Additional Information Regarding Illegal Immigration - Including REAL Church Teaching

Yesterday I raised a number of questions about the sudden increase in the number of children being sent from Mexico and points south of there to the United States.  I had suggested that perhaps the children were seized from their parents.  Another possibility might be that Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and other countries are emptying their orphanages and juvenile detention centers and literally dumping their problems and responsibilities into our laps.

Read about the deal cut between Mexico and Guatemala.  They call it the Southern Border Program to Improve Passage.  It sounds so nice and official, doesn't it?  Unlike the US today, Mexico takes its border control responsibilities seriously - particularly to its south.  However, Mexico is cutting its immigrants a break, provided that their ultimate destination is the United States via our porous southern border.  People coming into Mexico will receive a "Regional Visitor's Card", allowing them to stay in Mexico for up to 3 days - enough time for them to make their way to the northern border.  Of course other countries such as Honduras and El Salvador will be sending their migrants through Mexico, too.  Wanna bet that the Obama regime is in on the scheme?

We also hear that on Friday some Central American leaders pressed Vice President Biden to "improve migrant rights".  One might wonder why Biden didn't retort that these countries should be addressing their national ills that would impel their citizens to leave their countries.  But again, Biden is in on the scheme.  One of these (so-called) Central American "leaders" was Jorge Ramon Hernandez, president of Honduras.  He threatened to continue the rapid influx of Honduran children "unless immigration reform" happens.  That's nonsensical.  Suppose the US "reformed" immigration to his liking; does that mean he'd stop sending Honduran children?  But wait!  Let's leave that irony aside for the time being!  Didn't we just read of another Honduran leader trying to cajole the US into accepting Honduran children - "problem children" to be precise?  Read yesterday's post!  That other Honduran leader, closely echoing his president (and NOT Church teaching) is Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga.  They're spouting the same talking points, hoping we won't notice.

As far as Church teaching goes on the matter of immigration, might not the Summa Theologica of St Thomas Aquinas have something to say on the matter?  Here is the second part of the first part of his work; scroll to Article 3.  John Horvat has commentary on it.  Time prohibits me from going into a full analysis.  Suffice it to say that the Angelic Doctor clearly states that a nation has the right and responsibility to control who gets to enter into the nation and if/how immigrants assimilate into that nation.  St Thomas states that the nation's leaders have a responsibility to secure the best interests of the nation and its citizens.

Getting back to the massive shipment of Central American children to the US, one must wonder if the USCCB is being complicit in what may be a child-trafficking scheme.  With the millions of grants they've received these past two years, do they care?

Facilitators Of Illegal Immigration Reject Catholicism For Progressivism

In the face of Obama's scheme to import 10,000 Syrian refuges into the United States, there has been much confusion on the part of Catholics regarding what the United States, as a nation, should do.  Some have opined that we should admit them indiscriminately, prefacing their remarks with "Jesus would welcome the stranger" and "what would Jesus do".  Implicit in their invocation of Jesus' name is that they imagine He would not consider the impact such decisions might have on others.  For instance, they direct these platitudes at governmental officials, urging them to base their policies on a rather simplistic impressions of Our Lord's will.  They fail to consider that governmental officials have as their FIRST priorities the welfare of their citizens.  They have a moral duty to do all they can to protect them from real threats.  And yes, evidence pours in that the Syrians are posing a threat to their host countries.  The attacks on France last week should serve as a stark lesson to us.

Suppose, for example, there was a neighborhood that was plagued by a series of house invasions that occurred when the robbers burst into homes when doors had been opened to them.  A father of a family heard a knock at the door at night.  He calls through the door, asking the visitors what they want, and they stated they needed help and wished to be admitted into the home.  Knowing the neighborhood situation, would the father be wise to believe the visitors?  Of course not.  "But Jesus would welcome the stranger", our good-hearted but weak-thinking friends might chime.  I for one beg to differ.  Would He not approve of the father's solicitude for his family, a solicitude that is enjoined on him by the Sacrament of Matrimony and the Fourth Commandment?  Just as the father of a family have to abide by his God-given priorities, so do those in civil authority.  Their FIRST responsibilities are to their citizens and constituents.  This is NOT rocket science!  Taylor Marshall wrote a piece that is an excellent treatment of this issue, drawing on Aquinas extensively.

Today ISIS released a video that threatens more destruction in Paris and the destruction of the White House.   A few days ago, the DHS confirmed that eight Syrians were taken into custody in Laredo TX.  Five others were arrested in Honduras as they attempted to use stolen passports.

So now Obama wants to allow muslim Syrians into the United States.  Why, then, does he refuse to allow Christian and Yazidi refugees to enter the US?  His bigotry against Christians is obvious and despicable.

