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April 7, 2008
A Letter to the Catholic Church From a Parishioner
Jason Martins, producer of WPRO's Matt Allen Show, put the following letter in the collection basket yesterday in lieu of an offering.
Dear Father,I am writing this letter in response to the comments made by Bishop Tobin earlier this week following the Executive Order by Governor Carcieri focusing on illegal immigration.
As you have noticed by now, I have chosen not to include an offering this week. This is my small way of expressing my displeasure with the stance that Bishop Tobin has decided to take on the increasingly important issue of illegal immigration. While I understand that the Bishop's stance is based on faith and not politics, I am writing to you as an American citizen who is deeply concerned about the future of this great nation we've inherited.
Why would Bishop Tobin support illegal aliens and not the millions of Catholic Americans who are disgusted by what is happening to this country?
As an American citizen and taxpayer, I find it disturbing that I work 2 jobs, 6 days a week (Sunday is my day off, of course), I pay taxes, and then I see that tax money going to people who are not supposed to be in this country, while hard working Americans struggle just to get by. If they were able to keep their own money maybe they wouldn’t have to struggle so much.
To me, and most like-minded Americans, this is a clear-cut issue, and the argument for the illegal immigrant advocates holds no water. So when the local leader of my religion chooses to support people who have broken the law by entering this country without permission and who steal my tax money then send it back to their homeland, the line in the sand has been crossed.
Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts called the Governor's Executive Order "divisive." What is more divisive than local leaders appearing at press conferences and taking sides with people who break the law and steal from Americans? That may not have been the Bishops intention, but when you hold a press conference with illegal aliens, against the Governor, the perception will be that you have taken a side. Bishop Tobin can say that he agrees with the Governor but may not like the timing or the effect the Executive Order may have, but at least Governor Carcieri is taking action that Americans can rally behind.
My only hope is that Bishop Tobin and the Catholic Church can support Catholic Americans in our attempt to save the country that was created by Christians under the premise that "In God We Trust."
I use this small gesture of protest to ask Bishop Tobin and all religious leaders to encourage illegal immigrants to go home, come here the right way, and lawfully enjoy all the opportunity that this great country has to offer.
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how very christian
Posted by: Pat Crowley at April 7, 2008 9:59 AM--"how very christian"
A first stone thrown by someone who uses innocent and defenseless children as union bargaining chips, permanently harming their educational prospects with seniority, tenure and work to rule.
Hey Crowley, how about what Ocean State Republican said about your union and illegals in "Pastoral Pronouncements or Pragmatic Pandering" that appeared on that web site this morning? Sounds to me like they have yours (and Bishop Tobin's) number! Follow the money - pesos or dollars are convertible and so are all just as good to the NEA!
http://oceanstaterepublican.com/2008/04/07/pastoral-pronouncements-or-pragmatic-pandering/
"The debate over illegal immigration is exclusively a secular matter. At issue are national sovereignty and individual compliance with, and official enforcement of, our nation’s laws — and in the enactment and/or revision of those laws, questions of public policy, national priorities and expenditure of taxpayer funds. Indeed there are considerations of humanity and compassion in this debate, but these are elements within the secular public policy debate — they are not the debate itself ...
"For example, most estimates put Rhode Island’s illegal alien population at between 30,000 to 40,000 (3% to 4% of population). Though we cannot know the actual numbers (we suspect it is significantly higher), a fair speculation is that for each illegal alien there’s at least one or two “anchor babies” –- who are technically U.S. citizens, but who would not be here but for the illegal status of the parent(s). At minimum, this means tens of thousands of “additional” children in Rhode Island’s public schools, requiring disproportionate special education and ESL (“English as a Second Language”) expenditures. This extra burden results in thousands of additional union-dues paying teachers and education bureaucrats funded by Rhode Island’s taxpayers ...
"So it doesn’t take a MENSA member to surmise why the teachers unions -– particularly the union leadership whose jobs and pay scales are dependent on the gross amount of union dues deducted from the taxpayer-funded teachers paychecks — are, shall we say, “sympathetic” to non-enforcement of our immigration laws, “comprehensive immigration reform” (a/k/a amnesty and open borders) and the rest of the illegal alien agenda."
Posted by: Ragin' Rhode Islander at April 7, 2008 10:47 AMFear not, Jason. If a bill legalizing gay marriage gets onto the floor of the house, Bishop Tobin and The Don will kiss and have mad animal makeup...well, you get the picture.
Posted by: rhody at April 7, 2008 10:52 AMHi!
Posted by: Scott Bill Hirst at April 7, 2008 3:29 PMNot being Catholic, I cannot speak for Catholics and their response to their Bishop or other church sources on illegal immigration.
I do believe that for those illegal immigrants from Latin American countries that have Catholic majority populations, the leaders of those countries have a political and moral obligation to their peoples as well as areas not primarily Catholic. I cannot say how many of these countries recognize the Catholic Church officially and where it is a formal state religion.However clearly, Latin America is overwhelmingly Catholic. In American foreign policy we need to promote human rights more as well as the dignity of labor.
Illegal immigration is everbody's business. I trust the Church leaders as well as others that we in the United States have been historically generous compared to other states but I believe both political and moral responsibilities should be expected of other nations not only of the United States.
Regards,
Scott
Hi!
Posted by: Scott Bill Hirst at April 7, 2008 3:38 PMI want to clarify my posting just made.In the second paragraph, I believe that Catholics as well as non Catholics have an obligation to their fellow peoples in the nations they live in. It does not or may not sound that way in my previous post.
In a number of countries if not all or most, wealth is concentrated in few hands.
Regards,
Scott
I think I agree with SBH. But here is how I'd say it:
"Pat, you ignorant slut. The countries these criminal aliens come from have a much higher percentage of Christians (overwhelmingly Catholic) than we have in the United States. So, by the logic of your idiotic statement, they should just go home and get the more 'Christian' treatment."
Posted by: George at April 7, 2008 7:55 PM