A Fresno bishop speaks out - By N.L. Belardes
Pastoral Message of the Bishop
Bishop John T. Steinbock, Diocese of Fresno
February 2006
Justice for Immigrants
My Dear People of God,
It is hard to believe that Legislators in the United States House of Representatives could possibly have passed a Bill in late December that is not only morally unjust and totally impractical in solving the problem of immigration in our country, but would also criminalize any person who would give an undocumented person any help whatsoever. The Bill is against the basic Christian responsibility and obligation to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, which is essential to living an authentic Christian life, which is demanded by Christ to come to eternal life.
There are resolutions in the Bill that are not only morally wrong, but resolutions that would be against our American way of life and lead our country towards being a fascist State. By declaring also that any undocumented person become a felon, simply by being undocumented, is not only against basic human rights, but would lead the 10 to 11 million undocumented living in our midst into even deeper hiding in our society, and would cause grave health problems for everyone in our communities and increase tremendously the difficulty of law enforcement for our police departments. We need a comprehensive immigration bill, not an ill thought out, unjust and mean spirited Bill that legislators think will help them politically while causing serious harm to our country. Thank God most of our Representatives from the Central Valley voted against this Bill.
For the reason that so many in our country are scapegoating the undocumented for so many of our social problems and now using the fear tactics of fighting terrorism to terrorize the undocumented, the Bishops of the United States in May of last year have called for a multi-year campaign entitled “Justice for Immigrants.” As time goes on you will be hearing more of this campaign. Two of the basic goals of this campaign are to educate Catholics and others of good will about the benefits of immigrants to our nation and to advocate for just immigration laws which promote legal status and legal pathways for migrant workers and their families.
We need to protect our borders better, but the way to do this is by a comprehensive legalization bill that would give better access to those who come here with the intention of working, and allowing their families to join them after a reasonable amount of time. This in itself would stop most of the illegal entry into our country. Our immigration laws are totally ineffective and are totally unrelated to the reality of 10 to 11 million undocumented living and working in our country and to the reality of the need of our nation for these workers for the good of our economy. The laws need to be changed, but they should be changed respecting the human dignity and basic human rights of those who come here with the intention of bettering their lives and the lives of their families.
An attitude that needs to be brought into our public discourse regarding legalization reforms and protection of our borders, especially by those who profess themselves to be Christian, is brought out by the prayer intention given to the world by Our Holy Father for this last month of January: Pray that migrants “be recognized as persons created in the image and likeness of God and welcomed with respect and charity.” Most of the undocumented living here in our country are honest, hardworking people, who contribute a great deal to our economy. In this public discourse we also should be led by the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Whatever you do for the least of my brethren you do for me.” May God bless you and your families very, very much.
Bishop John T. Steinbock, Diocese of Fresno
February 2006
Justice for Immigrants
My Dear People of God,
It is hard to believe that Legislators in the United States House of Representatives could possibly have passed a Bill in late December that is not only morally unjust and totally impractical in solving the problem of immigration in our country, but would also criminalize any person who would give an undocumented person any help whatsoever. The Bill is against the basic Christian responsibility and obligation to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, which is essential to living an authentic Christian life, which is demanded by Christ to come to eternal life.
There are resolutions in the Bill that are not only morally wrong, but resolutions that would be against our American way of life and lead our country towards being a fascist State. By declaring also that any undocumented person become a felon, simply by being undocumented, is not only against basic human rights, but would lead the 10 to 11 million undocumented living in our midst into even deeper hiding in our society, and would cause grave health problems for everyone in our communities and increase tremendously the difficulty of law enforcement for our police departments. We need a comprehensive immigration bill, not an ill thought out, unjust and mean spirited Bill that legislators think will help them politically while causing serious harm to our country. Thank God most of our Representatives from the Central Valley voted against this Bill.
For the reason that so many in our country are scapegoating the undocumented for so many of our social problems and now using the fear tactics of fighting terrorism to terrorize the undocumented, the Bishops of the United States in May of last year have called for a multi-year campaign entitled “Justice for Immigrants.” As time goes on you will be hearing more of this campaign. Two of the basic goals of this campaign are to educate Catholics and others of good will about the benefits of immigrants to our nation and to advocate for just immigration laws which promote legal status and legal pathways for migrant workers and their families.
We need to protect our borders better, but the way to do this is by a comprehensive legalization bill that would give better access to those who come here with the intention of working, and allowing their families to join them after a reasonable amount of time. This in itself would stop most of the illegal entry into our country. Our immigration laws are totally ineffective and are totally unrelated to the reality of 10 to 11 million undocumented living and working in our country and to the reality of the need of our nation for these workers for the good of our economy. The laws need to be changed, but they should be changed respecting the human dignity and basic human rights of those who come here with the intention of bettering their lives and the lives of their families.
An attitude that needs to be brought into our public discourse regarding legalization reforms and protection of our borders, especially by those who profess themselves to be Christian, is brought out by the prayer intention given to the world by Our Holy Father for this last month of January: Pray that migrants “be recognized as persons created in the image and likeness of God and welcomed with respect and charity.” Most of the undocumented living here in our country are honest, hardworking people, who contribute a great deal to our economy. In this public discourse we also should be led by the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Whatever you do for the least of my brethren you do for me.” May God bless you and your families very, very much.
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Thursday, April 06, 2006.
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The last thing an illegal immigrant needs, is a Catholic representative getting behind the cause.
For crying out loud, Catholocism is more corrupt than the Mexican Gov't.
though there is a right to free speech; freedom of expression in this country, some comments should just be kept to self.... there's enough ego, ignorance, etc.... that's out there... no need to "push" frustration and anger any more than it needs to be... isn't there enough of that out there already? geez...
a proud CATHOLIC girl,
chingpea
Don't worry chingpea, just bash punkers a little bit and you'll see fur fly in letters far more severe than from the Bishop. One can argue everything is corrupt from the little Protestant church on the corner, to rapist teachers, nasty perverted govt officials, and to the greedy bastard running the 7-11 on the corner. Curruptions is everywhere... but then there is goodness too... not all people in all walks of life are bad. I agree with what the Bishop has to say.
Everyone has been an immigrant. Look at the people who came to America and land squatted (just took land). What if America decided to declare that illegal and take that land away? How many prominent American families would lose big western mansions that have been in families for more than a hundred years because they didn't pay for land or entrance into America?
I don't have a problem with a religious figure speaking up, or for any person for that matter. But just calling an entire faith crooked gets you nowhere.
Just remember there are a lot of artists who read this site who have a problem likely with religions different than their own, or from peeps non-religious altogether...
Let me rephrase that. Religion, has been corrupted... not the idea of a higher being, just ORGANIZED religion in general... and yes Nick, just about anything else any man has gotten his hands on has been perverted in some way.
I don't hate Catholics, just cracking a joke about them in general. I do it with Kenny Hot pants as often as possible. I should have taken into consideration, that even though he is Kenny, he is still just an audience of one.
Man, I can't say a fucking thing lately, without pissing someone off...
I guess I need to go back and visit my old Hypocrite Hell fire and Brimstone Baptist church, a faith based place, where ten percent of your wages gets you through the door.
See... I'm an equal opportunity belief basher.
If some fucked up bill ends up getting passed-- one that criminalizes illegal immigrants, I'm going to turn myself into the Border Patrol and demand to be deported to Europe, in order to pay for the criminal trespass of my white ancestors. Those who know me, know I'm not kidding here. I'm just waiting for the deal to go down.
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