Too many Catholic officials, carrying on like aging hippies with stars in their eyes, steadfastly refuse to acknowledge the truth and cling to their romantized notions of the "poor immigrants" with themselves as their noble saviors.  In the midst of their semi-annual meeting in Baltimore, the US bishops pompously announce their calls for de facto open borders while chiding the governors who are following the maxims of Aquinas.  Not to be outdone by the USCCB, the Maryland Catholic Conference put forth this laughable press release as it appears in the Catholic Standard.  A little aside.  Today I did not receive my issue in the mail.  I think it's fascinating that my delivery is either missed or late when one of these whoppers is published in the paper.  But I digress!

Anyway, there is the typical call for "compassion" (selective compassion, since non-muslims aren't allowed admittance).  The MCC goes on to tout the praises (?) of the Catholic Relief Services, saying that they have "a rich history of serving potential refuges in their native land".  Really?  CRS has been caught red-handed distributing condoms and abortifacients in Africa - not merely funding said distribution, but CRS personnel themselves distributing these tools of mortal sin.  They retained a "same-sex married" man as a vice president, knowing of his immoral lifestyle.  Read here for a whole litany of their horrid endeavors and search the Lepanto Institute for more details.  Here's a snapshot of their income statement for the fiscal year ended 9/30/2014.  Notice that almost half their funding came from governmental grants: that is, our tax dollars!  I suppose that's the "rich" part of their history.

Then the MCC crows about Catholic Charities.  Yes - same Catholic Charities that:

• Took one of their female clients to her abortion appointment
• Engaged in a "needle exchange program" for drug addicts
• Aided and abetted an illegal immigrant with an established habit of drinking and driving - until his accident in which he killed someone

Catholic Charities is one of the groups charged by the Obama cartel to help "settle" the Syrians as they invade arrive here.  There's most likely more than altruistic motivation for them to do so. Recall last summer when it was discovered that the feds had extended to Catholic Charities offices in Texas over $17 million in grants to take in refugees.  Wanna bet they're getting a nice chunk of change now?  Again, that's our tax dollars.  Just as they botched the three incidents listed above, they botched big-time this past week.

The Catholic Charities in Louisiana helped settle one such individual - and then lost track of him.  Governor Jindal insisted that Obama give him info on those that are being shipped to his state; he probably knows better than to hold his breath waiting.  But the story gets more interesting!  Lo and behold, the Louisiana government learned that this refugee had gone to Washington DC.  Now consider:

• He is supposedly a poor destitute refugee.  Yet he has the wherewithal to get off the boat and hightail it to Washington DC.  It sounds like he had some direction and resources to make the trip.  The distance between LA and DC is approximately 1100 miles.  How did he afford the transportation and other travel expenses?
• Recall from earlier in this post that ISIS made threats against the White House.  Did this "poor refugee" come up here to participate?  Was he ordered to do so?

I've received word that the House of Representatives voted today (by a veto-proof majority) to put a pause on Obama's scheme to import these refugees.  Let us pray that the Senate jumps on board.   Speaking of the House, I don't know if Trey Gowdy is Catholic or not, but he seems to have an inate grasp of Aquinas' thinking on immigration.

I'll end this rather long post with a video by Ann Corcoran detailing her research on refugee resettlement.

Catholic Charities CEO Botches Corporal Works Of Mercy

In the January 14th edition of the Catholic Standard, Msgr John Enzler (CEO of Catholic Charities of of the Archdiocese of Washington) had a piece entitled "Living The Works Of Mercy"; the online version is here.  It is ostensibly a "self-evaluation" to detail how he's implementing the Corporal Works of Mercy.  Something about the recitation of the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy struck me odd.  Therefore I looked up the Corporal Works of Mercy online; see here and here.

As I compared Enzler's list with the other two, I noticed a small but significant difference.  The work known as "shelter the homeless" was swapped for "welcome the stranger".  These two are not equivalent.  The second reveals the agenda of allowing indiscriminate immigration.  When one considers the millions of dollars that Catholic Charities has received from the federal government (which in turn are derived from our tax dollars), one can see that the CEO of a Catholic Charities office might - just might - have a vested interest in insinuating the idea into Catholic minds that the facilitation of indiscriminate amnesty is a teaching of the Catholic Church.  It's not - not by a long stretch.  I link now to a commentary on the thoughts of St Thomas Aquinas on immigration.  Bear in mind that this commentary does cite the appropriate passage in Summa Theologica.

I'm having trouble believing that this tweeking of the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy on the part of Enzler was inadvertent.  He did get all the others right, and they're even listed in the traditional order.  That the CEO of Catholic Charities would dare to misstate one of the Corporal Works of Mercy reeks to high heaven.  At least once a year there is an in-pew collection for Catholic Charities.  I haven't contributed in years due to its many shenanigans - this being merely the latest.