Southern Baptists and Catholics Together; And responses to some questions about Unaccompanied Minors from Central America

A few days ago, July 22, to be exact, I was happy to join a visiting delegation of the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention for a tour of the newly opened facility for processing unaccompanied minors, operated by Immigration Enforcement. It is important for religious leaders to see for themselves the extent of the human tragedy unfolding in our time here in the Western Hemisphere.

 

I am particularly fond of this picture to the side. Not because I am speaking, but because I am really happy to have these gentlemen of faith covering my back!

 

While inside, we had a chance to see the children and speak briefly with them. We also spoke with law enforcement personnel who assist in interviewing the children.  I think the common witness of the Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention, calling for a humanitarian response to the current influx of unaccompanied minors from Central American, is a singularly important witness. We call on our political leadership to recognize that we as a nation have the resources to respond calmly and effectively to women and children who are fleeing violence and extreme poverty. After we visited the new detention center in McAllen, we traveled together to San Antonio, Texas, where we visited the detention center located at Lackland Airforce Base. Again, we had a chance to speak to officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, who oversee the operation at Lackland. We also had a chance to talk to some of the young people.

 

I think this would be a good moment to answer some basic questions I have heard asked by ordinary folks. Many tell me that the media reports they hear do not necessarily clarify what is happening.

 

1. Who are these children?

Most of these children are between 7 and 17 years old. I spoke to a seven year old at the center in McAllen. The ones I have spoken to often speak of having left Guatemala or El Salvador or Honduras for a journey by bus or train to the Mexican border with the United States. Sometimes they travel in groups, seeking safety in numbers. The majority of children are not accompanied by an adult. Sometimes a Mother or two is in the traveling group. More rarely, a Father. The journey for most of them has taken three weeks or more. Some will tell you they have no family left in their home country. They are all dead.

 

2. What dangers are they fleeing, and what dangers do they face on the journey?

It is a delicate matter to talk to children about what they are fleeing, because the trauma is very deep. Still, some will say voluntarily that they have no family left, that they have been killed by gangs in lawless regions of their home countries. For many, the entire family has been threatened by gangs, and there is no effective law enforcement to whom they can turn for help. As they cross Mexico, they are often subjected to abuse and kidnapping by gangs, who demand money from relatives in the US. Children report seeing companions brutalized, kidnapped, raped or killed. Sometimes they report what brutalization they themselves have experienced. Again, it is a delicate matter for the children to talk about these things. Professionals in childhood trauma are needed at some point to help them deal with their experience.

 

3. Are we bringing gang members into the US?

When minors are detained, INS officials are quite effective at distinguishing gang members from those fleeing gang members. They themselves have told me this. Sometimes, gang members are seeking a way out of the gang culture. Unfortunately, many of the gangs currently holding power in Central American countries had their origin in the United States. Typical practice has been to deport gang members who organize in the US back to Central America. This has had the effect, tragically, of unleashing gang systems into countries far less capable of capturing and imprisoning leaders and members. This has had a role in the break-down of order in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

 

4. Do the unaccompanied children have rights under current law?

Many of the unaccompanied minors have some kind of relative in the United States with whom they are seeking to make contact. Sometimes they have a phone number sewn into their jeans. By law, if the minors are from Central America, they have a right to be reunited with a family member until such time as their case is heard by an immigration judge. Mexican children are not treated in the same way, because the law says that minors from those countries that are contiguous to the United States are deported more immediately, without recourse to an immigration judge. The law passed and signed in 2008 under President Bush afforded this extra protection to unaccompanied minors from non-contiguous countries in an effort to prevent the inhumane treatment of children. If the minors from these countries do not have relatives in this country, they await a hearing before an immigration judge either in a detention center like Lackland Airforce Base or in foster families.

