they will be able to return? Or should they settle into their new place, in which case they may be unprepared to return?

Yes, refugees need help, and I think we should help them. But I think we need to help them in the best and most efficient way.
 
Yes, a very good post. The belief that we need to open our door and allow a people to enter into our country in which their culture and way of life and our culture and way of life is 180 degree different is short sighted and is childish in it belief of a good outcome.
 
I think a country that has the means to provide for refugees should take in as many as it can support- but that country has every right to refuse entry to people it knows nothing about. A country has the right to put its safety over the safety of others.
 
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Arkansan:
Refugees must be assisted but in such a way that the cultural and economic integrity of the aiding country is not threatened. Ideally, refugees should be helped to return to their native land.

Note, since many are confused on this point, that middle class Africans paying large amounts of money to be smuggled to Europe are not refugees and should not be treated as such.
100%.

Too many confuse these economic migrants with real refugees.
And too many over-estimate the number of middle class economic migrants vs. real refugees, allowing them to ignore them all.
As a country we can provide no help. If you as a Catholic want to help them. by all means do so.
On the contrary, we as individuals cannot welcome the refugee if the country we are in does not allow them to enter. Once that is done there are plenty of people who are ready to do their part in making them welcome.
No we are not a nation of wealth. You can’t be a nation of wealth and owe 20 trillion dollars and have 50 trillion in unfunded debt on promises made to people for future payments.
If the 50 trillion is to our own people, then it is not a national debt. So let’s look at the 20 trillion in debt. Since the net worth of US households is 95 trillion, so the amount we owe is not as big as one might think. Looking at other countries we see that average net worth (per person) is the most in Switzerland, followed by Australia, Norway, and the US. Below the US we have Sweden, France, Singapore, Denmark, Canada, the UK, Italy, Japan, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, Taiwan, Israel, and Spain, in that order. Below that we have all the other 170+ nations of the world. We are far from being a pauper nation.
It was in the news some weeks ago that for every one refugee we bring here, we could support 12 refugees in the area where they are.
There is no amount of financial support we could offer refugees “where they are” that can protect them from the physical threats they face. If someone is fleeing for his life, a can of beans where he was is of no help.
 
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NickyMaz:
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Arkansan:
Refugees must be assisted but in such a way that the cultural and economic integrity of the aiding country is not threatened. Ideally, refugees should be helped to return to their native land.

Note, since many are confused on this point, that middle class Africans paying large amounts of money to be smuggled to Europe are not refugees and should not be treated as such.
100%.

Too many confuse these economic migrants with real refugees.
And too many over-estimate the number of middle class economic migrants vs. real refugees, allowing them to ignore them all.
How many refugees can afford to pay smugglers to take them across the Mediterranean?
 
It may happen but not necessarily.

For example here is a case I remember There was a syrian family received and tried to integrate into long a established Syrian community in one of our provinces.
Other cases had a member who was bilingual so that made a difference.
So trying to place the families with already long established people who speak their language and understand both the local and the refugee culture was a very helpful.
And the locals did help a lot to make them feel at home. Not that it is easy for the refugees ,they leave friends and loved ones behind too.
 
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LeafByNiggle:
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NickyMaz:
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Arkansan:
Refugees must be assisted but in such a way that the cultural and economic integrity of the aiding country is not threatened. Ideally, refugees should be helped to return to their native land.

Note, since many are confused on this point, that middle class Africans paying large amounts of money to be smuggled to Europe are not refugees and should not be treated as such.
100%.

Too many confuse these economic migrants with real refugees.
And too many over-estimate the number of middle class economic migrants vs. real refugees, allowing them to ignore them all.
How many refugees can afford to pay smugglers to take them across the Mediterranean?
Some children have sold their bodies to get passage (sexual exploitation). Some refugees with modest means sell all their property along with funds from family members so that they arrive totally destitute. Some think they are getting passage only to find that they are victims of human trafficking. And even refugees with substantial means (what you might call middle class) can be real refugees when they are fleeing persecution.
 
This expectation is a bit unrealistic as not every refugee will have the opportunity to learn English prior to immigration.
At the same time though,a interview process that ensures that the refugee will be able to,at the least,tolerate and respect the values and culture of the new country is reasonable I think.
I don’t think it’s fair to expect them to dissociate from their culture or religious beliefs but at the same time the person needs to be able to be “ok” living in a country where for example people dress much more “liberally” then they are used to etc…
 
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Some refugees with modest means sell all their property along with funds from family members so that they arrive totally destitute.
And whose fault is that?
And even refugees with substantial means (what you might call middle class) can be real refugees when they are fleeing persecution.
Which African countries are people having to flee due to persecution right now?

And why are these people incapable of applying from other countries in Africa? Why do they need to illegally enter Europe? Is the whole African continent unsafe for them?
 
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LeafByNiggle:
Some refugees with modest means sell all their property along with funds from family members so that they arrive totally destitute.
And whose fault is that?
Certainly not the refugee’s fault.
And even refugees with substantial means (what you might call middle class) can be real refugees when they are fleeing persecution.
Which African countries are people having to flee due to persecution right now?
Many of them do flee to other nations in Africa if they can.
And why are these people incapable of applying from other countries in Africa? Why do they need to illegally enter Europe? Is the whole African continent unsafe for them?
And when the priest and the Levite passed by the man beaten by robbers, they each said to themselves “Why do I have to be the one to stop and help this man? There are plenty of other people on the road to Jerichco who could help him.”
 
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Arkansan:
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LeafByNiggle:
Some refugees with modest means sell all their property along with funds from family members so that they arrive totally destitute.
And whose fault is that?
Certainly not the refugee’s fault.
If someone voluntarily sells all their property to become an economic migrant, they are certainly responsible for their resulting situation.
And even refugees with substantial means (what you might call middle class) can be real refugees when they are fleeing persecution.
Which African countries are people having to flee due to persecution right now?
Many of them do flee to other nations in Africa if they can.
And why are these people incapable of applying from other countries in Africa? Why do they need to illegally enter Europe? Is the whole African continent unsafe for them?
And when the priest and the Levite passed by the man beaten by robbers, they each said to themselves “Why do I have to be the one to stop and help this man? There are plenty of other people on the road to Jerichco who could help him.”
You did not understand what I wrote. Suppose that it is necessary that these people be given asylum in Europe, why can they not apply for admission from another part of Africa? Why must they illegally cross the Mediterranean?
 
Which African countries are people having to flee due to persecution right now?
Boko Haram again kidnapped 110 girls from a school in Nigeria last week…Aside from the over 200 girls four years ago.
And there is more to read.
 
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And how many of those girls have been able to obtain transportation across the Mediterranean?
 
If someone voluntarily sells all their property to become an economic migrant, they are certainly responsible for their resulting situation.
Gotta be kidding…what compares to waking up with all of your children the following morning? What would one not sell for that?
 
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