Monday, October 21, 2013

Amnesty For Illegal Aliens Makes For Strange Bedfellows In Catholic Circles.

Let's take a look at Pax Christi.  We haven't done so in a while but in Montgomery County MD behooves us to do so.  They put on a nice pacifist front and they claim to be Catholic, but underneath that nice sanctimonious image they project lies an organization that is at odds with the Church on several key matters of faith and morals.

Over the years Pax Christi has cropped up like kudzu.  See some basic information here.   I won't rehash everything, but will highlight some key points.
  • Two of its former presidents, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and Bishop Gambino Zavala.  Both these prelates were forced to resign.  No, I don't mean just resign from Pax Christi; I mean resign from their posts as bishops, both for grievous causes.
  • Three years ago, I blogged on the American Catholic Council, an organization thoroughly steeped in the heresy of Americanism.  At that time the ACC linked to member organizations, including Pax Christi.  Well, bust my britches, that link has disappeared!  Why, oh why, do you think that happened?   Hmmm!
  • Discover the Networks has much information about Pax Christi and its sordid networks.
That's enough information for now - certainly enough to understand why the flyer below, inserted in yesterday's parish bulletin, caught my eye.


Let's ponder the subject matter of the flyer.  It regards immigration: illegal immigration to be precise.  Now let's think for a minute.  No Catholic in their right mind has any problem with immigration per se.  Most of us are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants.  So why the perceived need for all this "discussion"?  Ladies and gentlemen, in a very circuitous fashion these progressives are trying to get us to acquiesce to blanket amnesty for those who imperiously break our laws.  Of course they dare not say so openly, lest their disingenuous thought-reform gambits be laid bare for all to see.

I've been blogging a bit about this misguided effort to reward those who disobey our laws; see a montage of these posts here.  Please notice the June 22 post, where I quote Section 2241 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The Catechism states that host nations should welcome immigrants to the extent that they are able.  Who determines that "extent"?  This question alone makes plain that the debate regarding the immigration matter falls within the realm of prudential judgment.  That is to say that good Catholics can have legitimate differences of opinions regarding the various facets of the immigration question.  There is no one "Catholic position" on this matter.  Moreover, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated that national bishops' conferences have no inherent authority per canon law.  For the USCCB to state that there is a "Catholic position" here is flat out presumptuous, if not downright deceitful.

That section of the Catechism states quite plainly that the immigrants have a duty to abide by the laws of their host countries and to recognize their "duties to their countries of adoption".  In other words, they should expect no consideration above and beyond that experienced by other citizens.  Some in the "immigrant rights" movement have trouble with the concept of "equal justice".  One such individual might be Salvador G. Sarmiento, one of the speakers; at least he demonstrated such trouble in a situation regarding his wife's traffic violations.

One hazard of the bishops flirting with pet causes of progressives is that they engage in unseemly partnerships with organizations that are at clear variance with Church teachings, sometimes to the point of dissent and disobedience.  In this flyer we see (yet again) another incongruous alliance, this time with Pax Christi.  It's quite likely that Pax Christi won't trot out their gripes with the Magisterium at St. Francis' on Oct 30th.  However, in this partnership, the Church is lending to Pax Christi - as an organization - credibility that it just doesn't deserve.

It is this alliance with Pax Christi that renders the upcoming "discussion" utterly unacceptable.  I am exploring the feasibility of a picket of this event.  I will keep you posted.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please be respectful and courteous to others on this blog. We reserve the right to delete comments that violate courtesy and/or those that promote dissent from the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.