 

5. What is the local Church doing to address this situation?

Here in the Diocese of Brownsville, we have been working with many volunteers from the community, including many from local Baptist communities, the Methodist community and the Jewish Temple in McAllen who have generously joined with our Catholic Charities in providing assistance to children accompanied by a mother or relative. We have two centers, one at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, the other at Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville. These mothers and children receive a change of clothes, baby supplies, a chance to shower, and a good meal. They are screened again for any medical needs (I say again, because INS officals have already done a preliminary screening). Usually they are with us for just a few hours. They are persons who have been processed by officials of the Immigration Service, and who have permission to travel to meet a relative elsewhere in the United States. We try to help them maintain contact with the relative they are going to see. And we help them prepare for the journey with food and water.

 

6. What happens to Unaccompanied Children when they are detained by INS?

Unaccompanied children do not come to our centers. This is because the government handles their situations differently. They are processed through Health and Human Services, and after leaving the Rio Grande Valley, they are taken to detention centers elsewhere, where they await a family connection or a hearing before an immigration judge. This can take months. Pastoral services are needed in those detention centers elsewhere in the country.

 

7. Is there a danger of diseases spreading to the general population through these refugees?

The health screenings conducted by INS are quite effective, and contagious diseases are rarely discovered. If they are, they are dealt with in a way that protects the life and health of the child. There are minor infections and rashes. And these are taken care of quickly. The greatest health threat the children experience is dehydration. Government and Church centers try to deal with this immediately, as it can be life-threatening.

 

8. What is the position of the Church in the face of this tragic situation?

In general: Resources should be allocated to fund those government entities assigned the task of processing refugee minors. Further, we should not retreat on current human rights protections inscribed into US law designed to protect women and children fleeing from life-threatening conditions. These children and mothers should be afforded due process, and have legal representation before an immigration judge. The US government must pursue common hemispheric solutions to the break-down of law and order in the countries from which these children are fleeing. We also think that governments and Churches should discourage parents from permitting their children to leave their homes in order to cross the interior of Mexico in order to reach the United States. The journey is often deadly; many Central Americans do not know this. Thousands never make it anywhere near the Mexican/US border. Sadly, children have told me that conditions were so bad, they left home without telling their parents and relatives.

 

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St Anne's Day at St. Anne's Quasi-Parish (Bilingual post): Los Abuelos de Jesucristo y el crecimiento del reino de Dios

Last Saturday I was able to spend a good part of the day in Pueblo de Palmas at the community of Saint Anne for the patronal feast of Saint Anne, who is celebrated in the memory of the Catholic faithful as the Mother of Mary, and thus the Grandmother of Jesus. The community prepared a beautiful liturgical procession. And many of the 75 young people who had recently participated in a youth retreat helped with the preparations. Saint Anne's is located on the western side of Hidalgo County, and is one of our more recently established parish communities. The Mass was a great and joyful expression of faith.

Quisiera felicitar la comunidad por la belleza de la fiesta. La celebración de la Santa Misa, y la comida después, manifestaron la fuerza de la fe uniendo a la comunidad en el camino con y hacia el Señor. ¡Me da animo ver la alegría que acompaña el camino de Santa Ana! 

 



The occasion gave me a chance to preach about the importance of making time appreciate our grandparents and our elders:

 

El mundo ha cambiado mucho desde los tiempos de Nuestro Señor. La tecnología y la globalización nos pone en medio de una época distinta en comparación con los que nos han precedido. Leemos el Evangelio y a veces las imágenes y el lenguaje nos recuerdan de lo que ha cambiado. El Señor nos habla de semillas, y de redes donde se captan peces de todos tipos; nos invita a contemplar las flores del campo, y nos habla de como la masa se fermenta de una manera misteriosa. Quizás muchos no pueden identificar con el mundo agrario que conocía directamente el Señor. Pero para entender el mensaje del Señor, no hay para que enfocarnos en lo que ha cambiado en el mundo. Mejor enfocarnos en lo que permanece en cada época. Estoy pensando en la calidad de nuestras relaciones humanas.  Nada de la experiencia humana, menos el pecado, queda fuera del ámbito que el Señor quiso abrazar por medio de su encarnación. Se hizo hombre para darnos acceso al misterio de Dios. Como Católicos la relación con Dios empieza y crece por medio de los puntos de contacto que tenemos con el Dios que se hizo carne.  De chico me daba gusto saber que Jesucristo tenia una abuela, y que Él y yo compartimos la experiencia de escuchar los consejos y cuentos de la abuela materna. Para mí fue un punto de contacto, una entrada para identificarme con el Señor Dios que había bajado del cielo. Fue como una semilla de fe viva que Dios me concedió.

