A very interesting post from www.Vdare.com about the Roman Catholic Church’s push on hurting America’s poor by encouraging more immigrants to compete with them for jobs and wages. This follows this post about GOP Representatives that FACEBOOK analyzes as leaning towards amnesty with all of their microtargeting. This follows this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants! For more about what you can do click here and you can read two very interesting books HERE.

From Under The Rubble | Catholic Bishops On Immigration—Here We Go Again!

http://www.vdare.com/articles/from-under-the-rubble-catholic-bishops-on-immigration-here-we-go-again

By Christopher Manion     

 [See earlier Is the Rule of Law Immoral? Ask Archbishop José Gomez!]
According to the New York Times, America's Catholic bishops are counting on the persuasive power of the pulpit this month to push "comprehensive immigration reform"—also known as amnesty for illegal aliens.
Unfortunately, we've already seen this movie, and it has an unhappy ending. Back in January 2010, our beloved shepherds launched a similar campaign supporting another amnesty bill.
Bishop John C. Wester chaired the Committee on Migration of the bishops' conference (USCCB) at the time. He told the Catholic News Service that "the church will prod lawmakers take action on the issue, beginning with a postcard campaign to members of Congress and prayer vigils across the country." [CNS,  January 8, 2010].
Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't something else going on in January 2010?
Oh, that's right—Obamacare! But Obamacare wasn't a problem. After all, it never would have gotten off the ground, had the bishops not supported "universal health care" as "a basic human right" for years.
So the confident bishops focused on amnesty, announcing a nationwide "Justice for Immigrants" campaign in January 2010. They planned to distribute millions of postcards to parishes throughout the country urging Catholics to demand that Congress "enact immigration reform as soon as possible."
Then ObamaCare passed with abortion funding intact. The betrayed bishops expressed shock and chagrin.
They had good cause. The Nobel Peace Prize winner with an honorary degree from Notre Dame—whose election so many of them had supported in 2008—had lied to them.
It's shocking, I know. Simply shocking.
Then the most pro-abortion president in history betrayed them again, directing HHS to issue its notorious "Contraceptive Mandate." And today, dozens of bishops, Catholic universities, businesses, and individuals—among them Notre Dame—find themselves suing Obama, whose "universal health care" regulations threaten to force thousands of Catholic institutions nationwide to close.
The Experts Flunk Out
"We want to try to pull out all the stops," says Kevin Appleby, [Email him] the director of migration policy at the bishops' conference.
But, to paraphrase Samuel Huntington, "Who Are We?"
Richard Doerflinger, [Email him] Appleby's colleague on the USCCB staff, answered that question in 2010. He said that "one organization in particular [the USCCB] has the role of speaking for the moral voice of the Church on these matters and also have [sic] the policy expertise of figuring out when legislation is acceptable to the Church's interests and our convictions…."
"We're not just an interest group that has an opinion," he continued. "We've actually researched the facts…. That's something that no other Catholic group can do in the depth that we've done it."
Oh, really?
On the face of it, this bluster blends in with the arrogant noise that echoes among the thousands of "experts" who populate Washington's bureaucracies.
The USCCB is, alas, "just another interest group," but Doerflinger has a point. It's different in one critical aspect: the laughable notion that no one else in America can do competent research reflects not just hubris—it represents a form of errant elitism unique to the Church that has been practiced, and condemned, for centuries.
It's called "clericalism."
Isn't This Supposed to be the "Age of the Laity"?

