In the Fight for the Dignity of Life There has been much spirited discussion lately of walls and bridges: of which image (or perhaps some combination of the two) properly represents a Christian perspective on immigration. The Bible commands us to shelter the homeless and welcome the stranger, but is it ever acceptable to close our doors to newcomers? Does the Lord expect us to give the green light to everyone wishing to cross our borders, or should our liberality be tempered by prudence? In the Old Testament, God instructs the Israelites, "The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt" (Lev 19:33-34). In the New Testament, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds Christians that Heaven takes a keen interest in their treatment of wanderers: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Heb 13:2). The Lord Himself, who had "nowhere to lay His head" (Mt 8:20) warned that even after ascending His throne in Heaven, He would take personally anything done to one seeking shelter on earth: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25:35). And in our modern age, Pope St. John Paul II asked, "How can the baptized claim to welcome Christ if they close the door to the foreigner who comes knocking?" (Message of the Holy Father for the World Migration Day 2000). On the other hand, no country in the world, even the most affluent, has unlimited resources - including available employment - and it is possible for even the wealthiest land to become overwhelmed by a too-concentrated population. God created a bountiful planet and intended all of its habitable regions, not only select areas, to be filled with human life. To help Catholics understand the Church's perspective, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has compiled a list of "three basic principles of Catholic social teaching on immigration": First, "people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families"; second, "a country has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration"; and third, "a country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy" ("Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration and the Movement of Peoples," see usccb.org). The first and second principles may seem fundamentally at odds with each other, but they are not when viewed through a truly Catholic lens. The essence of Catholic teaching on immigration extends - as does all Catholic thought on social justice and morality - from the concept of human dignity. The native and the immigrant are equal in dignity, and where the dignity of either is threatened, each has the right to use any moral means to rectify that injustice and to call upon the aid of people of good will in doing so. That means that when a downtrodden soul comes knocking at a neighbor's door, that neighbor has the obligation to open the door and give him as much help as possible. When, however, the neighbor is honestly unable to welcome his poor brother inside, his obligation does not disappear: He is bound to do whatever he can to help that brother find relief elsewhere. In his message for World Migration Day in 2000, Pope St. John Paul II reminded the world's citizens that most immigration is not a capricious or pleasure-seeking adventure but, rather, an act of desperation on the part of:” men and women, often young, who have no alternative than to leave their own
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==