 

During the Mass new Processional Crosses were presented and I had the opportunity to bless them for use in the four distinct communities that make up the Quasi Parish of Saint Anne. Each cross is decorated with medallions with symbols for the four communities: Saint Anne, Saint Michael the Archangel, San Juan Diego, and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

 

Todas las enseñanzas del Señor nos dirigen a reconocer la presencia misteriosa de Dios dentro de nuestras relaciones. Los abuelos, y los ancianos que forman parte esencial de nuestras vidas tienen un papel de alta importancia en la misión de fomentar el crecimiento del reino de Dios. Los abuelos nos trasmiten una identidad que tiene raíces en una historia que se ha desarrollado desde un pasado largo, pero no necesariamente tan remoto. Por medio de ellos reconocemos de donde venimos, y por medio de ese reconocimiento, sabemos mejor para donde vamos como familia, comunidad, y pueblo. De igual manera, los abuelos nos invitan a disfrutar de la ternura humana. ¡Cuantas veces he presidido los funerales de un abuelo en una familia, y he visto al lado de ataúd a hombres maduros con músculos reventando las mangas de la camisa, y con bigotes de Pancho Villa, llorando lagrimas como niños chiquitos! Hasta el luto muestra que la relación con los abuelos puede compartir un tipo de amor muy especial. La ternura es algo que necesitamos en este mundo tan lleno de amargura y venganza.  

 

Las relaciones humanas son el campo donde la semilla de la palabra de Dios recibe una bienvenida, y donde puede crecer y donde puede dar fruto. Se trata de compasión, paciencia, entrega para el bien de otros, y todo esto por motivos de amor. Y este amor entre personas sirve como un fermento para dar vida a la masa. Hoy celebramos como esa gracia del reino se vive en la relación con nuestros abuelos. Y recordamos que los abuelos tienen una responsabilidad de compartir con los hijos y nietos lo que han aprendido durante lo largo de la vida.

 

Sabemos que las circunstancias hoy en día, con mucha frecuencia, separan a las familias. Muchos no tienen presente a sus abuelos. Ya no es tan fácil trasmitir la memoria y la ternura de generación a generación. Quizás en esto nos podría ayudar los medios modernos de la comunicación. Conozco a  familias de múltiples generaciones que hacen el esfuerzo de mantener la comunicación por medio de los textos, el Facebook, y los Apps que facilitan la comunicación telefónica. Vivir en distintos países no tiene que implicar vivir sin comunicación. Les quiero animar a usar la tecnología para mantener el contacto humano y real, para sostener las relaciones familiares hasta que puedan disfrutar el abrazo y la sonrisa, cara a cara.

 

After the Mass, we enjoyed a good meal together and watched the matachines dance the native dances so dearly loved by the community. Congratulations to the young people who practice so hard to share their talents with us! In the background of this photograph is the new office complex that I was able to bless after the Mass. So many thanks to the Community of the ICM sisters who have so generously worked over the years to build up the community around Saint Anne's. And thanks for how they continue to help the community. The new office center is a fruit of that continued commitment to the people of the area. Thanks to all!

 

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Letter of the Bishops of Texas to Texas Congressional Delegation

The following letter has been sent to the Congressional delegation representing the State of Texas in Washington D.C.:

Dear Congressman:

As the bishops of the Catholic Dioceses of Texas, we strongly urge you--and your fellow policymakers at both the state and federal levels--to work toward achieving a policy consensus that compassionately and effectively addresses the humanitarian crisis along our southern border.

The influx of Central American women and children seeking asylum from the poverty and violence of their homelands has created a severe challenge along the border.  As bishops, we have been touched by the valiant efforts of people of good will and faith-based service agencies from across the country and especially here in our own state of Texas to welcome and care for women and children in desperate situations.   Effectively addressing this challenge requires, first of all, a continued commitment on the part of us all to uphold the human dignity of immigrant refugees. Further, facing this challenge requires a commitment from the government for sufficient funding and resources to adequately care for and protect women and children legitimately seeking asylum.  These measures should be accompanied by sincere efforts that offer other alternatives to the stream of refugees, inform people of the dangers of such a journey, provide for legal and secure immigration, and develop policies that promote long-term solutions and stability in the migrants' countries of origin.  