"I want to get rid of clericalism."
--Pope Francis at World Youth Day,
Rio de Janeiro, July 2013

Like the layman, the bishop has the right to hold private political opinions regarding issues on which good Catholics (and bishops) can disagree. The problem arises when the bishop attempts to elevate his personal agenda to the level of authoritative Church teaching. This constitutes an abuse of the prelate's authority and confuses not only the faithful, but the public as well.
Such theological errors have real-world consequences. Clericalism has diluted the genuine authority of the American Church to the point where most bishops are afraid to exercise it—as though they had lost the authority to teach anything at all.
Witness the Church's trying to oppose homosexual "marriage" or the Contraceptive Mandate without being able to address homosexuality or contraception on moral grounds.
USCCB President Timothy Cardinal Dolan is right—the bishops have had "laryngitis" regarding the magisterial teachings of the Church on sexual morality for fifty years. But they've filled the vacuum with the political agenda of the welfare state, and have used their "role of speaking for the moral voice of the Church" to pass off their opinions as official Catholic teaching instead.
As a result, America's bishops have inverted the Church's priorities. Eternal truths are ignored, while personal political agendas are canonized. They have become "just another NGO," lobbying on issues ranging from inflation, welfare, taxes, and budgets to the price of tomatoes in Florida.
Amnesty for illegal aliens fits right in with a clerical agenda that has become increasingly partisan, radical, and secular.
It is especially distressing to see politicized bishops cloak their agenda in religious language, as though no good Catholic—or good person!—could possibly disagree.
Catholics in my diocese are asking their pastors, in and out of the Confessional, "Is it a sin to oppose amnesty?"
Countless bishops would apparently like them to think so. Roger Cardinal Mahony once told an immigration rally that supporters of current law were "fanning the flames of intolerance, xenophobia and, at times, bigotry."
Curiously, the Rubble can find no record of Mahony or his successor, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez—or any other bishop or USCCB official, for that matter—condemning the blatant racism of La Raza—"The Race"—or that of many other pro-amnesty agitators who march alongside them in amnesty rallies.
Instead, the Cardinal implies that everyone who disagrees with him is irrational.
Such self-serving moral posturing is hardly pastoral. It ill serves—and even perverts—the Church's mission to "go and teach all nations"; it misinforms the public, scandalizes good Catholics; and is thoroughly lacking in charity.
It is also often lacking in truth. Good bishops and priests consistently refer to the Catholic Catechism's teaching that prosperous nations should strive to "welcome the foreigner" [CCC 2241]; however, they rarely mention what follows: "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."
The Church's amnesty advocates routinely criticize businesses for exploiting the immigrant; they rarely mention that lobbyists for those same businesses are swarming Capitol Hill, supporting amnesty because they want cheap labor.
The Church's amnesty advocates often bemoan the sins of amnesty opponents. But how many of them teach the immigrant that falsifying Social Security documentation is a federal felony as well as a violation of the 7th and 8th Commandments? That the same goes for "working the system" illegally to max out on education, medical, and food programs (among dozens of other welfare programs)?
Amnesty advocates want to bring illegals "out of the shadows." Shouldn't we bring the truth "out of the shadows"?
This refreshing approach would honor immigrants as fellow human beings, and not as mere incompetent wards of the Church or the State. It would affirm the immigrants' dignity, their worth, and their ability to be fully human. It would constitute an act of charity and justice, as well as simple common sense.
Towards A More Positive Pastoral Plan
Clericalism is condemned by the Church because it is an error in theory and a disaster in practice. In 2010, amnesty distracted the bishops and their "experts" until it was too late. Today, it distracts them from teaching the fundamental truths of Humanae Vitae regarding marriage and morality that our drowning culture is literally dying to hear.
The Vatican II document Lumen Gentium makes it clear that the layman, not the cleric, is responsible for the particulars of legislation.
Which brings up an important point. The bishops' clericalism would be just as egregious if they opposed amnesty and deficit spending and supported tax cuts for the rich.
Practical politics is the laity's responsibility. The responsible layman should just tell the bishops, "Please, do not endorse my legislation: politics divides us. Tell us the truths that unite us."
As Cardinal Dolan points out, since the bishops went silent on fundamental morality half a century ago, some thirty million Catholics have left the Church. Pope Francis wants us to reach out to bring them back. It's a slam dunk that preaching politics isn't going to do it—but preaching Christ crucified just might.

