Should Illegal Immigrants Face Excommunication?

by Richard Okelberry, managing Editor, March 23, 2006

Mass Illegal Immigrant Excommunication Consider this as a new take on the Illegal Immigration debate. The far majority of illegal immigrants that enter the US from Mexico are also devout Catholics. I wonder however, how often parish priests hearing confession from their parishioners are called upon to forgive the sins of an illegal immigrant confessing their transgressions that go along with their illegal entry. Now I really don't want anyone to think that I am picking on Catholics again. In fact this may be an issue that many priests have been addressing for a long time. Or it may also be entirely possible that the Catholic Church doesn't consider, entering this country illegally a sin. No Christian could ever be expected to keep a law that is unjust and against the Word of God. However, I don't feel that our immigration laws are unjust. I believe that it is necessary for an orderly society to restrict membership in certain ways to keep the system stable and able to protect the rights of their citizens. I also believe that a strong argument could be made for the idea that no less than 3 of God's Commandments are being violated when someone enters this country illegally to obtain work;

VII. Thou shalt not steal.

When you take something that is not rightfully yours, you are in direct violation of the Tenth Commandment, whether it be a loaf of bread or someone else's job, medical services or education. I know that our immigrant labor force is very hard working and I'm certain that it is difficult for many of you to see how their labor is a form of theft. When someone lives outside the law they steel from all of us through theft of services. As citizens we all work not just for ourselves but to sustain each other. For example; imagine we have a hard working Mexican worker doing construction in this country illegally. Since he is being paid under the table and avoiding taxes he fails to contribute to the operation of our government yet still receives many of the benefits provided by this government. Imagine now this person falls off a roof and gets hurt. By using a false name he skips out on paying the bill for the ambulance ride as well as the stay in the hospital. It is best too look at your government as a big insurance company. If we all make equitable and legal payments to the insurance premium and one person does not, then files a claim to benefit from the policy, he or she is plainly stealing from the group.

IX & X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

The very act of entering the US for work is driven by human desire. This desire to obtain the

Father_Paul_English

wealth available in the US is so powerful that illegal immigrants will risk the lives of not just themselves but the safety of the families by illegally entering the Country by what are very often dangerous means. Envy is certainly held by the Catholic Church as a serious crime against God. Of course an immigrant would never be able to obtain work or steal social services without first being willing to lie about his or her identity. Lying, in all of it's forms is held by the Catholic Church as a sin because the "Holy Scripture seems to condemn lying as absolutely and unreservedly as it condemns murder and fornication," "but if the common teaching of Catholic theology on this point be admitted, and we grant that lying is always wrong, it follows that we are never justified in telling a lie, for we may not do evil that good may come: the end does not justify the means. - (New Advent, Catholic Encyclopedia.) Is it possible that many of the problems that surround Illegal immigration might be solved by the Catholic Church taking a firm stance against it and encouraging it's members to always obey the law and live a just and righteous life. I know from my stand point as a Lutheran, if a member when confronted with an overt sin, say adultery, refuses to turn from that sin and at least make the attempt to make a change in their life, that person after repeated attempts by the church body to reform him may and should by the teachings of the Bible be excommunicated from the church Body. I understand that unlike Lutherans, Catholics divide down sin into several layers of importance. I wonder however if the combination of the multiple offences against God committed by Illegal immigrants might not merit excommunication from their own faith, should they fail to repent and return to their own country. I doubt many of them even feel that they are violating Gods will and as I said before, perhaps the Catholic Church does not see their actions as sinful. If however, the church does agree with my argument, then maybe it is the duty of the priesthood to act on what they see and at least try to give these wayward souls some guidance. I know that we expect Muslim Clerics to speak out against the sins of some of their wayward followers. Should be not expect the same of Catholic Bishops and Cardinals. In a statement made by Father Paul English, Vicar for Hispanic Families at St. Anne Catholic Community in Houston TX said, ""Nobody can deny that our Country's immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed," "We've got exploited workers, divided families, deaths in the desert, fake documents. And now an anti-immigrant militia group is coming to Houston to intimidate members of our community. We need a strong, united voice from local leadership to call for immediate action from Congress." Maybe the Church's solution is to change the Law so that people simply won't be sinning by breaking it. I wonder if the gates to Vatican City would be thrown open as easily as Fr. English would ask us to do with our boarders. Better yet, I wonder if someone climbed those Vatican walls to steel for his family, if the Church would have him arrested and "deported." Ultimately, we need to ask if the Catholic Church condones its members breaking the law. Hmmm…..

Richard Okelberry, Managing Editor