These goals are not impossible, nor are they mutually exclusive.  What they require is time, resources, and commitment.  The real challenge is how we collectively respond as a nation and as a people.  To be sure, ensuring a stable and secure border between nations is essential to protecting and providing for order.  At the same time, a just and reasonable society works to protect and defend the vulnerable and defenseless from harm.  As Catholics, we feel keenly this responsibility, since our faith calls us to serve the least of these our brothers and sisters. Hence, we lend a vigorous voice to all men and women of good will who recognize that all people should be treated with dignity, compassion, and justice. We are most especially concerned for the innocent mothers and children, who are the most at the mercy of the decisions that we as a nation make in their regard.

This is not an isolated problem.  In his letter this week, Pope Francis cast these circumstances within a broader international humanitarian crisis of globalization, where national borders increasingly open for commerce, media and technologies, but people remain burdened by restrictions, abuse, and dangerous situations.  In his letter this week, Pope Francis reaffirmed his plea earlier this year in Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, that "A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization – all typical of a throwaway culture – towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world."

With this in mind, we ask for your support in securing emergency funding to address this problem; and we further ask that any future legislation ensure sufficient due process consideration for those seeking asylum in order to avoid pre-emptive deportation of refugees back to lives of suffering, abuse, and quite possibly death.   We appeal to you and other policymakers on both the state and federal levels to eschew the bitterness of contemporary political rhetoric and instead uphold the best of American principles and serve the needs of the most despairing and vulnerable in our midst.

Sincerely,

+Signed by the Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, and the Bishops of the Dioceses of Texas

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Texas Catholic Conference Statement of Principles Regarding Refugee Families and Children

Bishops of the Texas Catholic Conference have issued the following:

Texas Catholic Conference Statement of Principles Regarding Refugee Families and Children 

Our state confronts a continuing humanitarian crisis on the border as Central American children continue to seek refuge from the violence and exploitation of their home countries. This influx has sparked contentious debate over how to address this problem.  

As Catholics we are called to compassion for the vulnerable and needy. Pope Francis has noted that Jesus was Himself a refugee who was forced into exile in Egypt as a child with Joseph and Mary.  In welcoming refugee children today, we should see the face of Christ.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs us to welcome the stranger: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me.  Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Mt. 25-35). 

The Texas Catholic Bishops have established a set of principles to guide our policymakers in this crisis:

Government immigration agencies and law enforcement personnel should treat all refugees seeking asylum with dignity, fairness, compassion, and in full accordance with their due process rights in seeking asylum.  Expedited processing risks diminishing due process and mistakes on legitimate asylum claims. 

Allocate emergency funding to provide humanitarian aid for refugees, to ensure resources for governmental workers to efficiently perform their jobs, and to allow existing refugee programs to continue.

Preserve the bipartisan Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to protect refugee children fleeing violence, exploitation, and possible death in their home countries.

Reaffirm the nation’s right and responsibility to maintain secure borders and to intercept unauthorized migrants by targeted, proportional, and humane measures.  

Both governmental and non-governmental agencies should broadly communicate the risks and dangers of violence, exploitation, and possible denial of asylum that may await potential migrants considering the trek north.  

The federal government should collaborate with the governments of Central America and Mexico to alleviate the root problems of this situation, including human trafficking, violent gangs and cartels, poverty, and structural injustice.

We must remember that these are young, scared, and desperate mothers and children in need and deserve our protection and support. We pray for the safety and wellbeing of these young refugees and for the continued efforts of both public officials to resolve this humanitarian crisis.  

