The U.S.-Mexico border wall in Arizona. (Credit: Chess Ocampo/Shutterstock)
Denver, Colo., Jan 24, 2025 / 14:45 pm (CNA).
Following President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders on immigration, Colorado’s Catholic bishops on Friday encouraged the U.S. to balance justice and mercy in its regulation of immigration to the country.
Colorado’s bishops called for reform of the “broken” American immigration system, criticizing both an “open border” immigration policy for being dangerous and unlawful while at the same time condemning mass deportations.
In a joint letter titled “Welcoming the Stranger, Protecting the Common Good,” Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, Bishop Stephen Berg of Pueblo, Bishop James Golka of Colorado Springs, and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez of Denver encouraged government officials to “welcome the stranger” while taking responsibility to “ensure the safety and well-being of local communities.”
The bishops noted that the country’s immigration system has “grown more unlawful” since 2020.
“The Catholic Church teaches that while individuals and their families have the right to migrate, no country has the duty to receive so many immigrants that its social and economic life is jeopardized,” the bishops indicated.
The state’s bishops specifically criticized what it called an “open border” policy that previously “restricted Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ability to investigate, arrest, or deport spies, terrorists, and felons.”
“This has resulted in the loss of life and situations of unrest and violence, including in Aurora, Colorado, where 16 recent migrant members of the Venezuelan gang ‘Tren de Aragua’ were taken into custody in December following an armed home invasion and kidnapping.”
The bishops also condemned the harm recent federal policies caused to families and children.
“Since 2020,” the bishops stated, “the DHS has encountered 515,000 unaccompanied minors at the border — 75% of them were reportedly sexually abused by their smugglers,” the bishops noted.
In addition, the bishops took note of the fentanyl crisis, citing the statistic that U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 17,000 pounds of the deadly substance at the southern border from October 2022 to April 2023.
“Drug smuggling and human trafficking are on the rise because of the open border policy,” the bishops noted.
Respect for human dignity
“We are called to be both bold and balanced,” the bishops declared. “Immigration policies should balance mercy with justice, ensuring public safety while upholding the dignity of each person,” the bishops wrote.
The bishops underscored that “in times of crisis, justice dictates that the world community has an obligation to provide basic human needs, such as shelter, food, medical services, and the ability to work for those in urgent need. However, even when migration occurs without crisis, a nation’s limits on migration should be based on justice, mercy, and the common good.”
While recognizing the right of nations to enforce their borders, the bishops also condemned mass deportations.
“Mass deportation is not the solution to our present situation in the United States, especially when it may separate parents and children,” the bishops said.
Commitment to migrant families
“We understand the national conversation regarding mass deportations and raids on migrant families have created genuine fear for many we shepherd in our dioceses,” the bishops continued.
“We commit to walking in solidarity with you, our migrant brothers, sisters, and families. We will shepherd you spiritually, gather information and resources, and continue to advocate for your dignity and family unity.”
The bishops noted that “the Gospel compels us to see Christ in those who seek refuge among us.”
“Each migrant bears the image of God and deserves our respect, compassion, and support,” the bishop said.
In the conclusion of their letter, the state’s bishops urged Catholics to “advocate for comprehensive immigration reform,” “support local initiatives that aid immigrants and refugees in their transition to life in our communities,” and to pray for “those who are displaced” as well as for local, state, and national leaders “to address the broken immigration system that has caused so much hurt and division.”
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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey walks across the campus of St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts, on April 9, 2024. / Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited April 19, 2024
Boston, Mass., Apr 23, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
Pro-lifers in the Archdiocese of Boston are criticizing Cardinal Seán O’Malley over two recent appearances at Catholic education events by the pro-abortion governor of Massachusetts.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat who supports legal and publicly funded abortion and who has taken steps to make abortions easier to obtain, spoke at a fundraiser for The Catholic Schools Foundation, which raises money for Catholic schools in the archdiocese and helps poor students attend.
O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is the chairman of the board of trustees of the foundation, though he was in Rome at the time of the gala and did not attend it.
Healey also recently visited a Catholic school north of Boston, speaking to students and answering questions.
C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, called Healey’s appearances “a grave scandal.”
“Cardinal O’Malley should be ashamed of himself. Is Maura Healey an inspiring role model for Catholic students?” Doyle said.
Thomas Harvey, chairman of the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortions, called including Healey at the Catholic events “really disgraceful,” and he placed the blame on O’Malley.
“Maura Healey is a huge proponent of killing babies in the womb, in direct defiance of Catholic teaching, and yet here she is being presented to impressionable Catholic students as if she were a Catholic role model,” Harvey told the Register by text. “And the clear message being sent to Catholic students here is that killing babies in the womb is just not that big a deal.”
In June 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a document called “Catholics in Public Life,” which states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, pointed out that Healey was not an honoree at the gala or during her earlier appearance at the Catholic school.
Since Healey is the governor of the state, Donilon said, Cardinal O’Malley has worked with her “on a number of issues important to Catholics and the wider community,” including public funding for the archdiocese’s charitable work providing “basic needs assistance, job training, child care services, and immigration and refugee assistance to thousands of residents,” as well as building “badly needed affordable housing” and trying “to stem gun violence.”
“At the same time, the cardinal has been a leader in the pro-life movement for over 50 years and his commitment in being a staunch promoter of life is well known and unwavering,” Donilon said.
O’Malley, 79, a Capuchin Franciscan, has frequently attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and has spoken at pro-life rallies. Last week, The Boston Globe published a column by O’Malley urging state legislators to oppose a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide.
But critics such as Doyle claim that O’Malley during his time as archbishop has seemed to mix easily and uncritically with abortion-supporting Catholic politicians, including the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (whose funeral Mass he celebrated), the late Boston mayor Thomas Menino, former Boston mayor Marty Walsh, and the current governor, Healey, with whom he co-authored a column in The Boston Globe in September 2017 on immigration.
