What do U think Catholic Bishops we have a right to enforce laws, but that it's not an absolute right?

Question

Comprehensive immigration reform is not only a practical solution to America's illegal immigration problem, but also a moral obligation, said Salt Lake City Bishop John C. Wester.

Wester is the chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops committee on migration, which met earlier this month as part of National Migration Week.

He said the USCCB is "doing a full-court press" on immigration reform.

"We certainly honor the laws of the land and we're grateful for them, but we do believe the system is no longer able to deal with the immigration realities we face today. We have great need for labor and invite immigrants to work, but then call it trespassing," Wester said. "We need temporary workers, but don't have sufficient visas."

Wester said the two biggest challenges to passing reform legislation are the idea that immigrants steal jobs and that those in the country illegally will simply get a free pass to citizenship.

Not only do immigrants create jobs in the long-term, Wester said, but immigration reform would also force employers to pay equal wages, which would give employers no incentive to hire immigrants over citizens.

In the end, though, the United States needs to work with other governments to help them become able to care for their citizens so immigration is a choice rather than a necessity, he said.

"'What part of illegal don't you understand?' is a quick sound bite," Wester said. "But if someone is breaking the law, you need to look at why the person's breaking the law."

People come from countries around the globe to escape oppression or to provide for their families, he said, and the problems they are fleeing from need to be fixed before illegal immigration will become unnecessary.

"We're all connected," he said. "This is all connected."

Wester said Catholic theology also emphasizes that those countries that are more well off have an obligation to help those in a worse situation. He said they recognize countries have a right to enforce laws, but that it's not an absolute right.

"If a country does have the capital and the ability and the potential to help people, then there is a higher obligation on them and they can't hide behind laws," he said. "We can't look at it just through the prism of civil law, but need to consider, 'What are my responsibilities as a human being on the planet?'"

The Catholic Church is working with other faiths to achieve the comprehensive reform they believe is necessary, Wester said.

They also support the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act for 2009, a bill which Wester said they hope could be introduced as early as February.

He said it is important to the bill to keep families together and provide sufficient legal routes for people to work in the country and work toward citizenship if they want to.

While some groups in Utah are vehemently opposed to having immigrants in the country, Wester said he thinks most Utahns are hospitable at heart.

If people studied the issues, he said, they would realize immigrants contribute far more to the country than most people realize
http://www.standard.net/topics/religion/2010/01/22/salt-lake-diocese-bishop-leads-immigration-reform-committee
How many meals could those billions paid out in sex scandals could they of provided in terms of having a moral obligation to use Church funds as intended, not to get away with breaking laws for decades ?

Answer 1

Churches in this country are considered to be non-profit, charitable organizations and as such are exempt from taxes. However, as a condition of that status, they are prohibited from engaging in political activities (endorsing candidates, lobbying, etc.).



If the Catholic Church is going to use the pulpit to lobby for political change, they must be treated as any other lobbyist group attempting to influence our elected representatives.



While they claim that the motives behind their quest for amnesty for millions of mostly Hispanic illegal aliens are strictly humanitarian, the church also has very practical reasons for seeking amnesty…Their own survival.



What the leadership of the Catholic Church always fail to acknowledge in their sanctimonious speeches is the fact that the U.S. dioceses are dying, and droves of devout Mexican and Central American Catholics is just what the church needs right now to save it.



The time has come to force the church to decide whether it is either a church or a political organization. If it chooses the latter, the taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize their lobbying activities.

Answer 2

but we do believe the system is no longer able to deal with the immigration realities we face today. We have great need for labor and invite immigrants to work, but then call it trespassing," Wester said. "We need temporary workers, but don't have sufficient visas."

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There is no basis for this statement. Let think carefully here: the retirement community is said to have lost about 7 trillion dollars in the economic collapse and the baby boomer's are headed for exactly that point regardless of what they want. When they move into retirement, they will lose about 60% of their income, or more, and the demands for goods ..will diminish.. a great deal.



How did this dolt get the idea that they were invited? By whom I would add, and if they were invited by employers, he is morally bound to report those employers who circumvented the laws. If he knows of such activity, he is aiding and abetting illegal aliens and the criminal employers who do this.



He said it is important to the bill to keep families together and provide sufficient legal routes for people to work in the country and work toward citizenship if they want to.

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Whoa you idiot. It is almost impossible for anyone to live in this country for six months and do so without an identification and the identification they use, I hope, will be yours. These very people can get together in the world 13th largest economy, and the unemployed, and particularly the unemployed who were forced under the safety net by the illegal aliens reduction of wages paid, will be able to get a job. So deportation means many more Americans can get jobs, and afford to live off the streets in some cases, and in decent areas in other.



If people studied the issues, he said, they would realize immigrants contribute far more to the country than most people realize

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He most certainly didn't make that case in this article. Further, nothing the Catholic Church has presented to the public has not made this case. Further, further, the Catholic Church, as a church, has NO BUSINESS... NONE>> making this political case to the American Government. The Parishioner can do it all day long, and I would defend that with my life. But if the Pope is a Pope, he would stuff a rag in this guys mouth and tell him to shut up.



Any one interested in more on what the Church is doing without the members of the Church participating, can do a search in http://www.findarticles.com, or do a search for Illegal aliens Catholic. It shore isn't pretty either.



But the bottom line is simple: the illegal alien thugged their way into this country. Lets boot them out and open the jobs up to Americans who were destroyed when the criminal employers put them out of a job with low wages, and below minimum wage jobs.

Answer 3

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Enforcing of laws is right ONLY when the law(s) in question conform to the Absolute Moral standards of God.





<. . . most people realize>>



I couldn't agree more with the bishop's comments, which I "snipped" for the sake of saving space in the answer.





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When you say "breaking the law" you're speaking of mere earthly law.



The Church appeals to a Higher Law; God's Law of Absolutes.

The bishop is trying to show you that illegal immigrants aren't criminals with ill-intent. They are people doing whatever they can to support their families.



Most Americans take everything this country has for granted. As a result, most Americans have no concept of what REAL poverty and REAL desperation is.

Answer 4

which laws do you mean?the police can't be everywhere at once. they enforce the laws when they happen to catch people breaking them. if they don't see someone do something,there is nothing to enforce.it isn't a hassle at all to ticket people for speeding and running red lights.ticket revenue is how cities make money.

Answer 5

I think these Bishops lost their moral authority to speak on matters of law enforcement a long time ago when they were covering up for sexually deviant priests.