Migration Committee Chair Expresses Support For Alabama Bishops’ Efforts To Reverse Unjust State Immigration Law
WASHINGTON— The chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Migration, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, has released a statement in support of efforts by the Alabama Catholic bishops and other religious leaders to turn back a new State of Alabama immigration law which would threaten the ministry of th
WASHINGTON— The chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Migration, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, has released a statement in support of efforts by the Alabama Catholic bishops and other religious leaders to turn back a new State of Alabama immigration law which would threaten the ministry of the Church.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
“The Catholic Church provides pastoral and social services to all persons, regardless of their immigration status,” Archbishop Gomez said in his September 8 statement. “Our mandate is to provide for the pastoral and social care of all of God’s children.Government should not infringe upon that duty, as America’s founding fathers made clear in the U.S. Constitution.”
Archbishop Gomez also called the Administration and Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform “that balances the rule of law with humanitarian principles.”
Full text of statement follows.
Statement of Archbishop José H. GomezArchbishop of Los AngelesChairman, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on MigrationSeptember 8, 2011 State of Alabama Immigration Law
On behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops, I offer my solidarity with and support to Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi, archbishop of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mobile, AL, and Bishop Robert J. Baker, bishop of Birmingham, AL,—in close collaboration with other religious leaders of the State—in their efforts to turn back a State law which would threaten the ministry of the Church in Alabama to undocumented immigrants.
The Catholic Church provides pastoral and social services to all persons, regardless of their immigration status.Our mandate is to provide for the pastoral and social care of all of God’s children.Government should not infringe upon that duty, as America’s founding fathers made clear in the U.S. Constitution.
As chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, I again call upon the Administration and Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform.Our nation is in great need for a federal solution to the challenge of illegal immigration, one that balances the rule of law with humanitarian principles.
---
Keywords: Alabama, immigration, immigration law, Archbishop José Gomez, Migration and Refugee Services, Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi, Bishop Robert J. Baker, USCCB