Donilon, O’Malley’s spokesman, addressing Healey’s participation in The Catholic Schools Foundation gala last week, said that “the governor has been a vocal supporter of Catholic education. … Our Catholic schools save cities and towns hundreds of millions of dollars in education costs. Our families benefit from an outstanding education based in an excellent faith-based environment.”
Gov. Maura Healey speaks to students at St. John’s Prep on April 9, 2024. Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited on April 9, 2024.
Who is Maura Healey?
Healey, 53, was elected Massachusetts attorney general in 2014 with an endorsement from Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund. She served two terms as attorney general before being elected governor of Massachusetts in November 2022.
As an elected official, Healey has frequently supported public policies that clash with Catholic teachings on life and sexuality.
She has verbally attacked pro-life pregnancy centers, steered state government money to private abortion funds, and, in April 2023, quietly arranged for the flagship campus of the state-run University of Massachusetts to purchase 15,000 doses of abortion pills.
Healey’s administration in June 2023 successfully proposed a curriculum framework for public schools that calls for teaching between third and fifth grades “the differences between biological sex and gender identity” and “how one’s outward behavior and appearance does not define one’s gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Healey appeared Thursday, April 11, at the annual gala of The Catholic Schools Foundation at a hotel in Boston.
“So I didn’t have the benefit of going to Catholic school,” Healey said, according to a text of her remarks provided by a spokesman. “My mom went to Catholic school, and my nephew goes to Catholic school; we have priest[s] at the dinner table every Sunday. But I do know, both having been your attorney general and now as your governor, what your work means. And I can see that experience firsthand.”
She also said she wants to find ways “to partner” with the foundation “in the important work that you [are] doing.”
“And I want you to know that, as governor, I value our vibrant mix of education, our public schools, our private schools, and our religious schools,” Healey said.
Two days earlier, on Tuesday, April 9, Healey spent about 50 minutes with a group of 120 students at St. John’s Preparatory High School, a Catholic boys’ school founded by the Xaverian Brothers in Danvers, about 18 miles northeast of Boston, according to a description of the visit published on the school’s website. The school is in the Archdiocese of Boston, though it is not run by the archdiocese.
Healey had never visited the school before, “but it was quickly clear her personal values are closely aligned with those of the Xaverian Brothers,” the school’s write-up states.
Healey emphasized leadership and empathy during her remarks. The governor also told the students that while she believes in civil discourse, “there are some basic values that have kept our society intact,” and she told students they should “call out hate when you see it.”
“We can have differences of opinion on things,” Healey said, according to the school’s write-up, “but, to me, equality has got to abide. Respect for the dignity and worth of each person is something I call on people to really adhere to.”
Robert Joyce, a lawyer and member of the board of the Pro-Life Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal representation for pro-lifers, said that St. John’s Prep last fall turned down an offer he made to provide a pro-life assembly for students featuring a canon lawyer, a physician, and a vocations director. (The head of school, Edward Hardiman, did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.)
Joyce called Healey’s recent appearances at the gala and at the school “abominations for Catholic education.”
“They send the clear message to Catholic students and parents that critical, fundamental precepts of the Catholic faith are not all that important. In simple terms, they declare that protection of innocent unborn life and the defense of traditional marriage are negotiable with these Catholic educators,” Joyce indicated.
Healey is also a featured speaker at the annual Spring Celebration of Catholic Charities Boston scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston. O’Malley is expected to receive an award at the event for his work in welcoming immigrants.
Healey and the Catholic Church
Healey does not often talk about religion in public, but she occasionally identifies herself as a Catholic.
In October 2018, when she was state attorney general, she led off a brief column in The Boston Globe with the words: “As a member of law enforcement and as a Catholic …”
In April 2022, when Healey criticized Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester for calling for a Catholic school to take down a rainbow flag, she added, according to MassLive.com: “And I speak as a Catholic …”
In October 2022, during a debate while she was running for governor, Healey used a Catholic reference while defending herself from a claim by her Republican opponent that a bill she had supported effectively legalized infanticide, as the National Catholic Register subsequently reported. “You know, my mom goes to Mass every morning,” Healey said.
Healey is widely thought of as a potential candidate for other offices. She would be an obvious Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts if either of the two incumbents (both in their 70s) leaves office.
Additionally, just hours before her appearance at The Catholic Schools Foundation gala, Healey participated in an event at Northeastern University in Boston honoring former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. The moderator floated Healey as a potential future candidate for president of the United States, to applause from the audience.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller — the former head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) — said there is “no proof” that he mishandled money during his tenure and referred to allegations of financial improprieties as a … […]
58 Comments
To the bishops of Colorado: The People have spoken. Those who violated Federal law by invading our country, need to leave NOW. You bishops need to respect the will of the people and not interfere with what is NOT in your purview.
We Catholics DO support immigrants coming to the USA but we will NOT support people violating our laws to come here.
In addition, the bishops of the USA have forfeited their moral position in the Church with their sexual abuse of minors and other vulnerable persons and also covering up the abuse by other clerics. It’s time for the bishops to do public penance before they can ever recover the right to lecture others.
In what world do you live in? Progressive bishops have absolutely forfeited their credibility. There is no authentic office without a moral and spiritual foundation behind it. Once again, your commitment to leftist ideologies is compromising your judgment.
There are legal avenues for immigration. We cannot take care of the entire world that wants to come here and our own, safely and effectively and at the rate they are pooring in. Absolutely unsustainable. Get real. Prices for goods and housing gave skyrocketed since Biden’s open borders. My friend is being evicted come the first of the month because his full-time job can’t pay the rent plus other bills. That’s who I care about. He has bought an ice tent . It’s tough here in Denver. 40k illegals have contributed to the rising rents here. Would you want to live in an ice tent in February?
