LA Cardinal on House Immigration Enforcement Bill

During his homily at the 25th annual Migration Day Mass on Jan. 14, Cardinal Roger Mahony warned of new “vicious” assaults on immigrants, which have been solidified in the new Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act that passed the House of Representatives Dec. 16 by a vote of 239-182.

“We are sadly aware that there have been many times when migrants and immigrants have come under attack, all the way back to the 1700s and continuing as different waves of immigrants arrived here,” the cardinal told more than 1,000 representatives of ethnic groups, many dressed in festive native dress, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

“But also this very day there are new assaults upon immigrant peoples,” he noted, pointing out the house bill as one concrete example.

Cardinal Mahony described H.R. 4437 as a “blameful, vicious” bill imposing all kinds of restrictions and penalties on immigrant peoples. But he said the anti-immigrant measure also placed severe sanctions on any person or agency that offers migrants and immigrants any kind of service whatsoever.

This would include “all of us” involved in church ministry, such as people working in Catholic social services, outreach to immigrants — even those helping them with their paperwork to become naturalized citizens, he declared.

“It’s so absurd that it almost means when we give out Holy Communion here in the Cathedral that we have to ask everybody to show us their immigration papers before you can give them the body and blood of Christ,” he said. “Because if there’s any service given to someone without all their legal papers, that’s a felony — a felony! — not just a misdemeanor.

“So here on Sunday, I could be guilty of many hundreds of felonies all in one morning,” he mused, drawing chuckles from the congregation, before adding, “But it’s also very frightening.”

Cardinal Mahony called on all Catholics — not just bishops, priests and religious — to get involved in this “national immigration justice effort” by trying to influence their federal, state and local legislators.

KJ

This is from the archdiocese’s official newspaper l THE TIDINGS Los Angeles, California Published: Friday, January 20, 2006

Cardinal Urges All to Fight Anti-immigration Bill By R. W. Dellinger