Word of God now includes immigration politics
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3740138
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario,CA,USA
[excerpt]
Protest marches. Lobbying for legislation. Alliances with pro-immigration
groups. A Good Friday Mass in which an immigrant stood before a cross to
symbolize Jesus.
The Catholic Church has become a force for change, with the weight of
millions of Catholics behind it, in the politically charged battle that is
immigration reform.
Some see the position as one grounded in moral principles, in which the
dignity of people is more important than their legal status.
Others question the propriety of a faith-based organization, whose main
mission is evangelization and the spiritual welfare of its flock, planting
itself so squarely in the camp of migrants, some here illegally. The roots
of the Catholic Church's fight for immigrant rights, and other social
justice causes, run deep.
Its position, leaders argue, is buttressed by international law --- its
morality grounded in Gospel. That stance, on what has been called one of
the most volatile issues of the day, is also inherently political.
In a letter printed in January 2003, Catholic bishops exhorted Americans
and those within the church to welcome everyone --- including those here
illegally --- with joy, charity, hope and hospitality.
The letter would become the founding document on which church leaders have
based their current immigration reform campaign.
In May 2005, Catholic bishops unveiled the program, dubbed ‘‘Justice for
Immigrants: A Journey of Hope.'' The campaign holds that immigrants should
be seen not as the enemy, but as humans with dignity.
Less than a year later, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony told bishops to
ignore a proposed reform bill, which he called inhumane, should it pass.
Proposed by Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner and passed in the House in
December, HR 4437 called for building massive walls between the United
States and Mexico. The bill also would make illegal immigrants felons and
could make helping them a crime.
The million-member Diocese of San Bernardino, which encompasses San
Bernardino and Riverside counties, declared January as the month of the
immigrant. The diocese formed teams that are implementing the campaign in
parishes.
Some within the church call the activism an inappropriate blend of politics
and religion though faith-based organizations, including the Catholic
Church, long have rallied behind causes of social justice.
.... Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed several
complaints against churches who endorsed candidates and took on the
Catholic Church when ...
[end excerpt]
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You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
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.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
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USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
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THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
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