God might not, but a sovereign government and its rightful citizens can and must recognize and defend our national borders. We should treat illegal aliens for what they are – individuals who are in violation of the law. The government’s first responsibility is to its citizens, not to law breakers.
Granted our Southern border has a dodgy creation history but to be fair so did Spain’s acquisition of land.
I don’t know how the title to my home and land are recognized by God but I’m pretty sure in this temporal world they belong to me legally and lawfully.
Yes, we will be held accountable for how we treat each other but scripture also instructs us to respect those in authority. I believe we can do both at the same time.
Unfortunately God does recognize nations, borders, races, tribes, families (subsidiary) even though He calls all men of all nations to come unto Him, to know Jesus is to know peace, peace among all men of good will.
Your comment is completely correct but lacks insight and balance. Conflating civil laws with assumptions of family separation is illogical. Given the crisis orchestrated, a dramatic response is required. Our church should use it’s own resources to do the work you speak of. Too easy to claim moral superiority and use government funds to do what you feel best for the underprivileged. When the GOOD bishops refuse government funding and use their own money and prayers they will be rewarded for speaking the truth in love.
Thousands of American businessmen welcome these migrants with open arms because they work hard for a low wage. Thousands of American businessmen are getting rich using these illegals. It’s all about money.
Of course we welcome hardworkers. A work ethic is a very good thing and should be rewarded but we can’t continue to keep our workforce afloat through criminal trafficking cartels.
There should be a way to work on our visa and immigration policies so more decent people can come here to work legally and without profiting organized crime.
Does God recognize the wall that surrounds the Vatican City State and which the Pope guards jealously enough to reinforce the penalties against those who encroach on Vatican territory? If Pontiff Francis gets to establish his borders against unwanted intruders, why not the USA? I smell hypocrites galore in our Roman Catholic Church.
The moral treatment of people includes sane policies of regulating human migration, sane policies controlling sex trafficking, sane policies of stopping harmful drugs from entering the nation, and ending the exploitation of desperate people, and not taking refuge in sentimentality, the exact opposite of which is brought about by open borders.
That would include protecting people like Laiken Riley and people like the woman lit on fire on a subway in NY and all the families who lost loved ones to fentanyl. Help the migrant yes but using a little wisdom by having a secure border with a comprehensive immigration policy. I don’t think God wants us to check our brains at the door.
Comprehensive policy – 1. allows people to understand with confidence even certainty at times, how best to mobilize, 2. requires broad-based inputs as well as specialist and 3. needs preparation and good personnel bringing through the policies in various areas in ways that also withstand scrutiny.
Some of it is bare-bones brainstorming: how many doctors do you want, how many labourers, how many train engineers, how many gross numbers per year, etc.
The existing legal and bureaucratic regime will most likely not reach to anything like this and more likely will get in the way of anything and everything at will.
Render unto Ceaser what is Ceaser’s. Render unto GOD what is GOD’s.
Ceaser / US government has the right to establish the conditions on how a non-citizen enters the country. Breaking the laws, does not give you the right to stay in a country you blanketly have no respect for. Being here, expecting all your living expenses paid for by the legal citizens is theft. While the bishops and governors look the other way, we taxpayers do not have the budget for increasing expenses.
Colorado bishops are not acting out of the bounds of justice on the immigration issue. Many of the migrants passed through the border in context of cooperation by the Biden administration’s policy of offering a form of permission including the CBP One app. Also with a policy of refusal to close the border, the offer of financial, and other support upon arrival.
We are responsible to persons, the unity of families who crossed the border because of a wrongful policy in force at the time. Such migrants are themselves not entirely culpable and deserve a more compassionate response to their situation. Unfortunately, we are in effect morally obliged to make reparation for the sins of the Biden administration.
We are under no obligation to illegal aliens. We are not responsible to them or for them. They are not entitled to assistance or support of any kind. Illegal aliens are here ILLEGALLY. They have broken the law. The only responsibility we have is to deport them immediately.
Demonstrably untrue. Americans did ALL of those jobs until the last 3 or so decades. They will do them NOW if paid enough per hour. The excess number of illegals willing to work for sub-par wages is exactly the reason wages have stagnated for decades. What business owner in his right mind would pay a worker $25 an hour if they can get away with $12?
As for the Bishops, funny they have plenty to say to Americans who object to their nation being invaded, but appear to have nothing to say to the law breakers who sneak over our boarders, often using stolen identities. Then going on public welfare at an immense cost to their “host” country which then struggles to care for its own native born poor. They burden our hospitals and our schools. Eventually , these excessively needy illegals will bring the entire country to the same indigent level as the countries they fled. It is also not true that all of them are here seeking honest work. Far too many have proved to be violent criminals, sex traffickers, drug pushers, gang members, etc. No thanks. I stand with Trump. Send them back. Our nation provides billions in foreign aid. They are not allowed to come here and destroy our country as well.
It’s gonna be an issue; you can’t just shut down our food supply because honest, hard working people are caught on a technicality.
This is one article from newsweek and there are many on the internet:
With Nearly Half of U.S. Farmworkers Undocumented, Ending Illegal Immigration Could Devastate Economy
Published Apr 21, 2021 at 12:38 PM EDT
Updated Apr 23, 2021 at 10:47 AM EDT
How much do you want your food to go up? – I’m telling you most Americans will not/cannot pick strawberries, apples or do any farm manual labor if it were $30 per hour. How much do migrants make picking strawberries in CA an hour – a lot — how many Americans are applying to pick strawberries – not a lot I’ll bet.