CNN International Interview

Filmed yesterday, in McAllen. My thanks to Mike in the satellite truck, and Jerry working the audio and camera, who made it possible. 

http://cnn.it/1t7TxQV

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Los no-nacidos, el inmigrante, el Católico y la política: luchemos para buscar un mejor camino

Un Cristiano Católico busca cómo vivir su vida de una manera fiel, adivinando por medio de un tipo de presentimiento connatural un camino para poner en práctica el orden de lealtades que Cristo mismo ha puesto en su corazón. Para la Católica, y para incontables miembros de otras comunidades cristianas, la lealtad para con el Señor tiene el primer puesto, y su dicho indicando que "lo que haces al más mínimo me lo haces a mí", provee la luz por la cual tratamos de vivir nuestro compromiso diario hacia Cristo nuestro Señor y hacia nuestros hermanos y hermanas en el mundo.

La Católica se dirige a los bienes comunes de la sociedad civil: la vida, comida suficiente, salud, educación y el empleo justo, una comunidad con seguridad para vivir, y para criar a sus hijos. Ella desea esto, hace sacrificios para lograrlo, y batalla para alcanzarlo, no sólo para ella misma, cómo si fuera motivada por un individualismo exagerado, sino cómo bienes que todos merecen. Dios mismo desea estos bienes para todos. Ella sabe que muchos carecen de la más mínima esperanza para obtener tales bienes. Y, porque Él nos mandó "amar al prójimo cómo nos amamos a nosotros mismos", ella no puede hacer otra cosa que buscar cómo hacer lo que pueda como miembro de la sociedad, para mejorar las condiciones no sólo para algunos pocos sino para muchos. 

Es una vergüenza, entonces, que cuando la Católica trata de entrar al campo de la política, con mucha frecuencia encuentra una esfera peligrosa. Ella descubre que las opciones que se presentan en el mundo de los partidos políticos y del discurso civil le ofrecen poco espacio para hablar con la plenitud de su voz. Un partido le da la bienvenida al inmigrante, pero promueve la idea que las hijas no-nacidas de los ciudadanos y de los inmigrantes no tienen derecho de vivir. El otro partido piensa que es bueno que una sociedad de la bienvenida a la vida, pero sólo si uno no viene de un país que queda al sur de Brownsville, Texas.

Sí, hablo en términos generales, y sin duda vemos ejemplos nobles y heroicos que corren contra la corriente de los dos partidos. Pero las excepciones tienden a destacar aún más la dureza de la regla. Y, sí, existen otros bienes de considerar cuando tratamos de decidir cómo participar en el proceso político: justicia en el trato de los trabajadores, la economía, la educación, y la salud pública. Ciertamente debe la Católica luchar en todos los frentes de la batalla a favor de  un camino civil más compasivo, pero existe un sentido profundo dentro del cual sabemos por instinto que si nosotros en este país no juzgamos justamente lo que debemos hacer para el no-nacido y para el inmigrante, fracasamos como pueblo delante de la llamada más básica que nos hace la buena consciencia, y nuestras preocupaciones sobre los otros asuntos se convierten en caricaturas desfiguradas de sí mismas. 

Criaturas mueren en el camino que sale de un vientre en Honduras buscando aire en los Estados Unidos. Criaturas mueren en el vientre aquí en los Estados Unidos, prohibidos de respirar el aire de su país. ¿Porqué se les hace tan difícil a nuestros líderes juntarse alrededor de un sentido razonable que la primera obligación de la sociedad es proteger a la vida de los más vulnerables? ¿Porqué sucede que un partido extiende el principio de protección en una dirección, pero no en la otra, mientras el otro partido lo extiende en la dirección opuesta, sin atrever de colindarse con lo que dice el otro partido? La compasión de cada partido taja por arcos opuestos, cada uno excluyendo e incluyendo a muchos en el proceso. 

A la no-nacida igual que al inmigrante se les niega una oportunidad porque no son reconocidos. A ambos les falta un documento que tenga escrito: tengo un derecho a mantenerme vivo. Pero los documentos son escritos por gobiernos que con demasiado frecuencia presumen que al escribir, confieren el estatus ahí escrito. Pero no es así. Los gobiernos no pueden conferir lo que antes Dios había dado, sólo pueden reconocer una dignidad ya presente, y luego trabajar para respetarla. El problema es que los gobiernos son selectivos para reconocer la dignidad que las  personas ya poseen. 

