Maryland Bishops' Wrong-Headed Letter On Immigration Situation

Last week's Catholic Standard contained a letter released by Maryland bishops on the crisis brought on.

by the increased masses crossing our southern borders.  A few days later the Gazette published an article penned by Blair Lee IV entitled "By Heart or By Head"

Lee raises concerns that citizens of Maryland and of the US at large are raising.  Other concerns involve the real nature of the immigrant population that is now bombarding the borders.  Not all are children; many are gang members posing as children - or in many cases not bothering to disguise themselves.  Oh, technically they may be minors, but many of the 16-year olds are gang members and are actively recruiting for the gangs from fellow immigrants.  Read this account of jihadists and people infected by ebola coming through our all-too-porous southern border.

A good Catholic will consider the plight of these people (assuming they truly are desperate, which many of them really aren't).  However, he/she will prioritize his/her concerns.  The needs of his/her family will come first.  That obligation binds on them by virtue of the Fourth Commandment.  An extension of that will be to place as priority the needs of his/her fellow citizens.  Note: I said "needs", not "preferences".  Regrettably, when we do so, we are judged to be xenophobes, racists and all sorts of unsavory epithets.

It is even more unacceptable when that attitude emanates from our bishops.  Nowhere in that propaganda piece published by the Standard is there any validation of our concerns.  The bishops carry on as though the priorities of good Catholic people were of no account.

Whatever else one might think of the bishops' letter, it is NOT magisterial teaching.  At most, they are delivering their prudential judgment with which we are liberty to disagree.  As you might suspect, I certainly do disagree with it.  Here are some facts to consider as you ponder this question.  I've mentioned before that the bishops may well be complicit in the crime of human trafficking, and they've received some nice-sized federal grants for it.

Lee opines that liberals may be allowing their heart to overrule their heads.  In the bishops' case, I hope that's true, and not that the wallet overrules everything else.

Georgetown University Medical Center - Starving & Dehydrating A Woman To Death!!!!

That seems to be what they're doing to Rachel Nyirahabiyambere, who emigrated from Rwanda.  She suffered a stroke last April and has been unresponsive since then.  She had been at Georgetown University Medical Center.  According to this New York Times article, her feeding tube was removed - at the instigation of Georgetown!  Her six adult children - two of them US citizens - opposed the removal of the tube.  As one of her sons said, "In our culture, we would never sentence a person to die from hunger.”   Once upon a more humane and just time, we could say the same thing, but I digress.

Facing the principled opposition from the woman's children in their attempt to murder her, Georgetown sought appointment of a guardian to "make decisions that the family would not make."  The lap-dog courts happily obliged, and on Feb 19th the tube was removed.  Yes, a true family would not make that decision, being bound not only by familial love, but also the 4th and 5th Commandments.  They shouldn't.  Neither should a Catholic hospital that pretends to call itself "Catholic".

First Things commented on the situation.  They illustrated how the family was railroaded by the legal system.  In short, an attorney appointed to their case had been recommended by another attorney who was paid by Georgetown.  That's called "conflict of interest".

Here is what this court-appointed attorney, who is charged with guarding the interests of her ward, the patient, had to say: “Hospitals cannot afford to allow families the time to work through their grieving process by allowing the relatives to remain hospitalized until the family reaches the acceptance stage, if that ever happens,” Ms. Sloan said in an e-mail. “Generically speaking, what gives any one family or person the right to control so many scarce health care resources in a situation where the prognosis is poor, and to the detriment of others who may actually benefit from them?”   To me, it sounds like she's speaking on behalf of Georgetown, and not her ward!

At this time, Ms. Nyirahabiyambere is in a hospice in Millersville.  She may be beyond rescue after two weeks of no food nor water.  However, this matter cannot go to the grave with her.  Some things must happen, and must happen NOW.

My colleague at Les Femmes has also posted on this deplorable manner.  At the bottom of her post, she includes contact information for both the Archdiocese of Washington and Georgetown Hospital.  While I think it's a great idea to contact the Archdiocesan pro-life office, it's Cardinal Wuerl who will have to step up to the plate.  Urge him to follow the example of Bishop Olmsted, who dealt with a similar situation when St Joseph's Hospital authorized and performed an abortion.

I'd also contact the USCCB.  As much as they ballyhoo about justice for immigrants, here's a chance to put their money where their mouth is.  We have here a true case of brutal injustice being done to an immigrant family by corrupt lawyers who have all the appearance of being in bed with Georgetown Medical Center.  As a result, a woman is being brutally murdered.  Please contact the USCCB's Migration and Refuge Services offices.  The name of the Executive Director is Johnny Young.