Christopher Manion, Ph.D.,  [send him mail] is Director of the Campaign for Humanae Vitae, a project of the Bellarmine Forum. He served as a staff director on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for many years. He has taught in the departments of politics, religion, and international relations at Boston University, the Catholic University of America, and Christendom College.

This column is sponsored by the Bellarmine Forum, and distributed by Griffin Internet Syndicate and FGF Books.
Copyright © 2013 by Christopher Manion. This column is distributed by www.fgfBooks.com.

A very interesting post from www.Vdare.com about Catholic immigration policy towards the U.S. (but no other nation). This follows this post about the reduction in immigration leading to the increase in Civil Rights. This follows this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants! For more about what you can do click here and you can read two very interesting books HERE.

A Democrat’s Sermon: Catholic Bishops’ Treason Offensive Hits Next Sunday, September 8

http://www.vdare.com/articles/a-democrat-s-sermon-catholic-bishops-treason-offensive-hits-next-sunday-september-8

By Donald A. Collins

No American patriot should have failed to study the recent New York Times cheerleading reportorial Catholic Push to Overhaul Immigration Goes to Pews (by Ashley Parker and Michael D. Shear, August 21 2013). A huge offensive is about to be launched against US citizens by a (tax-exempt) church, led by a foreign power, for its own secular and selfish motives:

Catholic bishops and priests from major dioceses across the country will preach a coordinated message next month backing changes in immigration policy, with some using Sunday Masses on Sept. 8 to urge Congressional passage of a legislative overhaul that includes a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants.
The decision to embrace political action from the pulpit is part of a broader effort by the Roman Catholic Church and other faith groups that support President Obama’s call for new immigration laws…
"We want to try to pull out all the stops," said Kevin Appleby, the director of migration policy at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who said the immigration issue was at a now-or-never moment. "They have to hear the message that we want this done, and if you’re not successful during the summer, you’re not going to win by the end of the year."
Catholic leaders, who have tried to wield their clout against Mr. Obama on issues like abortion, birth control and same-sex marriage, are betting that their congregations will be able to exert pressure on reluctant Republicans and wavering Democrats to support the president on immigration. They say they are motivated by the Bible’s teachings and by the reality that many Latino immigrants are Catholics and represent a critical demographic for the church.
[Emphases and links added throughout].

This Appleby point man [email him] makes clear the rhetoric will be emotional and manipulative:

Underlying an effort by U.S. bishops to coordinate messages on the need for comprehensive immigration reform is a profound sense of pastoral care, said an official at the bishops’ conference.
‘Sometimes [the bishops] are criticized that they're encouraging lawbreaking, but the fact is, these folks are here, and their families are getting separated, and what the bishops are trying to do is change the law so they can help them,’ said Kevin Appleby, director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' migration policy and public affairs office.
Bishops' immigration outreach based on 'pastoral' concern, by Carl Bunderson, Catholic News Agency, Aug. 30, 2013

Whoa! Come here illegally and that gives you the right to stay?
Pass this kind of legislation and the U.S. on the way to becoming a banana republic.
And note that there’s no discussion of overall numbers, of unemployment—or anything resembling a concern for America’s national interest.
CNA even tells us that the appalling Appleby implicitly concedes that patriotic American Catholics aren’t buying their Bishops’ baloney:

Appleby described a disconnect between the polling which has overwhelming support among Catholics for a comprehensive bill with a path to citizenship and action.
"We've had a hard time transitioning from 'I support the bishops on this issue,' to people picking up the phone, sending an email, writing a letter, being active on it? With this push we're trying to change that a bit, we'll hopefully get more Catholics to speak up, and say, 'we want this done.'

Maybe that “hard time” is because the “polling” was just pollaganda?
CNA also reports that Awful Appleby implicitly concedes that there’s actually nothing in Catholic doctrine to support the bishops’ position on the Schumer-Rubio Amnesty/ Immigration Surge Bill. It falls into the area of “prudential judgment,” where laymen can make up their own minds.
But Arrogant Appleby still tries to bluster a way out for the bishops:

He explained that it is important for Catholics to read Church documents, and the writings and homilies of bishops on the issues. While “we can sit here and have an argument over whether something is a prudential judgment versus a doctrinal issue,” he said, it is important to remember that a bishop’s teaching, even on matters of prudential judgment, “calls for careful consideration by Catholics.”

