Thread: NC: Bishops: Illegals need citizenship path

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16108967.htm

Posted on Mon, Nov. 27, 2006

5:20 pm | Bishops: Illegals need citizenship path
TIM FUNK
tfunk@charlotteobserver.com

In a strongly worded letter sent Monday to members of Congress from the Carolinas, the Roman Catholic bishops in Charlotte, Raleigh and Charleston called for passage of comprehensive immigration legislation that would include a path to U.S. citizenship for those here illegally.

Their plea could present a challenge to three conservative Catholics -- GOP Reps. Patrick McHenry of Cherryville, Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk and Walter Jones of Farmville -- who stand with their church on such issues as abortion, but have been outspoken in their opposition to what they call amnesty for lawbreakers.

Also getting the letter: Republican Rep. Sue Myrick of Charlotte, a Methodist who is a national leader for the kind of enforcement-only legislation passed by the Republican House in 2005.

The Catholic bishops, who represent a U.S. church that is increasingly Hispanic, prefer the version passed last year by the Senate and endorsed by President Bush.

Calling the current immigration policy "severely flawed," the bishops -- including Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte -- said they were distressed by the rise in deportations in the Carolinas and by "dehumanizing rhetoric" aimed at illegal immigrants.

"Enforcement-only measures do not realistically address the substantive issues facing our country," Jugis and the others wrote. "Immigration is a moral concern impacting the human dignity and human rights of every person."

The bishops and their national group -- the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops -- back legislation that would reform the system, "including a viable and workable path to citizenship".

According to the two-page letter, the Catholic pastoral leaders also favor a temporary worker program that protects workers' rights, a reduction in the waiting time for family reunification, and "policies (that) address the root causes of migration in the sending countries."

The Catholic Church, which began in the United States as an immigrant church, opposed the House-passed enforcement-only bill that got the votes of most Carolinas' lawmakers.

Archbishop Roger Mahoney of the Los Angeles archdiocese even ordered parishes to disobey any laws enacted that would criminalize efforts to provide food, shelter and other aid to illegal immigrants.

The more comprehensive, Senate-passed version would seem to have a better chance at becoming law as the Democrats take over control of both houses of Congress in January.

And yet, North Carolina's newest member of Congress, Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler of Brevard, ran as a hard-liner on illegal immigration. He's a Southern Baptist who has said he opposes "amnesty" for illegal immigrants.

The letter was also signed by Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh, Bishop Roger Baker of Charleston, Bishop Kevin Boland of Savannah and Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta. The letter also went to members of Congress from Georgia.

Is it time to deport the Roman Catholic Church back to Rome? Let them take on the poor wittle illegal's over there.

I'll bet they wouldn't.

The Church of Rome is a state, not a church. We need to bear in mind that its clergy are not clergy per se when commenting on political issues, but rather diplomats from a foreign and often hostile power.

It never fails to amaze which law the CAtholic Church will foloow and which they ignore...."Render to Ceaser..."

Perhaps we should send a letter to the U.S. Congress insisting that they provide a path to Mexico for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops! Their job is tending to Catholic parishinors, not influencing lawmakers to ignore the laws designed to protect the American public. As a Baptist, I don't really give a rats a-hole what they think anyway.

Originally Posted by MW

Perhaps we should send a letter to the U.S. Congress insisting that they provide a path to Mexico for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops! Their job is tending to Catholic parishinors, not influencing lawmakers to ignore the laws designed to protect the American public. As a Baptist, I don't really give a rats a-hole what they think anyway.

Such a good one!

I can see a whole passel of pied piper bishops leading the Illegal Aliens back to their respective homelands.

.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16112338.htm

Posted on Tue, Nov. 28, 2006

IMMIGRATION ISSUE
Bishops press for
route to citizenship
Catholics' letter to Carolinas
lawmakers urges broad reform
TIM FUNK
tfunk@charlotteobserver.com

In a letter sent to members of Congress from the Carolinas, Catholic bishops in Charlotte, Raleigh and Charleston urged passage of immigration legislation that would include a path to U.S. citizenship for refugees and those here illegally.