El reino del pecado y de la muerte se presenta usando varios nombres, y con aún más disfraces. Es el juego que ha jugado el mundo desde que Cain despreció a su hermano Abel. Es el juego que dice que algunas vidas valen más que otras, y que algunas personas más merecen ser relegados a un lado. Es el juego que dice que el poder les pertenece a los que saben agarrarlo, y utilizarlo para controlar-- por medio de palancas movidas detrás de las cortinas-- las decisiones sobre quienes merecen vivir, y sobre quienes pueden desaparecer. Es el juego que decidió deshacerse del Príncipe de la Paz por medio de una cruz, y es el juego que Él mismo derrotó resucitando.

Sí, tenemos que tomar decisiones sobre cómo votar y cómo participar en el proceso político. Si nos ausentamos del discurso y proceso político, sólo dañamos a los que más merecen nuestra preocupación. Pero no debemos de aceptar sin discusión las bien empaquetadas opciones que los partidos han determinado son las mejores para los que importan más. Nos engañamos con un autoengaño cruel si rápidamente nos acoplamos con un lado político para marchar al sonido de sus trompetas sin haber primero desafiado las premisas gobernando la manera en que los partidos reparten los naipes determinando nuestras opciones.

Existe un papel importante para la lucha política, y aún hay espacio para la lealtad política dentro del alma Católica. Sin embargo, estas lealtades jamás llegan al nivel de la lealtad que le debemos a Cristo nuestro Rey y Salvador. Estas lealtades menores sirven solamente en cuanto promueven la misión de trasformar la creación según la gracia teñida con la gloria que el Señor-- por su muerte y resurrección-- vino para traernos. 

Que los Católicos les digan a los amigos que tienen entre los poderosos de ambos partidos que los espacios políticos que abarcan son demasiado limitados, y que las opciones que nos ofrecen son sumamente crueles. Que los Católicos dentro del partido de los demócratas les hagan saber a sus poderosos que la carpa donde se reúnen debe de contener espacio para los que defienden la criatura no-nacida, y que el arco protegiendo los vulnerables no debe de excluirlas a ellas del número de los protegidos. Y que los Católicos dentro del partido republicano les hagan saber a sus poderosos que la carpa dentro de la cual se reúnen debe de tener espacio para los que defienden al inmigrante, y que el arco defendiendo a los vulnerables no debe de excluirlos a ellos del número de los defendidos.

Quizás como el Quijote nos dirigimos a molinos de viento, pensando que los partidos nos escucharán y que crearán un espacio político más amplio, pero es el Señor el que nos pide poner nuestro mayor esfuerzo para abrir un mejor camino, un camino que defiende primero la dignidad humana, y después procede a discernir los caminos prácticos y difíciles que la dignidad implica. Pero si no tratamos de desafiar los arcos de exclusión que ambos partidos luchan para mantener, nos encontramos como cómplices en aquella actitud que dice que al fin y al cabo la política es un juego, y sólo podemos unir nuestras voces a un canto predeterminado. Quizá tratar de cambiar la condición lamentable de la política en este país sea una lucha de mucho tiempo, pero no nos dejemos por vencidos. Luchemos la lucha noble con fe en el Señor cuyo gracia nos sostendrá mientras nos dediquemos a proteger y defender a  los más mínimos de los suyos. 

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The Unborn and the Immigrant, Catholics and Politics: Let us Work for a Better Way

A Catholic Christian looks to live her life in a faithful manner, seeking by a kind of connatural presentiment a way to put into practice the order of loyalties that Christ the Lord has placed in her heart. For a Catholic, and for countless men and women of  other Christian communities, it is allegiance to the Lord first, and to his saying "Whatsoever you do to the least, you do to me," that provides the light by which we seek to live our daily commitment to Christ the Lord and to our brothers and sisters in the world.

A Catholic aims for the common goods in civil society: life and food, health, education and just employment, a safe community to live and raise her children. And she wants this, sacrifices for this and fights for this not for herself alone, out of some exaggerated individualism, but rather as goods for all to have. For God wills these goods for all. She knows many do not have even a slight hope to attain them. And since He said "love your neighbor as yourself," she can do no other than to look to do what lies in her power as a member of society to make things better not just for the few, but for the many. 

