American leadership in the Catholic Church was practically invisible during the Presidential election. The silence of the Bishops, collectively and individually, was deafening.
Now that the election is over, however, American Bishops seem eager to stand before their congregations and the American People to offer their judgment and wisdom regarding Presidential politics, especially on the issue of illegal immigration.
In recent days, San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy has been making clear that the Bishops are prepared to take “massive action” against any attempt on the part of the new administration to deport immigrants who have entered the country illegally.
“During the past months the specter of a massive deportation campaign aimed at ripping more than 10 million undocumented immigrants from their lives and families has realistically emerged as potential federal policy,” McElroy said.
“We must label this policy proposal for what it is — an act of injustice which would stain our national honor in the same manner as the progressive dispossession of the Native American peoples of the United States and the interment of the Japanese” during World War II, he said. McElroy said mass deportations could remove more than 10 percent of parishioners from U.S. churches.
But Bishop McElroy isn't the only American Prelate who has found his voice since Mr. Trump was elected.
The choice of Archbishop Jose Gomez as Vice -President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is widely seen as a sign that Catholic Bishops are preparing to defend illegals and refugees against the newly elected President who they accuse of having uncorked an ugly backlash against immigrants and minorities.
In a strongly worded letter to the President-elect, the USCCB put him on notice that "the Church" is committed to resettling refugees and keeping immigrant families intact.
Certainly, the Bishops of the USCCB may be in favor of this. But if the "Church" still includes the millions of Christian faithful members who helped vote Mr. Trump into office, then the Bishops may be sorely mistaken.
The Bishops seem tone deaf to the legitimate concerns which the American electorate voiced in their selection of President-elect Trump who has vowed to uphold federal laws ensuring the protection of the borders of the United States and the application of the due process of law in deporting those who have immigrated to this country illegally.
“The bishops of the United States recognize the presence of Latinos in our community, in our country and also in the church,” Archbishop Gomez said of his election at a news conference in Baltimore. “I think our mission is to help people be united in our country, and have hope.” Beginning in January,2017, Catholic dioceses are undertaking a nearly two-year initiative to reach out to Hispanic Catholics and better integrate them into the church.
Words bravely spoken. The only problem is the American People and American Catholics aren't buying them. Archbishop Gomez and his fellow Bishops just may be in for a rude awakening. Sadly, it seems that the adage holds true: "There are none so blind as those who do not see."
What the Bishops so clearly fail to understand is that the Presidential election starkly revealed the mood of the American people (millions of Catholics among them), who have rejected the failed immigration policies of the past and insist upon having their government fulfill its most fundamental moral obligation: to protect and provide for the common welfare of its citizens against any and all threats, external or internal.
Unfortunately, the Bishops seem to have forgotten the Church's own fundamental moral teachings regarding not only the moral obligation of the government to protect the people but the equal obligation of citizens (Catholic Bishops among them) to respect and obey the valid and just laws of the state.
In their haste to provide for illegals, the Bishops seem to be very ready and willing to break the law and encourage their flocks to cooperate with them.
Were we not taught that it is the moral duty and obligation of citizens to respect and obey the just laws of the land? Are Bishops exempt from this moral precept?
In their eagerness to ignore fundamental moral teaching as well as to aid and abet illegal immigration, the Bishops risk alienating millions of Catholics who are lawful citizens eager to support, protect and defend this country.
How can the Bishops of the USCCB defend such behavior?
Perhaps, it would be worthwhile to refresh ourselves (and the USCCB) in our understanding of the moral principles underlying just government and morally correct citizenship.
We shall do so in Part Two of this series.
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