Please note that the following is an opinion piece reflecting the views of the author. I have no way of verifying whether things he presents here as facts are true, or true in their entirety.

Dave Gibson
Norfolk Crime Examiner

Catholic Church encourages illegal immigration after losses from molestation scandal

April 5, 1:11 AM ·

As countless child sex abuse scandals have rocked the Catholic Church over the last several years, American families have been leaving the church in droves. As American men and women whisk away their children from the potential risk of molestation in the Catholic church, they also take their much needed money. The coffers of U.S. Catholic churches have been running on empty and the church sees the pocketbooks of illegal immigrants as its only hope.

During Pope Benedict XVI’s 2008 visit to the United States, he gave many speeches and sermons. Among other things, the Pope admonished Americans to adopt a welcoming attitude toward those who break our laws by entering this country illegally. Benedict said: “I want to encourage you and your communities to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today, to share their joys and hopes, to support them in their sorrows and trials and to help them flourish in their new home.

It was discovered that the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a Vatican-based group which answers directly to the Pope has made a large donation to help build a shelter for Central Americans on their illegal journey to the United States. The money was given to the Brothers On The Path refuge, located in the Mexican city of Ixtepec.

Between 2005-2007, the number of Central American nationals caught by the Border Patrol entering the U.S. illegally has averaged 11 percent of their total apprehensions. While the majority of the 875,000 caught sneaking across the border annually are Mexicans, those coming from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are adding to the incredible burden placed on our Border Patrol agents.

Along with the usual problems posed by illegal immigration, a particularly violent gang known as MS-13 hails from El Salvador, but now has many Honduran and Guatemalan members as well. In addition to other parts of the country, MS-13 has been gaining a large presence in Northern Virginia, and is responsible for several machete attacks in the area. In 2005, an Alexandria teenager lost four fingers during a savage encounter with MS-13 members and a Fairfax man also became a victim of a MS-13 machete attack.

In June 2005, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony wrote an op-ed piece for the Los Angeles Times in which he defended and even encouraged illegal aliens to enter this country. Of course, Mexicans and other Latin Americans are overwhelmingly devout Catholics. Mahony along with the rest of the church’s hierarchy is undoubtedly anxious to tap this potential source of income.

In 2006, Cardinal Mahony directed all priests in his 288 parish archdiocese to simply ignore any federal law which requires anyone working on behalf of the church to inquire into the citizenship of anyone seeking help (The Catholic church offers assistance to illegal aliens applying for various welfare programs). The directive was given by Mahony in response to the immigration bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2005, which declared all illegal aliens and mandated the prosecution to anyone who knowingly aided an illegal alien.

For decades, the Catholic Church shielded and protected child-molesting priests. As complaints would come pouring-in from parents threatening to involve the police, the church would simply ship the offending priest off on a sabbatical, eventually pawning them off on another unsuspecting parish where the process would begin again. That practice is nothing more than aiding and abetting known criminals. The enormous toll of lives destroyed by this disgusting and cowardly exercise by the Catholic Church will never be fully known.

The Catholic Church has been forced to pay-out millions to the victims of pedophile priests. Fed up with the hypocrisy and disregard for the lives of innocent children, many Americans have fled the Church. In the Boston Archdiocese alone, 65 churches have been forced to close their doors due to a sharp decline in parishioners.

Boston was once considered the center of the American Catholic society. Catholic worshipers in that city were shocked to learn of the outrageous behavior displayed by Cardinal Bernard Law and the offending priests he protected for so many years. One priest that Law moved around to several different parishes was Father Paul Shanley. As it turned out, Fr. Shanley was not only a molester, but an advocate for NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association). While Shanley was eventually convicted of child rape, Cardinal Law was rewarded by Pope John Paul II, who brought him to Rome where he now holds a prominent position within the Vatican.

For many American Catholics, it became obvious that their church would never take seriously the issue of children being victimized by child-raping priests. It also became obvious that the church would never take true responsibility for the role the leaders of the church played in harboring these monsters. It is little wonder that so many now well-informed American Catholics refuse to ever return their children as well as their donations to the church.

The illegal aliens represent exactly what the Catholic Church needs right now...largely uneducated and devoted worshipers with jobs. The illegal aliens will be all-too happy to place their children in Catholic schools (largely funded by school vouchers). If Congress ever grants amnesty to all illegal immigrants, they will fill the now-darkened parishes throughout the U.S. Most of these people speak very little English and most lack even an elementary school education, they are much more likely to keep their mouths shut once the priests begin to have their way with their children. The shell game of shifting molesting priests around will begin again and the faithful will continue to fork-over ten percent of their wages to the church.

The Catholic Church has also helped to organize the massive illegal alien rallies seen in recent years around the nation. The March 2006 rally held in Washington, D.C. was sponsored by among others the Archdiocese of Washington’s Office of Justice and Service, Catholic Charities of the Arlington Diocese, and the Catholic Social Justice Lobby Network. Baltimore churches St. Michael and St. Patrick even sent a four bus convoy filled with illegal aliens to the Washington rally.

A high-ranking official with the Diocese of Arlington, Va. named Father Jose Hoyos played to the crowd when he said: “I want to pray for all the representatives and the senators and the president of the United States, because if they were Christians they would not pass this kind of law.â€