It is a shame, then, that when a Catholic enters the political realm, it too often presents itself as perilous. She finds that the options open to her in the world of political party and discourse leave little room for her to speak her full voice. One party welcomes an immigrant, but promotes that the unborn daughters of citizen and immigrant alike have no right to be born. The other party thinks it is good for a society to welcome life, but not here, if the country you come from lies somewhere south of Brownsville, Texas.

Yes, I speak in generalities, and there are noble and heroic exceptions to what I say here about the two major parties. But the exceptions tend to render more striking the rule. And yes, there are other goods to be taken into consideration when choosing how to participate in the political process: justice in the workplace, the economy, education and healthcare. We must fight on all fronts for a more compassionate way, but there is a real sense within which we instinctively know that if we as a people do not get it right on what to do for the unborn child and the immigrant, then we are failing as a people to live up to the most basic call of a good conscience, and our concerns about the other issues turn into disfigured caricatures of themselves. 

Children are dying on the way from a womb in Honduras to air in the United States. Children are dying in the womb here in the United States, never allowed to breathe the air of this country. Why is it so difficult for our political leaders to coalesce around a reasoned sense that the first order of business in life is to protect the vulnerable from harm? Why is it that one party extends the principle in one direction and not the other, while the other party extends it in the opposite direction but without daring to touch the borders of the other party's thought? The compassion of each party cuts in opposite arcs, including and excluding as they go. 

Both the unborn child and the immigrant are denied a chance because they are not recognized. They both lack a document that has scribbled words saying: I have a right to stay alive. But documents are written by governments that too often presume that by writing them, they grant the status there written. Not so. Governments cannot grant what God has already given, they can only acknowledge the dignity there, and then work to uphold it. The problem lies in the selective acknowledgment of the dignity people already possess.

The reign of sin and death goes by many names and more than many disguises. It is the game the world has played since Cain despised his brother Abel. It is the game that says some lives are more important than others, and that some people are more worthy of being set aside. It is the game that says power belongs to those who know how to take it, and use it to control-- by levers behind curtains-- who may be allowed to live and who may be allowed to disappear. This is the game that decided the Prince of Peace had to be disposed of on a cross, and it is the game He defeated by rising from the dead.

Yes we have to make decisions about how to vote and how to participate in the political process. For absenting ourselves from the public discourse and process hurts only the ones we are bound to care the most about. But we do not have to accept the well-packaged choices the parties determine are in the best interest of those that matter more.  We kid ourselves with cruel self-delusion if we quickly join ourselves to political sides and march to political bands without first challenging the premises that govern the way the parties deal out the hand that determines our options.

There is an important place for political participation and even loyalty in a Catholic soul. Such loyalties, though, fall well below the allegiance we owe to Christ our King and Savior. These lesser loyalties serve only insofar as they promote the mission to remake creation according to that grace tinged with glory that the Savior-- by his dying and rising-- came to bring.

Let Catholics first tell the friends and power-brokers that we may know in both parties that the space they leave us is too narrow and the choices too cruel. Let Catholics in the Democratic Party make it known that in their tent there must be room to defend the unborn child, and that the arc protecting the vulnerable cannot cut them off from those we must work to protect. And let Catholics in the Republican Party make it known that in their tent there must be room to defend the immigrant, and that the arc defending the vulnerable cannot cut them off from those we must work to defend.

Maybe we tilt at windmills thinking the parties will hear and make space for a wider discourse, but we owe it to the Lord to put all of our energy into calling for a better way, a way that puts human dignity first, and then proceeds to tackle the tough practicalities such a dignity implies. But if we do not challenge the arcs of exclusion both parties currently employ, we become complicit in the attitude that says in the end politics is just a game, and we may only join our voices to a predetermined song. It may take time to change this lamentable state of affairs, but let us not despair; let us fight the good fight with faith in the Lord whose grace will sustain us so long as we do not neglect to defend and protect all of his little ones.

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