Wow, let’s get it from on high, ignore the secular reality, and vote for more unemployment and cultural disarray!
And don’t think the bishops won’t be pushing the guilt trip on their flocks.

To disregard—refusing to even consider—the bishops' position on immigration reform because it is a matter of prudential judgment is a disconnect, Appleby explained.
“Even under a prudential judgment analysis, someone is required to at least consider the arguments being put forth by the Church, to take them into consideration there is a responsibility to at least consider what the Church is saying, and then incorporate it into their position to the degree that they can."
He added that the tendency of Catholics in America to put their party affiliation, be it Republican or Democrat, ahead of their faith, means that “there's a lot of education to be done.”

Translation: Catholics in America are behaving like Americans—difficult for their Leftist church bureaucrats to manipulate.
You really have to be impressed by this slick attempt to use religious arguments for blatantly secular ends!
CNA quotes Kim Daniels, spokesperson for the U.S. bishops' conference president, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York:

“We support immigration reform as a response to Pope Francis' call to resist indifference and to regain a sense of 'fraternal responsibility' regarding the suffering of immigrants,” she told CNA Aug. 27….
In a July 21 homily, Archbishop José Gomez taught that “God comes to us in the person of the stranger,” that hospitality is a “sacred duty,” and that immigration is “not only a matter of politics,” but is “a matter of our relationship with God.”

Archbishop Gomez, now enthroned in Los Angeles, is an immigrant from Mexico. Why doesn’t he urge Mexico to show more “hospitality” to immigrants, and stop mistreating illegal immigrants?
Even more important: did Gomez truly “abjure foreign potentates” when he took the U.S. Oath of citizenship?
VDARE.com has for years exposed the forces advocating Open Borders for legal and illegal migrants: Big Business; ethnic advocacy groups; religious lobbies like the Catholic Church, the Evangelical Immigration Table etc.
Tellingly, that we are mired in the worst economic situation since the Great Depression simply does not to matter to those forces.
It’s obvious that many faithful Catholics have been deeply affected by their church’s ongoing pedophiliac scandals and (I believe as a long-time liberal Democrat) its inflexible views on family planning, abortion, gays and divorce. By evading these issues, and instead speaking from its pulpits all over the US about “social justice” a.k.a. Amnesty, these prelates show they are just the same sort of self-interested crooks as the Latino tribes and the greedy business types who want cheap labor.
The New York Times piece tells us how powerful this push will be:

"The political campaign by Catholic priests is certain to catch the attention of Catholic members of Congress. Catholics are the largest single religious group in Congress, making up just over 30 percent of the members, according to the Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life Project. The current House has 136 Catholic members, including Speaker John A. Boehner and 60 other Republicans, according to Pew.
For some Republican members, vocal support by local priests and bishops could provide the religious rationale they need to support an overhaul in the face of criticism from conservatives.

The Catholic Church has what are supposed to be deep differences with Obama over abortion, homosexual marriage and other matters. But, paradoxically, the New York Times article noted:

"White House officials said they were counting on Catholics and members of other religious groups to help pass an immigration overhaul through a Republican-controlled House that is filled with members fighting against one. Cecilia Munoz, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, said Catholic leaders had participated in outreach meetings at the White House.
"It’s pretty rare for the Catholics to take on an issue like this straight to the pews," said Ms. Munoz, who is leading Mr. Obama’s immigration effort.

When you add the fear, which I believe is vastly overrated, that Republicans must completely kowtow to Latinos, it adds up to trouble.
How can so many be so stupid, greedy, selfish—and blind to how this must inevitably appear to American patriots?
Donald A. Collins [email him], is a freelance writer living in Washington DC and a former long time member of the board of FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. His views are his own.