As mentioned yesterday, I'm reporting on an occurrence of the MCC screed in another Baltimore church. A full-page insert of the MCC statement appeared in the bulletin of St Stephen Church in Kingsville, which I understand is in northern Baltimore County. The man who relayed it is the son of a friend of mine. He owns his own small business and is struggling to put his own children through college. His youngest son finally was accepted into UMBC, after being on a waiting list.
The MCC claims that illegals would not displace citizens from seats at the community college level. Be that as it may, can the same be said at the 4-year colleges? Common sense would indicate in the negative. Moreover, would the illegals have to register for Selective Service, as did this young man?
Can anyone blame this poor father for being indignant at the thought of his tax dollars being used to possibly block his own son from attending the school he wished to attend? Such are the honest concerns of decent Catholics - concerns that deserve validation, not the ridicule that was heaped upon them in the MCC statement.
The Maryland Catholic Conference, in its widely-publicized statement, is making clear its expectation that good Catholics such as this father should behave like silent, submissive little cash cows by paying up and shutting up. Moreover, the MCC states that any attempt to make their voices heard through legitimate political processes should be derided as "harsh". In so doing, might the MCC itself be engaging in "harsh" behavior?
To the MCC - With all due respect, respect is due to those who don't hold to the opinion that Church social teaching is akin to socialism. We see through this, and we won't be cowed. The statement that you released this weekend is only one reason why many Catholics simply don't take you seriously - or more to the point, see such actvities as giving cover to socialistic elements in our society.
I don't see the MCC efforts as socialistic. I see them as self interested. Because priests and religious live off contributions from church members and fastest growing membership of Catholic church in Maryland is Spanish, MCC wants to rob the rest of the state to increase the income of these Spanish Catholics in order to increase their own income. They can call it "justice" or whatever, but everyone knows what they are doing. Why don't they get a job and pay taxes or start letting these Spanish illegals go to Catholic College at discounts?
ReplyDeleteI tend to think that many of that "social justice" crowd are socialistic. I recall having quite a conversation with an MCC staffer regarding his disdain for the principle of subsidiarity. He's no longer there - he moved on to the USCCB. Others there do have very honorable motives, but they wear rose-colored sunglasses.
ReplyDeleteMy concern with the DREAM act certainly doesn't have anything to do with Hispanics per se. Remember that quite a few of the 9-11 terrorists were here illegally (expired visas, border-jumping).
The "social justice" crowd is heavily reliant on governmental funding for their projects. Perhaps in order to secure that funding, they glom onto any politically-correct position of the liberals that they can get away with. That's why they're waxing so strident in trying to stifle those of us who oppose the DREAM Act (while turning a blind eye to the O'Malleys and Mikulskis who receive Holy Communion).
If the MCC wishes to push the DREAM Act, fine. What's not acceptable is to demonize those of us who don't think it a wise method of promoting true social justice.
You are implying that socialism is immoral. Numerous Catholic religious communities that live in common practice mini-socialism, if you will. Socialism-a distinct entity from atheist and violent Marxism-is no more moral than capitalism.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous of 11:13, I don't imply that socialism is immoral. I echo the teaching of all the modern popes to that effect. See http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/what-the-popes-say-about-socialism.html. Socialism forcibly removes from people the fruits of their own labor and subjects them to the whim of the governing forces. It is ludicrous to compare that to the vow of poverty which religious freely undertake when they freely seek that vocation.
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