LJ, I would agree that US citizens *should* be able do those low paying agricultural jobs but it’s not going to happen any time soon.
Some years ago our state enlisted convicts to pick vegetables when there was a shortage of seasonal workers and it was a disaster. The workers from Latin America spend through the rows leaving the convicts behind in the dust. Inmates appreciate being outside in the fresh air and having opportunities to earn money. It wasn’t slave labor or the chain gang but they were pretty bad at picking onions. Maybe with practice they could keep up.Who knows?
Some countries enlist high school students to pick crops.
It’s fine to have seasonal foreign workers but they need to come here lawfully. And we could probavly automate more harvesting of crops also.
“honest, hard working people are caught on a technicality. ”
The “technicality” is entering a country illegally, thus breaking the law. Their very first action reveals their contempt for the laws of the United States: “If I want to do something, the law doesn’t matter.” That isn’t honest, whatever about hard working.
There is another reason Americans are partly responsible for the reason so many immigrants need to leave their countries in South America. It’s all the money Americans have spent on illegal drugs going all the way back to the 60’s which line the pockets of the cartels building them up and, in a sense, supporting criminal activities. I saw an interview with a very famous rock star who said in her lifetime she spent perhaps a million dollars on cocaine. I wonder if she ever gave it any thought to the blood that is now on her hands.
I want to express my gratitude to CWR and its editor for publishing this article, one showing how carefully balanced and morally responsible our bishops can be (and typically are, without always receiving credit where credit is due). It is important that all bishops and pastors urge the faithful to not only support the government in proper goals but also in how they arrive in achieving them. It is of course morally correct to shut down illegal immigration but NOT in a manner that more cruel than necessary (heartache is inevitable but treating them like animals is not) or with an antipathy that is violates the law of charity. Recognize and deal firmly with the evils but do not give in to fearmongering (as if we were being invaded by a race of orcs) nor to excess (e.g., any kind of deportation process that is so hasty that families that had been together are separated by our own officials without bringing them together again before sending them off).
Don’t presume that you have a monopoly on compassion. You judge others harshly and prematurely. What you write smacks of an elitism unworthy of any Christian. Yours is not the only way to go about solving a problem that was created by others.
A defensive nerve has been touched that you need to take to spiritual direction as a close reading my my text not warrant your presumption. However, what I have said does apply to you personally if you knowingly support our currrent president unconditionally even though at times he has been unnecessarily cruel on this particular issue, as testified to by his own White House officials (some of whom left because they refused to break laws for him). Most recently, our President shut down a family reunification program tasked with finding children separated by our own government (due to haste, bureaucratic bungling, whatever the cause) from their parents before they are deported. He is also not a thoughtful Chrisitian as he has always opposed comprehensive immigration reform, focusing only on the punitive side even when other measures provide both border security and while respecting the human dignity of those that need to be sent back or get to the back of the line. He has never entertained a legal, controlled guest worker program (even ones proposed by conservative Republican leaders) and has sabotaged DACA relief even when most conservatives wanted a soluton that is both just and merciful. Beware of nativism and tribalism. Be a patriot, not a nationalist. One is a virtue, the other disposition is one of the favorite playthings of the devil for splintering Christian unity (for 500 years and going strong). As to “my” solution that you speak of, I’m trying to hew to the USCCB consensus (which is NOT remotely the same as Pope Francis’ naive approach challenged by many Eastern European cardinals); I doubt you have a better one, at least if it means supporting any politician whose ideas ignore the bishops’ rational and compasssionate guidelines. Take care, brother, if you are selling your soul to a populist nationalist approach that is more driven by anxiety and contempt than careful consideration and articulation of Catholic social doctrine (which is not some post-conciliar invention).
yes, you cannot shake an illegal’s hand before Communion then beat the out of them while arresting them in the parking lot, but you can arrest them if that’s your job.
I have not seen anyone suggest that “beating” them is ok. That feels like yet another untrue leftist accusation which will be repeated over and over until enough uninformed minions believe it.
Well, if they have souls and a functioning conscience, they should not be breaking the law by entering the country illegally, since that would be considered a sin.
Of course they have souls knowall. I hear you. We can secure our border without needlessly demeaning others. I wish I could hear more balance about that from people. It’s a shame. Most folks who come here would be assets if they’d just come in the right way.
I am sure that over the next four years we are going to see CWR posting CNA articles by bishops on Trump’s immigration policy. That does not make it any less frustrating. ( Frustrating articles, not frustrating that CWR posts them).
The bishops say that nations are entitled to strong borders, which seems to mean that we can try to stop illegals from crossing, but if they do manage to cross we cannot send them back. Not a very honest position.
President Trump signed a list of pro-life executive orders after the March For Life yesterday, after already freeing the pro-life demonstrators from jail. It would be nice if the bishops would issue a comprehensive statement on that.
And, maybe mentioning that these reversed pro-abortion executive orders issued by Biden.
I would guess that most people have words or phrases that they get tired of hearing. I am tired of the bishops saying “welcome the stranger” when what they mean is don’t send illegals back to their country of origen. We do welcome the stranger. We welcome on average one million legal strangers (immigrants) every year.
The bishops did mention unaccompanied children and drugs coming across the border, but it seems that these are just mentioned in passing.
As the bishops always mention, they want “comprehensive immigration reform” without ever stating what particular “reforms” they want. What they seem to want is citizenship for the illegals, or, in the language of their 2024 voting guide, “unauthorized newcomers.”
I believe it is going to be a long four years of these types of statements from the bishops.
“Mass deportation is not the solution to our present situation in the United States, especially when it may separate parents and children,” the bishops said.
But children won’t be separated from their parents. Entire families will be deported together, as they should be. Problem solved!