USCCB Jumps on Arizona-Bashing Bandwagon

On April 22, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that would make it a state crime to be in the United States illegally and would allow state enforcement officials to verify that individuals are in this country legally.  I for one congratulate Governor Brewer for her courage and dedication to duty. 

Of course, the progressives have their knickers in a knot over this - probably because their main ammunition for voter fraud is going to be reduced.  The Messiah Most Miserable, beneficiary of ACORN-esque voter fraud (remember that?) calls the law "misguided".  He disregards the Tenth Amendment, which does acknowledge the states' rights to police their own territories.  However, not too much of the Constitution resonates with him, so no surprise here.

However, a number of Republicans are jumping on the nay-saying bandwagon.  I understand Mike Huckabee disapproves of this.  As far as I'm concerned, this disqualifies Huckabee as a potential presdiential candidate, as I would want a president who would secure our borders.  Jeb Bush also frowns upon this; truth be told, Jeb's once-rising star plopped into the trash after he basically sucked his thumb during the murder of Terri Schiavo.

But guess who else has jumped onto the progressive bandwagon here?  Guess who else cries out to their progressive funders "Me, too!  Me, too!" and slams Arizona?  The USCCB!   Surprise!  Read that ridiculous statement.  They oppose the "criminalization of undocumented immigrants".  Don't you just love that language manipulation?  Ladies and gentlemen, if they don't have "documents", it means that they didn't go through the steps to acquire those "documents".  Hence they are breaking laws.  What do we call "lawbreakers"?  (Liberals, please sit down for this, lest you fall into a swoon!)  They are criminals!   Yes!  Criminality is defined by behavior.  Boys and girls, if one acts like a criminal, they are a criminal!  Understand?

Of course the USCCB and most of the progressives are snorting about something called "comprehensive immigration reform".   Talk, talk, talk!   Meanwhile, drug cartels come onto US territory with impugnity, ranchers are found murdered on their own property, etc.  It sounds like Governor Brewer is taking that bull by the horn!  Good for her!  Let more follow Arizona's example!

Another USCCB Partnership with Pro-Abortion Groups

On March 21st (Saturday), Roger Cardinal Mahoney will be the principal celebrant at a Mass at St Aloysius Church to support "immigration reform".  Then the attendees are expected, uh, invited to participate in the "March for America: Change Takes Courage and Faith" shindig on the Mall.  I saw this in the parish bulletin today, which suggests a visit to http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/ for further information.

That website is owned by the USCCB.  The march is being honchoed by many organizations.  Oddly enough (maybe not so oddly), the USCCB site seems to be rather cagey about divulging the names of its partners.  However, when I googled the march, I found one of the others' website.  That site is http://www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org/.  On that one appears a list of the usual suspects of organizations supporting baby murder and gay lifestyle.  Some are:

• AFL-CIO
• CASA de Maryland
• Center for American Progress
• La Raza
• Phoenix Progressive Democrats of America

You get the idea.  Once again, the USCCB makes no bones about its own left-wing procliviites. The "justice for immigrants" site should be renamed "injusticeforunbornimmigrants", as some of these organizations refer their clients to abortionists to "take care of their problems." 

Maryland Catholic Conference Swallows Health Bill Koolaid

I received an email alert today from the Maryland Catholic Conference that confirms that they are still being willingly blinded by the socialisitic smoke of the Obama Hell Bill. They think if only those nasty little abortion-funding blemishes just go away, why, the Hell Bill will be the dream of the poor!  It's more like putting lipstick on a rattlesnake.

Oh, one more little blemish needs to go, according to the MCC.  All immigrants, and I mean all, should have access to the Hell Bill - according to them.  Here's one snippet from the letter.
"Please also consider asking your Senators to vote against amendments being offered by Senators Ensign (R-NV) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) that would create barriers to immigrants from obtaining health care coverage for which they are eligible."

Sessions' amendment would merely have stated that the identities of immigrants must be verified to prevent fraud.  It stipulates also a 5-year waiting period so that they will have paid into the system.  Ensign's amendment would merely have assured that citizens have the same health care choices as immigrants.  Just what is the MCC's problem with these?

I am against these amendments only because I'm against the whole rotten stinking Hell Bill.  No amendment will pretty up that debacle-in-waiting.

When will the legislative arms of the American Church wake up to fact that they are being played for suckers by socialists?  Or are they in cahoots with them?  These State Conferences claim to exemplify the social teaching of the Magisterium.  But all they do is agitate for governments to throw money at social problems rather than exhort the Catholics in the pews to get off their derrieres and minister to the needy.  Gee - they almost sound like Alinskyan community organizers, don't they?