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The Catholic Democrat view
On Opportunity and Discrimination

We wish to call attention to the persistent presence of racism and in particular to the relationship between racial and economic justice. Racism and economic oppression are distinct but interrelated forces which dehumanize our society. Movement toward authentic justice demands a simultaneous attack on both evils. Our economic structures are undergoing fundamental changes which threaten to intensify social inequalities in our nation. We are entering an era characterized by limited resources, restricted job markets and dwindling revenues. In this atmosphere, the poor and racial minorities are being asked to bear the heaviest burden of the new economic pressures.
—Brothers and Sisters to Us, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Pastoral Letter on Racism, 1979

Faith in the one God, Creator and Redeemer of all humankind made in his image and likeness, constitutes the absolute and inescapable negation of any racist ideologies. It is still necessary to draw out all the consequences of this: "We cannot truly pray to God the Father of all if we treat any people in other than brotherly fashion, for all men are created in God's image. This obedience to God and love for man must lead us to respect human rights, those rights which are the expression of God's will and the requirement of human nature just as God created it."
Quoting Pope John Paul, “The Church and Racism,” Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace, 1988.

     

    Bishops stand up to Republican legislation imposing harsh penalties on Catholic service providers

    A million people marched in Los Angeles, and millions more joined protests around the country, to contest immoral legislation passed by the US House of Representatives last December and now being advanced by Majority Leader Bill Frist in the Senate that would penalize Catholic charities that help immigrants. Entitled the “Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act,” this bill would criminalize the most basic forms of assistance to people from other countries. To their great credit, our bishops have stood up defiantly to this Republican initiative. Roger Cardinal Mahoney, archbishop of Los Angeles, wrote in the New York Times on March 22, “This situation affects the dignity of millions of our fellow human beings and makes immigration, ultimately, a moral and ethical issue. That is why the church is compelled to take a stand against harmful legislation and to work toward positive change.”

    Some Republicans have broken ranks with their party over the punitive nature of the proposed immigration legislation. Sen Sam Brownback (R--Kansas) was quoted as saying, "This is also about the hallmark of a compassionate society, what you do with the widows, the orphans and the foreigners among you," after he and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham advanced legislation in the Judiciary Committee providing an avenue for the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants to legitimize their status here and earn citizenship contingent on their holding jobs, being free of a criminal record, and paying back taxes.

    But conservative groups and legislators that have frequently invoked the views of the bishops on abortion have been harshly critical of them for their stance in support of immigrants. House Majority Leader John Boehner, who frequently invokes his Catholic ties, continues to advocate building a 700-mile Berlin-style wall on the Mexican border in defiance of the bishops. Fr. Richard Neuhaus, editor of the pro-Republican Catholic journal First Things, all but dismissed the bishops’ credibility on the immigration issue by saying their authority had been diminished by the sex abuse scandal. ''This is the left wing of the Catholic Church -- these are the frustrated social workers,'' said Catholic Rep Peter King (R—Long Island), quoted in the Times. ''They're giving an incentive for more illegals to come here. I don't think it's right.''

    The Catholic League has been utterly silent on the issue of immigration, only issuing a press release condemning two major newspapers for supporting Cardinal Mahoney in his comments about the House bill. The limp Catholic League response indicates once again that it has been reduced from a proud defender of Catholics in public life to a docile partisan organ of the Republicans.

    Meanwhile, the bishops have found strong allies among the Democratic Catholics in the Senate, especially Sen Edward Kennedy who has proposed legislation taking more constructive measures to deal with the immigration crisis. The Bishops’ Department of Social Development and World Peace has launched a campaign in which they argue that advocacy for immigrants “based on Catholic teachings is an important part of helping the poor and vulnerable around the world.” The Church’s national collection theme this year is "Jesus in Disguise" and asks Catholics to see Jesus in the faces of the hungry, the poor and the disadvantaged. 29 March 2006

     

    The Bush record on Opportunity and Discrimination:

  1. Murder based on nationality—The Bush Administration has killed thousands of Iraqi citizens in the interest of making Americans “safer.” This represents the most fundamental selective devaluation of life: the killing of one nation’s citizens for the benefit of another’s, and this in retrospect without any real justification for the belief that Iraq posed any real threat to the wellbeing of Americans.
  2. Administrative neglect for civil rights in the U.S.—Numerous instances of neglect for worker and minority rights are evident in the public record over the past three years. Some examples:
      1. Massive disenfranchisement of Black men, particularly in Florida. Administration officials supported the State of Florida in litigation intended to overturn the odious disenfranchisement of former inmates from the political process. Mr. Bush’s brother and the Florida State leadership have again come under scrutiny for knowingly circulating to local voting officials “felon’s lists” that excluded predominantly Republican Cuban-American voters but sought to restrict voting rights of Black men, thousands of whom were not actually ex-convicts.
      2. “Responsible Contractor” rules proffered by the Clinton Administration would have assured that federal contracts for more than $200 billion were only awarded to companies that comply with laws governing civil rights, worker safety, and the environment. The Bush Administration moved quickly to repeal these rules, announcing it quietly during the Christmas holiday in 2001.
      3. Repetitive motion injury ergonomics regulations developed by the Clinton Administration and disproportionately affecting women in clerical positions were revoked by the Bush Administration.
      4. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in the Department of Labor, an agency empowered to punish worker discrimination among federal contractors, has been dramatically scaled back in its budget, scope of enforcement actions (including implementing new Federal Acquisition Regulations), and data gathering capabilities.

Goals for a future Democratic Administration:

  1. A first priority must be a meaningful increase in the minimum wage and in funding for job training. In his remarks to the Democratic Convention, Senator John Edwards said, “We can also do something about 35 million Americans who live in poverty every day. Here's the reason we should not just talk about it, but do something about millions of Americans who still live in poverty—because it is wrong. We have a moral responsibility to lift those families up. The very idea that in a country of our wealth and our prosperity, we have children going to bed hungry. We have children who don't have the clothes to keep them warm. We have millions of Americans who work full-time every day for minimum wage to support their family and still live in poverty—it’s wrong. These are men and women who are living up to their part of the bargain: working hard and taking care of their families. Those families are doing their part; it’s time we did ours.”
  2. Strong support for enforcement of civil rights laws, support for affirmative action, and opposition to measures intended to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act signed into law by the first President Bush.
  3. Reform of immigration law so that immigrants are not vilified, that there is a clear path to permanent residence status, and that families can be more easily unified.