From a legal standpoint I would say you have to use your discretion. That is the general law anyway. Make a list. I’ll give an example. This is not exhaustive.
Many came in authentic pursuit of a more humane life and used the openings made available to them. They can be full of good will and don’t necessarily vote Democrat ultimately.
A large portion of some measure want to be in the “Democrat system” and be hinge points for the rest of their lives and they tend to be mixed in with “radicals”.
“Radicals” -narcotics contacts, Pink Tide, terrorism cells, criminals active for hire, other subversive elements.
There will inevitably be some past criminals genuinely hoping for a new beginning, but likely this is a very small group.
When there are minors and dependents involved in “bad” and “risk” groups you still should act with delicacy. An area for diplomatic measures and new relations/funding with regional neighbours.
‘ ….. Covering the news is a labor-intensive enterprise, and the number of media actually attempting to do it—especially in the national and international sectors—has always been comparatively small and is getting smaller all the time. Newsrooms have shrunk. Foreign and domestic bureaus have closed right and left as an economy measure. In the news business now, fewer and fewer are trying to do more and more with less and less.
…..
Speaking at meeting in Rome, Helen Osman, the top communication official of the U.S. bishops’ conference, says that “to understand the culture of the United States and how the Church can present the faith within that culture, it is important to realize that the adoption of digital communications is fundamentally changing the culture.” Quite so. In the end, moreover, it doesn’t matter greatly whether people get their news on a printed page or a screen. But it does matter that they get it—and that it be timely, accurate, honest, and fair. Religious leaders, just like other leaders in society, need to worry about that. ‘
I understand your points, but people’s motives oe desires are not under consideration here. If people want to establish a new life here, there is a legal process for them to do that. Breaking the law is unacceptable, even if people are seeking a better life.
There is good reason for setting in new legal processes. The situation is novel and it has different dimensions. Some things to do with borders; some with ICE in non-border States; some with Homeland Security; some with temporary provision of basic social services one way then another then another; some with personnel management and differentiation; some with probationary status and agency accessibility of those under management; etc.
If documented, if undocumented. Qualifying levels. Pre-qualifying levels. I would pass separate laws addressing different things and creating different processing tracks. This or that track could involve elective options for those under management in that area. I stress, separate statutes.
There is also sound LEGAL reason for new laws. The Supreme Court recently revoked the Chevron rule so that it is a whole new field for review of administrative act. This brings up also changing existing personnel. While a certain level of fidelity can be expected from Texas staffing, the bureaucratic and quasi-bureucratic status quo in the hinterland is working with its own vision that is going to fight very hard not to become outdated and to remain relevant and in charge.
Most importantly, without a knowable plain and simple fair and square legal procedural backdrop you already offend rules of natural justice. And you’ll lose in court.
‘ Skidmore Deference Survives: Under Loper, courts must exercise their “independent judgment” in reviewing agency regulations. However, the Court left Skidmore deference in place. Under that doctrine, courts may still defer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute if the interpretation has the “power to persuade.”
A New Form of Deference for Express Delegations of Authority?: It is unclear the extent to which Loper will impact agency regulations promulgated pursuant to express delegations of authority by Congress. The Court explained that, while it is the court’s duty to interpret federal statutes, the best reading of a statute “may well be that the agency is authorized to exercise a degree of discretion.” In those cases, “the role of the reviewing court under the APA is, as always, to independently interpret the statute and effectuate the will of Congress subject to constitutional limits.” Loper explained that courts fulfill their “judicial function” in these cases by: (1) recognizing “constitutional delegations” of authority; (2) fixing the boundaries of the delegated authority; and (3) “ensuring the agency has engaged in reasoned decision-making within those boundaries.” The Court did not explain, however, if this is a different test than the judiciary’s duty to “say what the law is,” and if it is, when it should be applied.
Opens Door to Challenges: We anticipate a significant uptick in new lawsuits challenging agency regulations across sectors. It remains unclear, however, how courts will apply Loper in the context of particular statutory schemes and without more specific guidance from the Supreme Court. ‘
Psalm 106:33 They so embittered his spirit that rash words crossed his lips. 34 They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them 35 But mingled with the nations and imitated their ways.
To the bishops of Colorado: The People have spoken. Those who violated Federal law by invading our country, need to leave NOW. You bishops need to respect the will of the people and not interfere with what is NOT in your purview.
We Catholics DO support immigrants coming to the USA but we will NOT support people violating our laws to come here.
In addition, the bishops of the USA have forfeited their moral position in the Church with their sexual abuse of minors and other vulnerable persons and also covering up the abuse by other clerics. It’s time for the bishops to do public penance before they can ever recover the right to lecture others.
Absolutely. Well said.
Excellent points!
The validity of one’s office is not dependent on his morality.
In what world do you live in? Progressive bishops have absolutely forfeited their credibility. There is no authentic office without a moral and spiritual foundation behind it. Once again, your commitment to leftist ideologies is compromising your judgment.
God doesn’t recognize our man-made southern border. God does recognize how we treat people.
GERALD: Christ also said to his disciples: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”
It’s not a good idea to speak for God; Christ did that already.
God certainly does recognize borders. Read the Bible.
I read the Bible. Christ instructs us to love each other as He loves us.
Indeed. We should follow the Vatican loving (sarcasm) example. No open borders.
“Vatican Promises Stiff Penalties for Illegal Aliens Crossing its Border”
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/01/16/vatican-promises-stiff-penalties-for-illegal-aliens-crossing-its-border/
There are legal avenues for immigration. We cannot take care of the entire world that wants to come here and our own, safely and effectively and at the rate they are pooring in. Absolutely unsustainable. Get real. Prices for goods and housing gave skyrocketed since Biden’s open borders. My friend is being evicted come the first of the month because his full-time job can’t pay the rent plus other bills. That’s who I care about. He has bought an ice tent . It’s tough here in Denver. 40k illegals have contributed to the rising rents here. Would you want to live in an ice tent in February?
