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United States News Title: Catholic Bishop promotes Dream Act Bishop Robert Finn of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph wrote a letter to Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill urging the passage of the Dream Act. It was published on the Catholic Key blog provoking a firestorm of commentary by local Catholics on both sides of the political aisle. McCaskill, a liberal Democrat, likely needs no urging to support this legislation. Her fellow Catholic convert on the Kansas side, Senator Sam Brownback, voted for the Dream Act in 2007 and has regularly side-stepped direct inquiries into how he will vote this month. The Dream Act, in its various forms, provides amnesty and special privileges to the children of persons who violated the immigration laws of the United States and entered the country illegally taking up residence, working at jobs, and consuming public education. A simple google search will reveal that Catholic media sites and related Catholic interest groups are solidly in support of the Dream Act as part of their "social justice" agenda. A read of any of these sites will reveal not just support for this legislation but also invective towards conservatives, Republicans, and tea party supporters. From The National Catholic Reporter, November 24, 2010: Of all the things to give thanks for this Thanksgiving, it is strange enough that Deal Hudson is giving thanks for the Tea Party, a group dedicated to, well, at the very least, dedicated to the kind of hyper-individualism and anti-government thinking that has little or no resonance with Catholic Social Teaching. But, it is just shy of unforgivable that one of the examples he gives of the kind of government initiatives the Tea Party is set to eliminate is the DREAM Act, which would grant citizenship to children brought here by their parents without proper documents provided they serve in the U.S. military or go to college. He seems especially exercised at the thought that such students would receive lower in-state tuition costs. If only the poor kids had the foresight to be born in McClean, Virginia rather than in Mexico. Deal Hudson is something rare: a conservative Catholic who loves the Tea Party. Here's a part of what he said at InsideCatholic.com that provoked the above response: This aspect of the Dream Act is grossly unjust and makes a complete mockery of any idea of citizenship. The Dream Act grants economic privileges to persons because they are illegal -- privileges denied to a legal citizen. The controversy stems from the post Vatican II progressive version of the doctrine of Social Justice which replaced the teaching of the historical Catholic virtues of charity and compassion. On its face, much of the Church's social teaching centers on the dignity of the individual which presumably is not objectionable but the modern Church's stance on social justice can best be seen in the positions taken on issues by the U.S. Catholic Bishops, such as that of Bishop Finn who wrote the following to McCaskill: Thank you for your previous commitment to vote for the DREAM Act, which would benefit thousands of young people here in the United States. I understand that the issue of immigration is a controversial one and one which the nation has grappled with for many years... At the current moment, however, our federal elected officials can provide a remedy for a very vulnerable group of immigrants – young persons who entered the United States with their parents years ago. Their futures are limited because of their undocumented status, yet they have so much to give to our communities and nation. ...With the passage of the DREAM Act, we can welcome a new generation of Americans who will one day become the leaders of our communities... There are times when a proposal should be enacted because, simply put, it is the right thing to do. This legislation is one of those times. On behalf of the Catholic community of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, I urge you to vote in favor of the DREAM Act. Contrast Bishop Finn's letter with one written by Senator Jeff Sessions published online by various blogs. Excerpts from Sessions' letter show a much different argument than that given by Bishop Finn: In the midst of a deep recession, high unemployment, and catastrophic government debt, the DREAM Act would force jobless Americans to compete with millions of newly authorized workers, provide legal shelter for criminal aliens, and strain limited resources through generous grants of federal education benefits. This bill would create an incentive for future illegality since Congress would be sending a message that we have effectively given up on enforcement of our immigration laws and instead seek to reward those who illegally enter the country. At a time when our immigration system is in disarray, this legislation will allow millions to flood the courts and undermine the small progress we have made toward lawfulness. We have failed to secure the border, and passage of this legislation would signal to the world that we are not serious about doing so. Arguments over whether the Catholic Church has lost its moral authority will continue so long as it aligns itself with the "progressive" movement in this country and appears to aid and abet criminal activity. Bishop Finn should consider writing to Claire McCaskill on the danger to her immortal soul so long as she promotes and supports abortion and the use of human embryos in research and related industries. My opinion: Bishop Finn is a good man who has been a champion of life issues and has returned some of the traditional religious forms of worship to a Church dominated by a left-leaning social agenda becoming nearly bereft of a spiritual component. However, on this issue of rewarding criminal behavior by granting amnesty and coercing the American taxpayer to subsidize special privileges and benefits to the offspring of illegal aliens, he is simply wrong. There is still objective right and wrong even though the modern Catholic Church has been seduced by moral relativism. It is an affront to the millions of naturalized Americans and the descendants of legal immigrants who obeyed the law; assimilated into American society and culture; learned the English language; and did not demand special rights and privileges based on their ethnicity. Right thinking Americans, including Catholics, should contact their Senators and demand a NO vote on the Dream Act. The Vortex at Real Catholic TV presents excellent instruction in the current social and moral issues of the day and has no problem taking on the Catholic Bishops when they seem to stray. Video on "social justice" here.
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#1. To: WhiteSands (#0)
Of course they do. Catholic Bishops are in business. Mexicans are largely Catholic. The Dream Act is good for their business. It's not any more complicated than this.
The only business Catholic Bishops should concern themselves with is spreading the Gospel. Not engaging in socialist/communist politics which are by their nature Anti-Christ. Last time I checked, communism seeks to refute God's ways and substitute man's rule. Pretty dangerous for the Bishop to be tweaking God's nose like that.
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