Skip to main content

Immigration and gun control discussed by Catholic bishops in Baltimore


The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is holding its annual fall meeting in Baltimore this week. The meeting entails three days of prayer, reflection and politics, as top church decision-makers weigh in on the same issues being debated across the nation's capital, including immigration and gun control.

"(Immigrants) who are often fleeing horrible violence, terrorism and disaster. Their journey is our journey," said Bishop Vasquez.

Bishops advocated for inclusion by embracing immigrants and migrants. That stance is in direct opposition to the Trump administration.

"We have resources for our local churches, our diocese, to be able to pursue policies. We try to work out, sometimes, in terms of legislatures or Congress or the administration," said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, USCCB president.

A small but dedicated group of protesters demanded the Roman Catholic Church designate one "sanctuary church" in every diocese in America.

"To protect immigrants facing deportation. There are a lot of Catholics, immigrants who are Catholic. And the Protestant churches are actually the ones supporting them," said Felix Cepeda, a Catholic protester from New York City.

What are the chances it will happen?

"We have provided resources to help a local diocese make some decision relative to sanctuary city. The conference itself does not go there," DiNardo said.

Gun control was also discussed at the meeting, and the USCCB is in favor of what the conference president calls "commonsense gun legislation."

"We think that this is the time for a good, national discussion and no doubt it will involve debate, we hope, with some change that would come," said DiNardo.

The gathering, which began Sunday with a Mass at the Basilica, runs through Wednesday.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pope Francis: Gun-makers are hypocrites if they call themselves Christians

MAX ROSSI/REUTERS Pope Francis criticized weapons manufacturers who call themselves Christians on Sunday. “They say one thing and do another,” he said. TURIN, Italy — People who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are hypocrites if they call themselves Christian, Pope Francis said on Sunday. Francis issued his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry at a rally of thousands of young people at the end of the first day of his trip to the Italian city of Turin. "If you trust only men you have lost," he told the young people in a long, rambling talk about war, trust and politics after putting aside his prepared address. "It makes me think of ... people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit a distrust, doesn't it?" he said to applause. He also criticized those who invest in weapons industries, saying "duplicity is the cur

Catholic Priest Michael Pfleger and Thousands shut down Chicago highway with gun control march

Thousands of Chicago protesters shut down a major highway on Saturday to oppose gun violence and call for stronger gun laws. After an hour-long standstill, police announced they were shutting down all northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway to allow protesters to march on the road. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city’s police superintendent had voiced support for the protest, which was led by the Rev Michael Pfleger, the charismatic Catholic priest heading a largely African American church in one of the South Side neighborhoods hard-hit by gang violence. Illinois state police have jurisdiction over the interstate, and had threatened to arrest anyone who stepped on to the entry ramp. But protesters were allowed on to several lanes of highway on Saturday as corrections department buses waited alongside. Protestors chanted “shut it down.” Pfleger, the Rev Jesse Jackson and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson were walking side-by-side among them.  After lon

Gun control: Church firmly, quietly opposes firearms for civilians

VATICAN CITY -- The Catholic Church's position on gun control is not easy to find; there are dozens of speeches and talks and a few documents that call for much tighter regulation of the global arms trade, but what about private gun ownership? The answer is resoundingly clear: Firearms in the hands of civilians should be strictly limited and eventually completely eliminated. "The answer is resoundingly clear: Firearms in the hands of civilians should be strictly limited and eventually completely eliminated." But you won't find that statement in a headline or a document subheading. It's almost hidden in a footnote in a document on crime by the U.S. bishops' conference and it's mentioned in passing in dozens of official Vatican texts on the global arms trade. The most direct statement comes in the bishops' "Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice" from November 2000.