This article was written after hearing very negative comments about immigrants from the media. The animosity and hostility towards immigrants in today’s world is very hard to fathom. It is as if the Ku Klux Klan is in charge of Public Relations, spitting out untruths and half-truths about immigrants as they did in 1927 ridiculing… continue reading
Reaction to Benedict XVI in Brazil: Our Lady of Guadalupe Bridges the Gap
August 1, 2007 by
Pope Benedict XVI was criticized when he said at the V General Conference of CELAM in Aparecida, Brazil, that the evangelization of Latin America did not impose a foreign culture, but brought to fullness and purified the indigenous religions, where God had already been present. While there has been in recent years an emphasis on… continue reading
Declaration of Catholic Martyrdom of Franz Jagerstatter, Beheaded by the Nazis, Will Support Conscientious Objectors to War
August 1, 2007 by
“Jump out before the train reaches its destination, even it it costs you your life” -Franz Jagerstatter At the beginning of June the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI had authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to publish his declaration of the Catholic martyrdom of Franz Jagerstatter. The date for his beatification had… continue reading
Mistreatment of Laborers Leads to Abuse of Workers and Children, Including Immigrant Workers and Children
August 1, 2007 by
A priority in the Catholic Worker movement in the time of Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day was the defense of workers against mistreatment and exploitation. Dorothy often quoted the encyclical Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII in regard to workers not getting paid, or being paid a pittance for their work: “To defraud anyone of wages… continue reading
Raids and Deportations Create New Terror for Immigrants and Their Families
June 1, 2007 by
At the beginning of April, on the steps of one of the first Franciscan missions (founded by foreigners), a foreign-born Roman Catholic Bishop complained of the treatment of his fellow immigrants. He was responding to the arrest and deportation of many immigrants, especially mothers and fathers of children. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wong, born… continue reading
Casa Juan Diego Under Siege from the Ku Klux Klan: Justice Demands Immigration Reform
April 1, 2007 by
The first issue we are asked about at Casa Juan Diego by the groups that visit us generally related to the status of immigrants: Do we help them become legal? We would be happy to assist anyone with the cost of beginning the process of legalization. The problem is that hardly any immigrants can… continue reading
Pope John Paul II Criticized Both Capitalism and Marxism Before and During His Pontificate
April 1, 2007 by
In the accompanying article, (“How an Unknown Text Could Throw Light on John Paul II’s Views on Economics” – https://cjdengp.wpengine.com/paper/how-an-unknown-text-could-throw-new-light-on-john-paul-iis-views-on-economics/) Jonathan Luxmoore points out that in the years before Karol Wojtyla became Pope he was not an uncritical advocate oflaissez-faire capitalism and that Catholic neoconservatives who have depicted him in this way have been mistaken. Luxmoore… continue reading
Deliver Us, Lord, From the Fear of the Enemy
April 1, 2007 by
Dorothy Day often quoted the Psalms. In January of 1967 she said in The Catholic Worker,“‘Deliver us, Lord from the fear of the enemy.’ That is one of the lines in the Psalms, and we are not asking God to deliver us from enemies, but from the fear of them. Love casts out fear, but we… continue reading
Pope Benedict XVI Insists: No Structural Adjustment Related to Forgiveness of the Foreign Debt. But What Is It?
February 1, 2007 by
The Holy Father recently drew the attention of national leaders when he said something dramatic and startling in his address to the Diplomatic Corps. When he asked that the process of debt cancellation and reduction for the poorest countries be continued and accelerated, Pope Benedict XVI insisted that these processes must not be made conditional upon… continue reading
Death Sentence for Rafael and Other Immigrants
December 1, 2006 by
Rafael (not his real name), a construction worker, came to us a sick man. We went the usual procedure of trying to arrange help for him before his cancer became any worse. We tried to arrange an eligibility card—called a Gold Card—but were unsuccessful because he didn’t have a picture ID. We accompanied him to… continue reading
