Such Catholic “immigration literalists,” who suggest that their fellow Catholics who want to stop illegal immigration are somehow not upholding Church teaching, don’t seem to remember that Pope St. Catholicism, however, is not a “blind faith” religion, but one in which faith and reason work in harmony. To insist that this range of issues concerned with illegal immigration be ignored, simply because Scripture says to “welcome the stranger” is not just a literalism impervious to context and qualification, but asks people to surrender their minds.
because of so many unscreened entrants the financial burdens on state social services and educational systems that have to be borne by already-overtaxed American citizens the fact that many corporate cheerleaders for illegal immigration like it because it gets them off the hook from paying a just wage (which is, by the way, a central mandate of Catholic social teaching) the general undermining of respect for the rule of law, because it is permissible to flout it on this subject and the possible weakening of a political community’s civic bond as a result of the entry of many people who do not share its common vision or basic principles (this is especially acutely with Islamic immigration). because of the ease of coming here the troubling level of crime among illegal immigrants the reports of terrorists who have used the southern border as a gateway to enter the corruption, selfish, and irresponsible elites in Latin American countries that have deprived the masses, and tempted them to leave the diseases that have appeared or recurred in the U.S. They often don’t want to consider issues related to border security, such as: criminal gangs that have implanted themselves in the U.S. Some regard the law as irrelevant or unjust-without ever taking the time to show how it can be judged to be unjust from the standpoint of ethics or moral theology-because, after all, the people who come here are just looking for a better life. We are told that the various passages of Scripture, such as Matthew 25, that exhort us to “welcome the stranger” require us to accept immigrants without question, even those who are here illegally. This can be observed especially when they consider certain public policy issues.Ī good example is the immigration question. So, it’s interesting that among liberal Catholics, and even others who are well-meaning (including some Church leaders), we witness a kind of literalism with reference to certain biblical statements and Church teachings that expect people to surrender their reason, good judgment, and attentiveness to context and the realities of nuance. Liberal Catholics and leftists generally are also ready to rebuke people who adhere to aspects of traditional Christian morality, especially sexual matters, as “fundamentalists” (they don’t say much about Islamic fundamentalism, however, which is the truly dangerous expression of religious fundamentalism in our day). Indeed, liberal Catholics often don’t even want to view a lot of it as historical. Catholics-even more so liberal Catholics-are usually quick to criticize anyone who seems to interpret Scripture too literally.
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