Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member cvangel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,450

    Catholics play vital role in helping "migrants" to

    Catholics play vital role in helping migrants to U.S
    Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:26am EST

    NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (Reuters) - At a Catholic-run shelter just across the border from Laredo, Texas, dozens of Latin American migrants say grace and tuck into a hearty meal of sausages, beans and rice, before trying to swim across the Rio Grande into the United States.

    Weary migrants on their journey north often recharge their batteries at a network of similar shelters run by the Roman Catholic Church -- a lifeline sanctioned by the Vatican, despite increased U.S. efforts to keep out illegal immigrants.

    "Migration is a human right and migrants are some of the world's most vulnerable people. It is the church's obligation to help them," said the Rev. Francisco Pellizzari, an Italian-Argentine missionary who runs the Nazareth migrant shelter in Nuevo Laredo.

    After long treks to the border, often from as far away as Central America, men, women and children at the shelter swap their torn clothes for fresh ones, heal their injuries and telephone family members for cash for their crossing.

    The Nuevo Laredo shelter has been granted a papal blessing in a Vatican certificate that hangs proudly on the wall.

    Many Catholic Churches in the United States have welcomed Hispanics, with some seeing their congregations double in size. They set up soup kitchens and offer support to families hit by workplace raids and deportations.

    "It is time for some compassion in the immigration debate," said Sister Christine Feagan, who ministers to Hispanics at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Iowa. "Welcome the stranger.".

    But in a U.S. election year with illegal immigration one of the most passionate issues, some candidates have a tough message for undocumented immigrants.

    ANGER AT CATHOLIC CHURCH

    Among the Republican candidates who take a tough line on immigration, one of the most outspoken is Mike Huckabee, a Baptist preacher who has drawn strong support from evangelicals.

    Many religious conservatives in the United States take a sharply contrasting view of immigration from that of the Catholic Church.

    Some are angry that the Catholic Church helps people who break the law. Others accuse it of using support for immigration as a way to win back members as the church loses ground to evangelicals and secularism in Latin America.

    "The Roman Catholic Church is aiding and abetting the criminal invasion of America from Mexico," wrote Ralph Ovadal, pastor of the Pilgrims Covenant Church in Wisconsin, in a booklet sold on the church's Web site.

    Without the shelters in Mexico, most migrants would be forced to beg for food, sleep on streets, in the hot sun and freezing cold of the desert or on the muddy banks of the Rio Grande before attempting to cross.

    "I'm extremely grateful for this shelter, but even without it, I would still try to get across," said 19-year-old Guatemalan coffee picker Raul Mintis, looking at a map of the United States in the Nuevo Laredo shelter.

    The church denies any wrongdoing and says it is stepping in to fill the void created by the lack of a U.S. immigration policy and the failure of Latin American countries to create more jobs for their people.

    "While the governments of the United States and Latin America fail to provide workable policies, the church will do what it must to help the migrant," said Rafael Romo, Archbishop of Tijuana on Mexico's border with California. "We can't let these people be treated like animals."

    (Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Tijuana, editing by Chris Wilson)



    http://tinyurl.com/2l283v

  2. #2
    Stressedindigo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Posts
    38
    Yeah, I guess it's the same as I or anyone else planning on robbing a bank because we're cold, hungry and can't pay our bills...Then expecting help on the way to the bank before robbing it... BS They could stuff their "commandments" because they're not honoring them!

  3. #3
    Senior Member blkkat99's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    El Paso TX
    Posts
    382
    "
    While the governments of the United States and Latin America fail to provide workable policies, the church will do what it must to help the migrant," said Rafael Romo, Archbishop of Tijuana on Mexico's border with California. "We can't let these people be treated like animals."
    What he is really saying is that the US is responsible for these people!
    If the "Catholic Church" really cared so much about these people being "treated like animals" then why are they not protesting the way the "Mexican government" is treating migrants from Central and South America. If they gave a flip about these people they would be rallying and protesting against "Nafta, Cafta, treaties that are only benefitting the "rich" of Mexico , the US and other countries making money while people's here in the US and Mexico, and Latin America continue to lose jobs!

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    575
    Just look at the "Catholic Church" History during the Darkages they where no better than the Islamic extremist if you didn't believe their way then you were burnt at the stake . I am sorry but I can ask God thru his son Jesus Christ to forgive my sins myself , I need no Preist to do that for me I admit I understand feeling like yes Christ would love these people and feed them and help them and as far as it goes he would do that for any of us. BUT this nation can't take anymore people we have no more to give , they have taken it all
    Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Captainron's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    8,279
    Quote Originally Posted by PatrioticSandra
    Just look at the "Catholic Church" History during the Darkages they where no better than the Islamic extremist if you didn't believe their way then you were burnt at the stake . I am sorry but I can ask God thru his son Jesus Christ to forgive my sins myself , I need no Preist to do that for me I admit I understand feeling like yes Christ would love these people and feed them and help them and as far as it goes he would do that for any of us. BUT this nation can't take anymore people we have no more to give , they have taken it all
    There are at least a million Americans volunteering to help people in other countries, each year. The majority of these go to Latin America. The "sanctuary churchgoers" could jump on this bandwagon instead of encouraging people to make the risky emigration to the US. In these days there are high quality programs and Internet resources available throughout Latin America--programs numbered in the thousands. Those who advocate an open-borders approach to humanitarian issues apparently are completely ignorant of this phenomenon.
    "Men of low degree are vanity, Men of high degree are a lie. " David
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  6. #6
    Senior Member joazinha's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    1,576
    Although Catholic, I have NO use for THIS nonsense! FOREIGN rulers MUST be HELD ACCOUNTABLE for THEIR countries! The Catholic Church has been LOSING LOTS of members for DECADES because of such MISGUIDED attempts to help people!

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    U.S.A.- for legal citizens, not illegals!
    Posts
    1,175
    What will the "catholic church" do when these same migrants commit terrible crimes against Americans like assault, rape, molest, and kill? What will they say then? Hmmmmmmm...................
    The National Council of LaRaza is the largest*hate group.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •