January 8, 2006
I'm not going to jail

Newsday reported that recently proposed legislation would make it illegal to aid people who are here in the United States without documents. The implications of this bill prompted many people to respond to Congressman Peter King, one of the sponsors of the bill. Congressman King was reported as saying that if churches were to help such people, they would not be in legal trouble. He said if someone came to St. Brigid’s for food, for example, “the pastor of St. Brigid’s would not go to jail.”

Well that’s good news -- for me. But the legislation is not good news for many of our parishioners who could be separated from their families here as they are sent back to their country of origin. Let’s be clear: as a church community we don’t promote illegal immigration. Here’s an excerpt from the US Bishop’s statement on immigration: “Without condoning undocumented migration, the Church supports the human rights of all people and offers them pastoral care, education, and social services, no matter what the circumstances of entry into this country, and it works for the respect of the human dignity of all—especially those who find themselves in desperate circumstances. We recognize that nations have the right to control their borders. We also recognize and strongly assert that all human persons, created as they are in the image of God, possess a fundamental dignity that gives rise to a more compelling claim to the conditions worthy of human life.”

What disturbs me is not the struggle to deal with undocumented migration, but the mean-spirited and hateful ways many of our parishioners are being treated by those who speak against their presence in our community. (This is how our ancestors were treated when they migrated here -- I would hope that we would let reasonable speech flourish rather than hateful speech and punitive legislation.)
I recall an incident in Jesus’ life. A centurion’s servant was gravely ill and he asked Jesus to heal him. Even though the centurion was not only a foreigner --rather he was in charge of soldiers of the occupying army that was oppressing Jesus’s people -- Jesus healed the servant. I’m praying for Jesus’ healing of our immigrant situation.

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