June 11, 2008 9:38 AM
For two centuries the Catholic Church has been one of the leading defenders of immigrants in the United States. Catholic priests and bishops were such outstanding protectors of their foreign-born flocks that they risked assaut and arson to protect their sheep, the very definition of a sheperd.
My organization, CARECEN, currently has no undocumented clients. Not a single one of our 4,000-plus clients is undocumented! Yet we spent hundreds of hours over the last several months trying to protect families that include at least one undocumented person from the raging torrent of hate-based anti-immigrant laws in Suffolk.
It may be true that there are no undocumented in the pews, but the Catholic Diocese, even if it has not a single undocumented parishioner, might step forward out of sense of human solidarity to carry out its ancient mission of protecting the most vulnerable among us.
This will be a long twilight struggle against the forces of hatred unleashed by Steve Levy and we need the moral support and political clout that the Church brings with it.
Pat, well said. Having lived in Latin America for so long, I witnessed tremendous solidarity and risk-taking for the poor and vulnerable by the Catholic Church, and like to think I participated as well. Priests and nuns, lay leaders, even the occasional bishop--Mons. Romero is one of our heroes and in my view a Saint as well--all made great sacrifices and risked life and limb, literally, in defense of human and civil rights.
It's sad that we can't get even a presence or a timely statement from a local bishop who came supposedly with a "social justice' background! It's a further shame that he's effectively muzzled Catholic Charities on this issue. How this stance squares with the Gospel is a puzzle I can't explain. Jim
By jim claffey June 11, 2008 10:08 AM
About ten years ago, the tide began to turn regarding pulpit support from the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
I remember how dejected I was after hearing that our local Bishops thought the problem's (undocumented day laborers)solution should ultimately be solved by the government. The inplication was that it was no longer the Church's responsibility. I can't remember whether this rhetoric preceded the Farmingville Day Laborer Site defeat or followed it. Whenever it occurred, it precipitated the very rapid downward spiral of Catholic advocacy for the undocumented.
We must resurrect that mission of advocacy once again. In doing so, we will renew our Church and free an oppressed people held captive in our midst.
Legislators seldom respond to moral persuasion when enacting legislation. They respond to the votes of their constituencies. Our job then is to morally persuade the constituents-----the people in the pews. We can no longer rely on the Hierarchy to do this. They are ABSOLUTELY ineffective and are focused only on the financial support of their monied congregants who often are quite righteous in their ant-immigrant opinions.
We need to "implode" these congregations much like Pax Christi and even Voice of the Faithful do. They are both very effective and theologically correct movements. Peace and Justice Committees are too broad in issue scope. We need a very strong and specifically targeted group for UNDOCUMENTED issues. We must be non-combative, non-cofratational and non-judgmental. We need to be a strong presence---vigils after church services--alternating congregations-- coffee hours for discussion etc., etc. The mission should be driven by the concept of Stewardship(a theologically sound concept for sure)How could any Pastor or Bishop in his right mind, throw people off the sidewalks for such activity.
I'll finish (I promise) with this one last comment. A friend of mine, involved with FCVS since its inception, is afflicted with end stage Ovarian Cancer and also suffers from Rheumatoid arthritis. There has not been one day in the last four years when it hasn't taken every bit of her energy just to get out of bed every morning. She continues to smile. She continues to plan. she continues to pray---and still trusts God! A few months ago, one of our favorite young men was deported. He called from his country, in tears and hopeless for what he was again thrust into---the drug infested and gang dominated community of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. He lived here in fear of immigration but nothing was like the fear he now had of being robbed and killed for the few dolars he had on him. We were so helpless.
My friend was almost brought to tears at this account. She asked "why was I born free in this wonderful country to have a relatively comfortable life and our poor friend there to struggle and be treated like an animal? We believe that God loves each and every one of us, the same. But this seems disproportionate to me." She answered her own question with "maybe we have been gifted with the means to assist them and they in turn, are the gift of our salvation". That is the spark that should be catching fire in the pews. We can't wait for clergy to lead the way or expect church sponsored organizations to kick in. It's the age of the laity! Let's believe it. Let's act on it.
It's human nature to point the finger of blame--especially for those who have grown up and spent a good part of their adult lives believing in and working for the church's social advocacy mission. A hurtful cry of deception and desertion emanates from one's soul. It has to.
So, we can cry in our beer a little bit longer but then it's nose to the grindstone for a new "pew strategy" produced and directed by LAY advocates. We do not need to ask permission of the Bishop! We need to wake up to our own power.
By janet Liotta June 11, 2008 05:47 PM
Thank you so very much for your powerful words. The disconnect between the institutional church and the undocumented seems to grow wider with every attack upon their humanity.I would like to see your and Pat's words in every church bulletin and incorporated into every homily. We are hearing more and more about how the immigrants very presence in the act of trying to earn a living is objectionable. I get the feeling that if they could just do the work that has to be done but not be seen everything would be OK. The irrational voices of the angry are getting louder and stronger and are being encouraged and supported by every level of government. Our silence truly makes us an accomplice in this evil behavior.
By Eleanor Oakley June 12, 2008 08:10 AM
Thank you, Eleanor for your kind comments. I just got in from a late movie that I highly recommend---"The Visitor". It makes you feel the helplessness of the detention experience eventhough, it only slightly depicts the severity of this process. You will leave the theater changed if not even more committed to fighting this injustice.
You are so right about the disconnect between the Church and the undocumented growing wider. Just today, there was a piece in the LIC about a wonderful woman in St. Martin's Parish in Amityville. Her work is truly remarkable but the columnists neglected to mention that the path to Citizesnship isn't open to everyone. The reader was left with the impression that any immigrant can become a Citizen if he wants to and that the good immigrants do it and the "others who sneak across the border to collect welfare", don't. That quote, I firmly believe was used out of context in the column but had a subliminal effect on reader conclusions.
Could the Church be marginalizing the undocumented?
By janet liotta June 13, 2008 01:52 AM