God might not, but a sovereign government and its rightful citizens can and must recognize and defend our national borders. We should treat illegal aliens for what they are – individuals who are in violation of the law. The government’s first responsibility is to its citizens, not to law breakers.
Granted our Southern border has a dodgy creation history but to be fair so did Spain’s acquisition of land.
I don’t know how the title to my home and land are recognized by God but I’m pretty sure in this temporal world they belong to me legally and lawfully.
Yes, we will be held accountable for how we treat each other but scripture also instructs us to respect those in authority. I believe we can do both at the same time.
Unfortunately God does recognize nations, borders, races, tribes, families (subsidiary) even though He calls all men of all nations to come unto Him, to know Jesus is to know peace, peace among all men of good will.
Your comment is completely correct but lacks insight and balance. Conflating civil laws with assumptions of family separation is illogical. Given the crisis orchestrated, a dramatic response is required. Our church should use it’s own resources to do the work you speak of. Too easy to claim moral superiority and use government funds to do what you feel best for the underprivileged. When the GOOD bishops refuse government funding and use their own money and prayers they will be rewarded for speaking the truth in love.
So, Gerald. Does God recognize the fentanyl that pours in across the southern border and kills our people by the thousands?
How about the children who are trafficked or the mentally disturbed who will end up homeless?
Should I assume you’re in favor of this?
Thousands of American businessmen welcome these migrants with open arms because they work hard for a low wage. Thousands of American businessmen are getting rich using these illegals. It’s all about money.
So, Gerald, why then do you seem to condone the open borders which our president is proceeding to close?
Of course we welcome hardworkers. A work ethic is a very good thing and should be rewarded but we can’t continue to keep our workforce afloat through criminal trafficking cartels.
There should be a way to work on our visa and immigration policies so more decent people can come here to work legally and without profiting organized crime.
Does God recognize the wall that surrounds the Vatican City State and which the Pope guards jealously enough to reinforce the penalties against those who encroach on Vatican territory? If Pontiff Francis gets to establish his borders against unwanted intruders, why not the USA? I smell hypocrites galore in our Roman Catholic Church.
The moral treatment of people includes sane policies of regulating human migration, sane policies controlling sex trafficking, sane policies of stopping harmful drugs from entering the nation, and ending the exploitation of desperate people, and not taking refuge in sentimentality, the exact opposite of which is brought about by open borders.
@Gerald: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”
That would include protecting people like Laiken Riley and people like the woman lit on fire on a subway in NY and all the families who lost loved ones to fentanyl. Help the migrant yes but using a little wisdom by having a secure border with a comprehensive immigration policy. I don’t think God wants us to check our brains at the door.
Comprehensive policy – 1. allows people to understand with confidence even certainty at times, how best to mobilize, 2. requires broad-based inputs as well as specialist and 3. needs preparation and good personnel bringing through the policies in various areas in ways that also withstand scrutiny.
Some of it is bare-bones brainstorming: how many doctors do you want, how many labourers, how many train engineers, how many gross numbers per year, etc.
The existing legal and bureaucratic regime will most likely not reach to anything like this and more likely will get in the way of anything and everything at will.
And how they treat us. We used to believe in the Golden Rule.
Render unto Ceaser what is Ceaser’s. Render unto GOD what is GOD’s.
Ceaser / US government has the right to establish the conditions on how a non-citizen enters the country. Breaking the laws, does not give you the right to stay in a country you blanketly have no respect for. Being here, expecting all your living expenses paid for by the legal citizens is theft. While the bishops and governors look the other way, we taxpayers do not have the budget for increasing expenses.
Impressive statement, exemplifying the balance it encourages.
Colorado bishops are not acting out of the bounds of justice on the immigration issue. Many of the migrants passed through the border in context of cooperation by the Biden administration’s policy of offering a form of permission including the CBP One app. Also with a policy of refusal to close the border, the offer of financial, and other support upon arrival.
We are responsible to persons, the unity of families who crossed the border because of a wrongful policy in force at the time. Such migrants are themselves not entirely culpable and deserve a more compassionate response to their situation. Unfortunately, we are in effect morally obliged to make reparation for the sins of the Biden administration.
We are under no obligation to illegal aliens. We are not responsible to them or for them. They are not entitled to assistance or support of any kind. Illegal aliens are here ILLEGALLY. They have broken the law. The only responsibility we have is to deport them immediately.
Careful there, the food you put in your mouth or the milk you drink may have been handled by an illegal.
Americans will not/can not do a lot of work that migrants are glad to.
I’m not for illegal immigration but they do a lot of our ag work.
Granted. But that doesn’t mean they should be here illegally.
Demonstrably untrue. Americans did ALL of those jobs until the last 3 or so decades. They will do them NOW if paid enough per hour. The excess number of illegals willing to work for sub-par wages is exactly the reason wages have stagnated for decades. What business owner in his right mind would pay a worker $25 an hour if they can get away with $12?
As for the Bishops, funny they have plenty to say to Americans who object to their nation being invaded, but appear to have nothing to say to the law breakers who sneak over our boarders, often using stolen identities. Then going on public welfare at an immense cost to their “host” country which then struggles to care for its own native born poor. They burden our hospitals and our schools. Eventually , these excessively needy illegals will bring the entire country to the same indigent level as the countries they fled. It is also not true that all of them are here seeking honest work. Far too many have proved to be violent criminals, sex traffickers, drug pushers, gang members, etc. No thanks. I stand with Trump. Send them back. Our nation provides billions in foreign aid. They are not allowed to come here and destroy our country as well.
