From Catholic News Service: 

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Two Catholic cardinals called the current U.S. immigration situation “a terrible crisis” and “a dark moment in our nation’s history” in remarks they made July 28 at the opening Mass and plenary session of the 2008 National Migration Conference.

Both Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, and Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles urged participants to hold on to hope in their work with immigrants for local and national church agencies.

The July 28-31 conference attended by more than 850 people was co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Relief Services. 

There is not one word mentioned that organizations like the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is largely funded by you, the American taxpayer (you paid for this conference as well!).  These Catholic organizations receive millions and millions of tax dollars annually for refugee resettlement (we have 5 pages of posts on Catholic Charities involvement alone) and immigrant services of all sort, including Head Start programs and job counseling.    So, as the immigrant population declines so will their budgets!  I would respect their holier than thow  thou arguments if they at least admitted their vested interest in keeping immigrants coming. 

One of the ‘good’ Cardinals went on:

Cardinal Mahony more directly took on the failure of Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation and the federal enforcement policies that have led to “the separation of families, the harassment and profiling of U.S. citizens and legal residents, the expanded use of detention against those who are not a flight risk or a danger and, tragically, deaths in the United States desert.”

The recent national policy described as “deportation by attrition” has a goal of creating “such a dangerous and unwelcoming atmosphere that immigrants and their families leave the United States because they have no other choice,” said Cardinal Mahony.

It has led to fear among immigrant communities and a hostile atmosphere, “fanning the flames of intolerance, xenophobia and, at times, bigotry,” he continued.

Some of us Catholics don’t need to be lectured and called names.   When the Catholic Church does its charitable work with its own private money then it can lecture all it wants.  In the meantime, if we are all paying for the upkeep of these organizations then frankly, shut up.

As for “deportation by attrition”, a new study from the Center for Immigration Studies is pointing to just that—illegals seem to be leaving on their own.  You can read about this good news here at CIS or in the Washington Post today here.