Indiana Catholic bishops, writing about immigrants, says the faithful should "welcome others as Christ himself," declaring pretty much an open-borders position, providing strong evidence for the wisdom of the separation of church and state:
“Immigration reform is evident and should include a broad-based program of earned legalization for undocumented persons; a temporary worker program with appropriate protections for both U.S. and foreign workers; changes to the family-based immigration system to reduce waiting times for family reunification; and restoration of due process for immigrants,” it says.
The letter also says, “Immigrants in this country without proper documentation should be provided opportunities to obtain legalization if they demonstrate good moral character and earned legalization should be achievable and independently verifiable.”
That's amnesty, a sure way to gurantee the 10 or 12 million illegal immigrants -- a term the bishops are careful not to use -- already here will be joined by 20 or 30 million more. We are all brothers and sisters in the church's view, which means borders are of minimal importance. That's fine for the church, but the government has to be more concerned with secure borders than the lip service paid to them by the bishops.
But it's not, really. I should't be too hard on the bishops, I suppose, for articulating a view that is likely to become government policy before the year is out.