It’s gonna be an issue; you can’t just shut down our food supply because honest, hard working people are caught on a technicality.
This is one article from newsweek and there are many on the internet:
With Nearly Half of U.S. Farmworkers Undocumented, Ending Illegal Immigration Could Devastate Economy
Published Apr 21, 2021 at 12:38 PM EDT
Updated Apr 23, 2021 at 10:47 AM EDT
How much do you want your food to go up? – I’m telling you most Americans will not/cannot pick strawberries, apples or do any farm manual labor if it were $30 per hour. How much do migrants make picking strawberries in CA an hour – a lot — how many Americans are applying to pick strawberries – not a lot I’ll bet.
LJ, I would agree that US citizens *should* be able do those low paying agricultural jobs but it’s not going to happen any time soon.
Some years ago our state enlisted convicts to pick vegetables when there was a shortage of seasonal workers and it was a disaster. The workers from Latin America spend through the rows leaving the convicts behind in the dust. Inmates appreciate being outside in the fresh air and having opportunities to earn money. It wasn’t slave labor or the chain gang but they were pretty bad at picking onions. Maybe with practice they could keep up.Who knows?
Some countries enlist high school students to pick crops.
It’s fine to have seasonal foreign workers but they need to come here lawfully. And we could probavly automate more harvesting of crops also.
“honest, hard working people are caught on a technicality. ”
The “technicality” is entering a country illegally, thus breaking the law. Their very first action reveals their contempt for the laws of the United States: “If I want to do something, the law doesn’t matter.” That isn’t honest, whatever about hard working.
Who said Nazism was dead?
There is another reason Americans are partly responsible for the reason so many immigrants need to leave their countries in South America. It’s all the money Americans have spent on illegal drugs going all the way back to the 60’s which line the pockets of the cartels building them up and, in a sense, supporting criminal activities. I saw an interview with a very famous rock star who said in her lifetime she spent perhaps a million dollars on cocaine. I wonder if she ever gave it any thought to the blood that is now on her hands.
I want to express my gratitude to CWR and its editor for publishing this article, one showing how carefully balanced and morally responsible our bishops can be (and typically are, without always receiving credit where credit is due). It is important that all bishops and pastors urge the faithful to not only support the government in proper goals but also in how they arrive in achieving them. It is of course morally correct to shut down illegal immigration but NOT in a manner that more cruel than necessary (heartache is inevitable but treating them like animals is not) or with an antipathy that is violates the law of charity. Recognize and deal firmly with the evils but do not give in to fearmongering (as if we were being invaded by a race of orcs) nor to excess (e.g., any kind of deportation process that is so hasty that families that had been together are separated by our own officials without bringing them together again before sending them off).
Don’t presume that you have a monopoly on compassion. You judge others harshly and prematurely. What you write smacks of an elitism unworthy of any Christian. Yours is not the only way to go about solving a problem that was created by others.
A defensive nerve has been touched that you need to take to spiritual direction as a close reading my my text not warrant your presumption. However, what I have said does apply to you personally if you knowingly support our currrent president unconditionally even though at times he has been unnecessarily cruel on this particular issue, as testified to by his own White House officials (some of whom left because they refused to break laws for him). Most recently, our President shut down a family reunification program tasked with finding children separated by our own government (due to haste, bureaucratic bungling, whatever the cause) from their parents before they are deported. He is also not a thoughtful Chrisitian as he has always opposed comprehensive immigration reform, focusing only on the punitive side even when other measures provide both border security and while respecting the human dignity of those that need to be sent back or get to the back of the line. He has never entertained a legal, controlled guest worker program (even ones proposed by conservative Republican leaders) and has sabotaged DACA relief even when most conservatives wanted a soluton that is both just and merciful. Beware of nativism and tribalism. Be a patriot, not a nationalist. One is a virtue, the other disposition is one of the favorite playthings of the devil for splintering Christian unity (for 500 years and going strong). As to “my” solution that you speak of, I’m trying to hew to the USCCB consensus (which is NOT remotely the same as Pope Francis’ naive approach challenged by many Eastern European cardinals); I doubt you have a better one, at least if it means supporting any politician whose ideas ignore the bishops’ rational and compasssionate guidelines. Take care, brother, if you are selling your soul to a populist nationalist approach that is more driven by anxiety and contempt than careful consideration and articulation of Catholic social doctrine (which is not some post-conciliar invention).
yes, you cannot shake an illegal’s hand before Communion then beat the out of them while arresting them in the parking lot, but you can arrest them if that’s your job.
I have not seen anyone suggest that “beating” them is ok. That feels like yet another untrue leftist accusation which will be repeated over and over until enough uninformed minions believe it.
I’m speaking from a Catholic Christian perspective – these people have souls.
Well, if they have souls and a functioning conscience, they should not be breaking the law by entering the country illegally, since that would be considered a sin.
Of course they have souls knowall. I hear you. We can secure our border without needlessly demeaning others. I wish I could hear more balance about that from people. It’s a shame. Most folks who come here would be assets if they’d just come in the right way.
I am sure that over the next four years we are going to see CWR posting CNA articles by bishops on Trump’s immigration policy. That does not make it any less frustrating. ( Frustrating articles, not frustrating that CWR posts them).
The bishops say that nations are entitled to strong borders, which seems to mean that we can try to stop illegals from crossing, but if they do manage to cross we cannot send them back. Not a very honest position.
President Trump signed a list of pro-life executive orders after the March For Life yesterday, after already freeing the pro-life demonstrators from jail. It would be nice if the bishops would issue a comprehensive statement on that.
And, maybe mentioning that these reversed pro-abortion executive orders issued by Biden.
