On Ash Wednesday a Bishop stood in front of his parishioners and the national media to announce he would defy the law. In the streets of downtown Chicago 100,000+ marched passionately and peacefully to show their disapproval of a pending bill, while in Washington D.C. a similar demonstration showed support for the opposing bill. These courageous acts are part of a growing movement in support of the just treatment of undocumented immigrants, sometimes called illegal immigrants.
A very brief timeline: December 16th the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act was passed in our nations House of Representatives and sent to the Senate. In trying to make a connection between the violent terrorists of 9-11 and the peaceful immigrants from countries such as Mexico the bill seeks to cut back future immigration significantly, and clamp down on current immigrants. In response, though with little support, U.S. Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy wrote the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, which would honor the lives of immigrants in the United States who work diligently and live peacefully. This response however was gaining little ground until Cardinal Richard M. Mahony of Los Angeles spoke up Ash Wednesday. He said:
"To take up our Lenten practice this year in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we face a unique challenge in this call to make room for God. In recent months and in different parts of the world, we have seen the escalation of strong sentiments against immigrants. These sentiments appear to be mounting in our own country as well. How might our various Lenten practices such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, our effort to empty ourselves so as to make room for God, relate to the complex reality of immigration, especially in the face of increasing hostility toward immigrants?"This issue is not yet resolved, and the movement is still growing. The passion of 100,000+ immigrants and supporters of immigrants filled the streets of Chicago on March 10th. One high school student marching said, "We're supporting our parents and our parents' parents, who came here and worked hard. A lot of classrooms are empty today."
Catholic Connection:
"Our common faith in Jesus Christ moves us to search for ways that favor a spirit of solidarity. It is a faith that transcends borders and bids us to overcome all forms of discrimination and violence so that we may build relationships that are just and loving."
--Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, A Pastoral Letter Concerning Migration from the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States, 2003
"Only if I serve my neighbor can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me ... Love of God and love of neighbor are thus inseparable, they form a single commandment ... No longer is it a question, then, of a "commandment" imposed from without calling for the impossible, but ... a love which by its very nature must then be shared with others."
---Pope Benedict XVI (Deus Caritas Est, no. 18).
Reflection Questions
What can you do to speak out for the rights of immigrants in your community?
Join us in our Forum to discuss these questions!
