Immigrant Champion/Cardinal of LA to Retire

 
The Catholic Church has been criticized in recent years for many things including its conservative stances on social issues and its protection of wayward priests.  What is often buried in the public consciousness is the church’s embrace of immigrants and immigration.  In that regard, the L.A. Times reports Cardinal Roger Mahony, who is retiring as the leader of Los Angeles’s Roman Catholic diocese and has been an erstwhile champion of immigration reform.

“[H]e’s still vigorous and plans to remain very much engaged, not only as a priest but also as an influential voice in the debates over an issue that has preoccupied him throughout his ministry: Immigration. In a statement to be distributed throughout the archdiocese this week, Mahony outlines his plans in a deeply personal document headed, `STANDING with the ELEVEN MILLION: Welcoming the Strangers in Our Midst.’ The title is a reference to the estimated 11 million immigrants currently making a life in the United States without legal documents.”

KJ