Sunday, April 27, 2008

Shocker: Pope Benedict's not a Republican!

Being a Catholic requires something usually absent in politics. Humility.
Howard Dean has a point, McCain should denounce the anti-papal comments of Tom Tancredo.
Dean Said. "If McCain believes, as he has said, that 'these are God's children,' he should not stand by silently as Tancredo or anyone else in the Republican Party continues using immigrants as scapegoats or playing politics with immigration legislation."
Former Republican candidate Tom Tancredo, like Lou Dobbs, was offended by the Holy Father's embracing of the Hispanic Catholics in the USA, and accused him of inviting illegal immigrants here to bolster the Catholic population here. It was a shock to some of my anti-immigrant Republican Catholic friends to see that Pope Benedict hasn't read Republican talking points. Or the rantings of Pat Buchanan. I imagine that Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly aren't thrilled either, but they have more class(hopefully) than to come out and criticize the Pope. I once debated Sean on his radio show about immigration and told him how unjust it was to deny visas to those immigrants who are already here. He conceded the point that visas are only granted to immigrants who have many countrymen already in the US with political clout. Like the Irish. The rule of law only applies when the law is just. God's justice trumps the Justice Department.
I have to tell this to those Catholics who have viciously attacked me on this blog for saying that legal status of a person does not diminish their humanity, and that President Bush was right to try and bring a humane solution to the scandal the exploitation of illegal immigrants, who already have jobs and want to be able to feed their families.
Did you know that, according to Fr. Benedict Groeschel illegal immigrants pay millions into a Social Security System they can never collect from, since they are working with invalid SS cards. We, the wealthiest nation on earth, can afford to admit them legally and as Catholics, we must acknowledge that they are our brothers in Christ, and welcome them. They will comprise half the Church in the USA by 2030. Either welcome them or lose them to the sects.
Pope Benedict knows this, happily embraces Hispanics, and speaks beautiful Spanish. You should have heard all the enthusiasm of the Legionary priests in the Seminary crowd. Most of them are Mexican, and more orthodox, on fire priests cannot be found. We are fortunate to have them among us. They will replace our aging liberal priests bringing renewed vigor into the Church. We will remember the Marian devotion of our European immigrant ancestors.

May God forgive us for our materialism which makes us reluctant to share our wealth with the neediest among us. Remember the Rich Man and Lazarus. The undocumented man seeking work on the corner is his modern day equivalent. Let him have papers so that he is no longer exploited by rich contractors. My husband who is from El Salvador made $100 a day making cement sidewalks for his Italian boss. A $20,000 job took one week, and cost the boss $2,500 in labor, the same in materials, and he earned a profit of $5,000 a week, for setting up the job, a few minutes of supervision each evening, and collecting the money when the job was done. His five undocumented employees did the backbreaking labor for only $100 a day. Where's the justice in that?
Just because Republicans are pro-life, it doesn't mean we Catholics are supposed to adopt the GOP Party line across the board. Being a Catholic means that we have no home politically, just temporary abodes.
Don't get me wrong, my Italian grandparents were Democratic committeemen, and I have never voted Democrat because of the abortion issue, and cannot until abortion is illegal and traditional marriage is constitutionally protected. But I am a Catholic first and a Republican second.
HT World Net Daily
UPDATE:
Some of my favorite Catholic blogs are abuzz on this issue. Go to Pro Ecclesia and follow Jay's links
UPDATE #2
A friend has alerted me to some substantive posts over at Rorarte Caeli with quotes from the popes of the past 50 years to support my position that Catholics must welcome the immigrant, and help meet his needs.
“'the Church in America must be a vigilant advocate, defending against any unjust restriction the natural right of individual persons to move freely within their own nation and from one nation to another. Attention must be called to the rights of migrants and their families and to respect for their human dignity, even in cases of non-legal immigration”.
Pope John Paul II

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love reading your blog. I never comment, but I felt an urge to do so today.
My husband came to this country 15 years ago as a teen. He cannot work because he lacks his residency papers. I must work outside the home to support our small family, even though my hearts desire is for the home. No one really understands the implications of being here illegally has on ones family until you live it.
My husband feels as he has failed us, we cannot go out anywhere because of all the ICE raids, my husband cannot drive. I am always of afraid that I will get a call telling me that he was deported. We have two small boys and he can't even take them to the park without fear.
What makes me so mad is that I feel like I am a criminal living in fear. I am a law abiding citizen and I shouldn't live this way. Something must be done.
Ana

Leticia said...

Ana, this moved me deeply, sorry it has taken me so long to respond. As the wife of a former illegal immigrant, I have to work to help him support his numerous siblings in their education.
Your situation needs to be better known, because, unfortunately it is not unique.
So many of my Hispanic ESL students survived horrendous civil wars at home, and overcame obstacles to come here merely so their families could eat. They had to leave behind children who hardly remember them, and it breaks my heart when they show me their photos.
NO ONE should have to live the way you and your husband do. As Catholics, we are to fight to make certain that situations like yours are resolved justly. Enough with the politics on BOTH sides!