These are the fruits of a diocese run by Cardinal Robert McElroy for the past ten years.
Catholic Charities of San Diego has a website instructing illegal immigrants how to use the United States constitutional Law to avoid being deported – https://emergencysafetyplan.org/. The websites front page has five arms with fist in the air, this is a symbol of solidarity and resistance, often associated with movements for social justice and political activism. It is widely recognized as a symbol of strength, defiance, and unity, particularly in the context of civil rights and labor movements. The gesture has roots in various cultures and has been used by many groups, including the Black Power movement in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, as well as by feminists and LGBTQ+ activists. The raised fist serves as a visual expression of support for marginalized communities and the fight against oppression. The website has videos in English and Spanish entitled: ‘Know your rights’ these videos were created to empower illegal immigrants with the knowledge to protect themselves and assert their right in the event ICE visits your workplace, home or stops you in public.
This website (that has nothing Catholic about it other than the name) has different links:
- Family Preparedness Plan
- Know your rights card
- If ICE visits your home
- Locating someone who is detained
- Preparing for ICE Raids
- Immigrant rights
- Immigration Preparedness Toolkit
- Creating Emergency Plan for Raids and Mass Detention notebook
There is also an audio in English and Spanish called: ‘I Know My Rights.’ The website has a FAQ’s section, Mexican Consulate Live Updates and links to several Immigration Law Firms. By the looks of this website the Diocese of San Diego and their Ordinaries have replaced ‘evangelization’ with ‘social justice.’ This website has no mention of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, no Scripture and no evangelical message. The website looks like your boiler plate democrat pro-immigration social justice website. Canon Law is the legal system of the Catholic Church. In the Code of Canon Law, Canon 1752 it emphasizes the importance of considering the objective of law, which is the salvation of souls.That doesn’t appear to be the goal of the Diocese of San Diego according to the contents of this website.
I’ll reduce my comments to three points. What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church teach about Immigration? What does Our Lord mean when he says, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (cf. Matt 25:35)? Finally, what does the Mexican Constitution legislate regarding illegal immigration? This is relevant because I have heard from both liberal and conservative news media outlets that 50% of the illegal immigrants are from Mexico, the other 50% are from the rest of the countries. That makes sense to me since Mexico (a 3rd world country) is right next to us, an economic superpower and a 1stworld country.
Here’s what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say:
The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him. Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially regarding the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens (CCC 2241).
I will highlight three important qualifiers that are often ignored in this discussion. The first recognizes that there is a limit to the number of immigrants that a nation can absorb. Common sense tells you this: No nation can absorb an unlimited number of immigrants.
The second qualifier that I will highlight is that the Church recognizes the state’s right to set legal requirements that must be met for immigration. Again, this is something that common sense would dictate. A state cannot reasonably be expected to absorb immigrants of all types. For example, a state may reasonably refuse immigration to murderers or terrorists – to name two obvious examples.
The third qualifier that I will highlight reflects the duty of immigrants to respect the laws of the nation to which they are immigrating. This includes respecting the laws of the nation regarding whether the person is able legally to be in the country. Immigrants are morally bound to respect the laws of the nation to which they are immigrating, including its laws regarding whether they may legally be there. Discussion of this subject of respecting the laws of a nation is not explained clearly by those who speak with authority (e.g. Catholic Charities of San Diego). Their silence makes the problem worse; most Bishops are guilty of the sin of omission. The San Diego Catholic Charities doesn’t quote the Catechism and does not follow the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict XVI spoke on immigration (Thursday, October 28, 2010): “…The Church recognizes this right in every human person, in its dual aspect of the possibility to leave one’s country and the possibility to enter another country to look for better conditions of life. At the same time, States have the right to regulate migration flows and to defend their own frontiers, always guaranteeing the respect due to the dignity of every human person. Immigrants, moreover, have the duty to integrate into the host Country, respecting its laws and its national identity…The challenge is to combine the welcome due to every human being, especially when in need, with a reckoning of what is necessary for both the local inhabitants and the new arrivals to live a dignified and peaceful life.[i]
What about the biblical admonition from Our Lord where he says: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt 25:35). The Greek word for stranger is “xenos.” The Liddell Scott Jones Classical Greek Lexicon recounts several instances from Homer to Sophocles that “xenos” refers to an invited guest. When it refers to a foreigner, it’s a formal invitation, even a treaty often precedes the visit.[ii]
On the USCCB website the commentary on Matthew 25:35 states: “Scholars are divided in their response and arguments can be made for either side. But leaving aside the problem of what the traditional material that Matthew edited may have meant, it seems that a stronger case can be made for the view that in the evangelist’s sense the sufferers are Christians, probably Christian missionaries whose sufferings were brought upon them by their preaching of the gospel.” In other words, the US Bishops Bible commentary says that the people that Jesus was talking about that were suffering, thirsty, hungry, naked and being welcomed were Christian missionaries. These were the strangers who became the invited guests.