Their plea could present a challenge to a trio of conservative Catholic lawmakers -- GOP Reps. Patrick McHenry of Cherryville, Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk and Walter Jones of Farmville. All three have stood with their church in rejecting abortion and same-sex marriage, but have been outspoken in opposing what they call amnesty for border-crossing lawbreakers.

Also getting the letter: Republican Rep. Sue Myrick of Charlotte, a Methodist who was a leader in the 2005 passage of an enforcement-only bill in the GOP-controlled House.

The bishops, who represent a U.S. church that is now nearly half Hispanic, prefer the more comprehensive version passed this year by the Senate and endorsed by President Bush. Three of the four senators from the Carolinas voted against the Senate bill.

The two houses could not agree on a compromise bill.

The Senate version would provide for an eventual path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants now living in the United States.

Calling the current immigration system "severely flawed," the bishops -- including Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte and Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh -- said they were distressed by the rise in deportations in the Carolinas and by the "drumbeat of dehumanizing rhetoric."

The letter, which didn't use the words "illegal immigrants," was sent Monday by Jugis and last week by the other bishops.

The bishops said comprehensive reform would bolster, not weaken, national security.

"It is profoundly unjust to place the responsibility for acts of terrorism, perpetuated by a few criminals, at the door of immigrants who are working hard to serve us, while seeking a basic livelihood for themselves and their families," the bishops wrote. "It is equally unjust to use our newcomers as scapegoats of the economic and political troubles in our nation."

The local bishops and their national group -- the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops -- back legislation that would reform the system and provide "a viable and workable path to citizenship."

The bishops also favor a temporary worker program and addressing economic problems in other countries.

McHenry, who's a parishioner at St. Michael Catholic Church in Gastonia, said he welcomed the bishops' input and agreed that the system needs fixing.

But he said "amnesty" for illegal immigrants is not among the remedies he would support.

"I don't see that as a workable political reality," he told the Observer. "I'll take this (letter) to heart. But by no means does a letter dictate my vote on a particular piece of legislation."

Nationally, the immigration issue has split religious leaders -- and their flocks.

Catholic and mainline Protestant leaders tend to support undocumented workers. But evangelical leaders are divided.

Among those calling for a tougher stance: Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, who says the Bible lets those in authority punish lawbreakers.

To let border crossing go unpunished, Land told USA Today, "subverts the reason God gave us government in the first place."

The U.S. Catholic Church, which emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries as an advocate for Irish, German, Italian and Polish immigrants, has emphasized what Monday's letter called the "human consequences" of a broken immigration system.

But the still-Catholic descendents of many of those 19th and 20th century immigrants don't necessarily agree with their present-day bishops on the issue.

In a March poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 56 percent of white Catholics agreed that "immigrants today are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care."

Today's immigrants are predominantly Hispanic -- and Catholic. Nationally, 42 percent of the country's Catholics are Hispanic. The percentage is even higher locally: Of the 300,000 Catholics in the 46-county Diocese of Charlotte, about half are Hispanic, says diocese spokesman David Hains.

Before being elevated to bishop of the Charlotte diocese, Jugis, who is fluent in Spanish, was pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes in Monroe, where Hispanics make up a big percentage of the congregation.

Some Catholic bishops have vowed to deny Communion to liberal members of Congress -- such as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. -- who take a pro-choice position on abortion rights.

McHenry insisted that immigration does not have the central place in Catholic teaching that opposition to abortion does.

Still, he pledged to "reach out and talk to my bishop (Jugis)."

The bishops' letter was also signed by Bishop Roger Baker of Charleston, Bishop Kevin Boland of Savannah and Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta.
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The Catholic Church wants the illegal's money.