http://blog.archny.org/?p=652#comments
Fran Rossi Szpylczyn says:
Thank you for your words on this subject Archbishop Dolan. It strikes me that most Catholics, who do either agree or feel ambivalent about the Arizona law, might not really fully comprehend the heft of anti-Catholic protest that you present here. Legal or not, Catholics were reviled and hated. And it was in that very cauldron that our faith thrived in this land. There is a lesson there, but that is another story for another day!
A few points about the draconian nature of the bill…
One is that there are numerous Arizonans who are “brown skinned” (the use of that language causes me to shudder) and are of Mexican heritage. Their families have been in Arizona long before it was Arizona. Now they have to produce “proof” of who they are? I personally find that, as an American and as a Catholic, appalling. And I say this as a Catholic who had a Jewish father. I do not have to scratch the surface very far to think of my own relatives who had to carry and produce identification that ultimately lead to their own suffering and untimely deaths.
To those who wish to say it is different, it is not. The good people of that time had many of the same “justifications” that I see here and elsewhere.
Another point is that this burdens numerous already over-burdened law enforcement agencies in Arizona. Imagine that the NYC police would have to take this on… Think on that for a moment and imagine its implications.
Who is speaking of the “rights” of those who have entered illegally? I don’t know about anyone else, but I think that this issue and Archbishop Dolan’s post are an invitation into a greater understanding of basic human dignity. We live in such perilous and punitive times; God have mercy on us all.
My final point would be that we must all approach the topics that are most visceral for us and the things that make us uncomfortable with great curiosity and not just steadfastness. If we do so with our faith and the enormity of our great Catholic tradition, we might all be astounded as to where we are led. I remind myself of this as well as there are numerous issues that my faith challenges me to see with new eyes. Such is the process of our faith.
Fran Rossi Szpylczyn says:
While I agree with you, I am both curious and bemused by the dissenting commenters. How is church teaching right except for when one disagrees with it? And trust me – no one would easily call me a rule-bound person. (Not that I am breaking them either!)
Dissenting commenters – do you think you know more than the good Archbishop? Perhaps you do, perhaps you do.
Perhaps when we disagree with authority we should ask more questions.
Or maybe just lean into our discomfort about what we disagree with and what we actually know about it.
I say this as someone who is no stranger to disagreement. Expressing it is easy. Examining it and submitting to truth… Not. So. Much.
Fascinating post and thread. Human dignity still hangs in the balance.
Fr. Vincent Fitzpatrick says:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Fran Rossi Szpylczyn:
Please note that everything Archbishop Dolan had to say was about “immigration.” Since the Arizona law is about ILLEGAL immigration, one could justly say that Archbishop Dolan’s comments were not even about the Arizona law, but some imaginary law in Archbishop Dolan’s cranium.
But assuming that Archbishop Dolan was actually commenting on the situation in Arizona, nothing he had to say had anything to do with the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Thus, none of the “dissenters”–people disagreeing with the Archbishop–is disagreeing with any teaching of the Catholic Church.
I.e., none of these “dissenters” is being selective about the teaching of the CHURCH. So your original question is simply irrelevant.
Comments by an Archbishop about a law that doesn’t exist. Comments by an Archbishop that have nothing to do with Catholic teaching. Comments by an Archbishop that smear decent Americans seeking to protect themselves from mayhem, theft, home invasions, cop-killing, decapitations and other forms of murder, etc., all the while failing to acknowledge the existence of any of these ongoing horrors.
I await Archbishop Dolan’s upcoming comments about the whiners in Haiti, gobbling up international aid when there really was no earthquake.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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