I would guess that most people have words or phrases that they get tired of hearing. I am tired of the bishops saying “welcome the stranger” when what they mean is don’t send illegals back to their country of origen. We do welcome the stranger. We welcome on average one million legal strangers (immigrants) every year.
The bishops did mention unaccompanied children and drugs coming across the border, but it seems that these are just mentioned in passing.
As the bishops always mention, they want “comprehensive immigration reform” without ever stating what particular “reforms” they want. What they seem to want is citizenship for the illegals, or, in the language of their 2024 voting guide, “unauthorized newcomers.”
I believe it is going to be a long four years of these types of statements from the bishops.
“Drug smuggling and human trafficking are on the rise because of the open border policy”
The reason for Freemason Biden’s policy.
“Mass deportation is not the solution to our present situation in the United States, especially when it may separate parents and children,” the bishops said.
But children won’t be separated from their parents. Entire families will be deported together, as they should be. Problem solved!
From a legal standpoint I would say you have to use your discretion. That is the general law anyway. Make a list. I’ll give an example. This is not exhaustive.
Many came in authentic pursuit of a more humane life and used the openings made available to them. They can be full of good will and don’t necessarily vote Democrat ultimately.
A large portion of some measure want to be in the “Democrat system” and be hinge points for the rest of their lives and they tend to be mixed in with “radicals”.
“Radicals” -narcotics contacts, Pink Tide, terrorism cells, criminals active for hire, other subversive elements.
There will inevitably be some past criminals genuinely hoping for a new beginning, but likely this is a very small group.
When there are minors and dependents involved in “bad” and “risk” groups you still should act with delicacy. An area for diplomatic measures and new relations/funding with regional neighbours.
‘ ….. Covering the news is a labor-intensive enterprise, and the number of media actually attempting to do it—especially in the national and international sectors—has always been comparatively small and is getting smaller all the time. Newsrooms have shrunk. Foreign and domestic bureaus have closed right and left as an economy measure. In the news business now, fewer and fewer are trying to do more and more with less and less.
…..
Speaking at meeting in Rome, Helen Osman, the top communication official of the U.S. bishops’ conference, says that “to understand the culture of the United States and how the Church can present the faith within that culture, it is important to realize that the adoption of digital communications is fundamentally changing the culture.” Quite so. In the end, moreover, it doesn’t matter greatly whether people get their news on a printed page or a screen. But it does matter that they get it—and that it be timely, accurate, honest, and fair. Religious leaders, just like other leaders in society, need to worry about that. ‘
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2014/05/29/the-mixed-state-of-the-changing-media/
I understand your points, but people’s motives oe desires are not under consideration here. If people want to establish a new life here, there is a legal process for them to do that. Breaking the law is unacceptable, even if people are seeking a better life.
So give a legal process and see who stays.
You’ve inherited a negative situation, make it positive.
A lot of it is already in hands who will hide it, uncover it.
Diamond in the rough full of opportunity shining bright.
There is good reason for setting in new legal processes. The situation is novel and it has different dimensions. Some things to do with borders; some with ICE in non-border States; some with Homeland Security; some with temporary provision of basic social services one way then another then another; some with personnel management and differentiation; some with probationary status and agency accessibility of those under management; etc.
If documented, if undocumented. Qualifying levels. Pre-qualifying levels. I would pass separate laws addressing different things and creating different processing tracks. This or that track could involve elective options for those under management in that area. I stress, separate statutes.
There is also sound LEGAL reason for new laws. The Supreme Court recently revoked the Chevron rule so that it is a whole new field for review of administrative act. This brings up also changing existing personnel. While a certain level of fidelity can be expected from Texas staffing, the bureaucratic and quasi-bureucratic status quo in the hinterland is working with its own vision that is going to fight very hard not to become outdated and to remain relevant and in charge.
Most importantly, without a knowable plain and simple fair and square legal procedural backdrop you already offend rules of natural justice. And you’ll lose in court.
‘ Skidmore Deference Survives: Under Loper, courts must exercise their “independent judgment” in reviewing agency regulations. However, the Court left Skidmore deference in place. Under that doctrine, courts may still defer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute if the interpretation has the “power to persuade.”
A New Form of Deference for Express Delegations of Authority?: It is unclear the extent to which Loper will impact agency regulations promulgated pursuant to express delegations of authority by Congress. The Court explained that, while it is the court’s duty to interpret federal statutes, the best reading of a statute “may well be that the agency is authorized to exercise a degree of discretion.” In those cases, “the role of the reviewing court under the APA is, as always, to independently interpret the statute and effectuate the will of Congress subject to constitutional limits.” Loper explained that courts fulfill their “judicial function” in these cases by: (1) recognizing “constitutional delegations” of authority; (2) fixing the boundaries of the delegated authority; and (3) “ensuring the agency has engaged in reasoned decision-making within those boundaries.” The Court did not explain, however, if this is a different test than the judiciary’s duty to “say what the law is,” and if it is, when it should be applied.
Opens Door to Challenges: We anticipate a significant uptick in new lawsuits challenging agency regulations across sectors. It remains unclear, however, how courts will apply Loper in the context of particular statutory schemes and without more specific guidance from the Supreme Court. ‘
https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/us-supreme-court-strikes-down-chevron-doctrine-what-you-need-know
Psalm 106:33 They so embittered his spirit that rash words crossed his lips. 34 They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them 35 But mingled with the nations and imitated their ways.
Obama deported 3 million illegals, more than Trump did in his first term. Somehow, that didn’t get the pushback that Trump is getting now.
It’s a sure bet that none of these Colorado Bishops will ever be named a Cardinal while Francis is Pope.
Me again.
Some may want to check out “If bishops want to be heard on immigration . . . “, Catholic Culture, Jan. 24, 2025.