I know that some people get offended when they hear the word alien. However, the word “alien” is used in the Holy Bible as a descriptive word for a “stranger” or someone from another family or clan. The Mexican Constitution also uses the word “alien” for a non-Mexican citizen.
I am Mexican American, my parents are from Mexico, and most of my family is from Mexico or lives in Mexico. I am a retired L.A. Deputy Sheriff; my wife is a retired L.A. County nurse; we have seen this abuse firsthand. Many Mexicans have a difficult time accepting this truth simply because we see this in terms of skin color and race instead of objectively. Our race becomes the apex of victimhood, and our brown skin becomes our truth, even above our Christianity. Most Latinos believe that the immigration issue is racially motivated because this is the constant narrative they hear from the liberal Hispanic mainstream media and the English (liberal) mainstream legacy media.
There are Hispanics protesting right now in downtown Phoenix, I am sure they are being funded by some NGO’s. I have no doubt that many of the protesters are here illegally. Mexico’s constitution strictly forbids non-citizens from protesting the Mexican government. “Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country” (Article 33).[iii] “Only citizens of the Republic may do so to take part in the political affairs of the country” (Article 9).[iv]
Notice, the Mexican constitution expressly forbids non-citizens from participating in the country’s political life. Non-citizens are forbidden to participate in demonstrations or express opinions in public about domestic politics.
In Addition, Mexico’s Constitution has no mention of God, it was written by communist socialist liberals, and it is an anti-Catholic screed. The liberals in Mexico wrote the Constitution so as to muzzle the moral voice of the Mexican Catholic Church. The moral teachings of the Catholic Church are not allowed in the public discourse of that country. The Catholic Church is the moral conscience of government and the Church’s role as teacher and prophet has been muzzled and prohibited to speak and teach publicly in Mexico.
An extended family member of mine who is here illegally from Mexico told me that when he was living in Mexico, he did not practice his Catholic faith, but he went to a retreat in Los Angeles and he encountered Jesus Christ in a very real way and he went through an interior conversion. My cousin told me, “I can’t go back to Mexico because I am a new person, I am a new creation now that I have surrendered my life to Jesus Christ at that retreat in Los Angeles.” I told my cousin, “Jesus is the God of the United States and Mexico.” You should go back to your family and serve Jesus Christ in Mexico and lead your wife and kids to heaven. Our Lord says, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Our Lord says, “give back to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s.” Jesus obeyed the lawful orders of the Roman Empire and paid his taxes (cf. Matt 17:24-27). The Holy Spirit tells us that we must obey the lawful orders of a government (cf. Romans 13:1) and immigration laws that are done orderly and fairly are lawful and we (Catholics) must obey them (cf. CCC 2241).
[i] “Saving Common Sense.’Pope Benedict XVI on Immigration.’ Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
[ii] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon Strongs NT 3581: xenos (ξένος), from Homer down, defines it as “masculine guest-friend.” “Strong’s Greek: 3581. Ξένος (Xenos) — Foreign, a Foreigner, Guest.” Biblehub.com, https://biblehub.com/greek/3581.htm. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.
[iii] Mexico 1917 (rev. 2015) Constitution – constitute. (n.d.). Constituteproject.org. Retrieved January 18, 2024, from https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Mexico_2015
[iv] Ibid