CNS STORY: Bishops in three states call for debate, action on immigration

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IMMIGRATION (CORRECTED) Nov-29-2007 (xxx words) Roundup. With photo posted Nov. 28. xxxn

Bishops in three states call for debate, action on immigration

By Ellie Hidalgo
Catholic News Service

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Three Los Angeles auxiliary bishops announced Nov. 27 that the Los Angeles Archdiocese's annual procession in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 2 would be part of a statewide call for action on comprehensive immigration reform issued by the California Catholic Conference of Bishops.

The conference issued a statement the same day saying the U.S. government has a right to control its borders and enforce laws but also said the human rights of undocumented people must be respected and they need an opportunity to legalize their status.

Meanwhile across the country, the Catholic bishops of Maryland urged the 1 million Catholics in their state to engage in a faith-filled dialogue on immigration.

In Tulsa, Okla., Bishop Edward J. Slattery issued a pastoral outlining the diocese's four-point action plan to respond to a new state statute on illegal immigration described as one of the harshest in the nation.

The plan calls, in part, for people to have equal access to all Catholic programs regardless of their immigration status and pledges to provide legal help to those who want to establish or maintain their legal residence in the U.S.

In East Los Angeles, at a morning press conference at Resurrection Church, Auxiliary Bishop Oscar A. Solis said Our Lady of Guadalupe's message "of compassion, of hope and unity" delivered 476 years ago "is needed more than ever now at a time when immigrants face so many difficulties and injustices."

Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar said Our Lady of Guadalupe "calls us to respect one another and to unite against injustice that exists in our immigration system and the injustices endured by many families."

The bishops are asking all Catholics and all people of California to reject hostile attitudes toward immigrants, added Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala.

In its Nov. 27 statement, the California Catholic Conference acknowledged the "right and the necessity of our country to maintain our borders and enforce our laws." The statement also urged respect for human rights and dignity as well as minimizing the separation of families.

"In our view," the statement continues, undocumented immigrants "should be given the opportunity to adjust their legal status and to earn the right to remain in the country permanently and legally. We ought not to benefit from the fruits of their labor, on one hand, and relegate them to an underclass on the other."

The state's bishops are continuing to call for comprehensive and humane immigration reform.

The Maryland Catholic Conference is trying to promote a healthy involvement of the faithful on the topic of immigration, said Julie Varner, the conference's associate director for social concerns.

It has asked parishes, beginning Nov. 25, to insert a statement in their bulletins from Archbishops Edwin F. O'Brien of Baltimore and Donald W. Wuerl of Washington and Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli of Wilmington, Del. (The Washington Archdiocese and the Wilmington Diocese include parishes in Maryland.)

The prelates' statement gives their collective views on immigration and their expectation that Catholics educate themselves on the matter, Varner said.

"Questions of legality, economics and the mix of cultures often dominate the immigration debate," the statement reads. "As Catholics, we must move past divisions and remain focused on the dignity of the human person and the welfare of families."

Parishes also received information about the U.S. immigration process, historical information about migration over the centuries, statistics on legal and illegal immigrants living in this country and how it affects citizens, and the root causes for relocation by foreign nationals.

Though the bishops agree U.S. laws must be respected, they stress that Catholics need to consider the needs of undocumented immigrants, their families and what motivates them to migrate.

"The legality of a person's entry into the United States is one issue, our response to him now that he's here is a separate one," the statement reads. "The former is the government's responsibility, the latter is ours."

Tulsa's Bishop Slattery titled his pastoral "The Suffering Faces of the Poor Are the Suffering Face of Christ" ("Los rostros sufrientes de los pobres son el rostro sufriente de Cristo"). He said Nov. 26 it would be sent to all pastors in about three weeks; 5,000 copies were to be printed and distributed in bulk to all parishes.

It includes a four-point action plan Bishop Slattery said he devised "in response to the situation of fear created in so many of our neighbors" with the implementation of the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007.

The law makes it a felony to knowingly harbor or transport an illegal alien and creates specific barriers to hiring illegal immigrants. It requires proof of citizenship to obtain certain government benefits and requires all state agencies and contractors to check the immigration status of all workers after July 1, 2008.

The bishop's plan calls for equal accessibility to all Catholic programs regardless of legal status; and pledges to provide legal assistance through Catholic Charities to those who need help in establishing or maintaining their legal residence in this country.

It says the diocese will work with legal agencies to prepare a standardized "power of attorney" form that parents can use to indicate who should assume guardianship over their dependent children should those parents be arrested and face deportation. It also will provide Catholic foster care for parents who have indicated who should care for their children.

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Contributing to this story were Chaz Muth in Baltimore and Marilyn Duck in Tulsa.

END

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