I ran across another very interesting address about Catholic social teaching and immigration in this country.
This one was given by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, S.T.D., of San Antonio at the Annual Assembly of the Missouri Catholic Conference on October 4, 2008. Here are some quotes:
“…I believe immigration is the great civil rights test of our generation.”
“”…for the first Christians…to be a Christian was to practice hospitality to the stranger….This teaching of hospitality and doing good works for strangers comes from Jesus himself. Jesus taught that in the stranger we have an encounter with the living God.”
“To be a Catholic is to be a person who welcomes the stranger in need. This is who we are….It is part of our original religious identity as Catholics…We must defend the immigrant if we are to be worthy of the name Catholic.”
“In Catholic teaching, the right to migrate is among the most basic human rights. It’s very close to the right to life.”
Archbishop Gomez talked about the concern he has, as a pastor of souls, about the anger and resentment Americans have today about immigrants. He spoke of the hate and fear that only eats up the soul of America around this issue.
Whereas he speaks of the right to migrate as near to the right to life in importance, he does indicate that the right to migrate is not an absolute right. As a pastor, he seemed in the address to be trying to speak to all sides and concerns.
Read the entire account online by logging on to: www.archdiosa.org scroll down to “Keynote address Missouri Catholic Conference Annual Assembly – Archbishop Gomez.”
