10/07/2007
You know how anxious Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archbishop Roger Mahony has been to import more illegal aliens into America, eventually to overstuff America’s ballot boxes with the solid votes of these grateful supporters.
Writing in the online magazine American Chronicle (Above the law, Jan. 27, 2006), Barbara Anderson pointed out the strong influence the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on immigration policy.
It has caused Catholic pulpits nationwide to urge open borders for legal immigrants and illegal aliens alike, she notes. "The Catholic Campaign for Human Development uses money from generous Catholics to train illegals to lobby and agitate for 'rights' for illegals," says Anderson.
The power of this Catholic hierarchy to influence immigration policy in the US is simply not well understood.
Well, good old Roger the Dodger (of immigration laws and sanity) is at it again. As Karl Vick reports in the Washington Post article Nuns' Evictions Pose Perception Problem for Catholic Church (October 4th 2007):
"In Southern California, where the Roman Catholic Church has agreed to pay victims of pedophile priests $660 million, the archdiocese is ordering nuns out of convents so the buildings can be sold to fund the out-of-court settlement."
"Here in Santa Barbara, the sins of the fathers are being visited on the Sisters of Bethany. The three nuns living in a modest building on Nopal Street received an eviction notice last month ordering them to be out by Dec. 31. Earlier 'would be acceptable as well,' the letter said."
I guess Mahony must really want those young, healthy, dues-paying mostly male Hispanic parishioners if he’s willing get rid of old faithful nuns like Sister Angela Escalera, 69 — who, diabetic and able to get around only with a walker, had hoped to live out her days in the Santa Barbara convent:
"This is how the archdiocese is going about getting the money to pay off the victims," said her younger sister, Rosemary Escalera Gutierrez, 64, a former nun in the order.
"’she said: "It’s such a heavy price to pay for such an ugly thing," ’said Gutierrez, quoting her sister."
The article goes on to report: "Gutierrez quoted her sister because church officials slapped a gag order on the nuns"
This is really disgusting. But it’s in keeping with the view that Mahony and his henchmen seem to have about American citizens. To get parishioners, his diocese and in fact the US Conference of Catholic Bishops as well, are willing to sell out our tax-supported services, the jobs of generally low-paid Americans, and the ethics of the religion he has pledged to serve — to say nothing of his country — in exchange for more temporal power and glory.
Why should he worry about a few nuns?
The Post’s Vick quotes a lay member:
"'What’s interesting is the church has not learned its lesson. The church thinks Catholics will still follow it without question,' said Denise d’sant Angelo, a member of Save Our Sisters, a local group formed to resist the eviction. 'They're still operating under the shroud of secrecy, and secrecy isn’t going to be tolerated by Catholics anymore, especially this new generation.' "
Vick also noted:
"The Archdiocese of Los Angeles did not reply to telephone and e-mail messages for this report. A statement posted on its Web site detailed the effort to inform the nuns of their fate and expressed gratitude to the order for its service."
And how does this affect the pay off in the $660 million out of court settlement? The Post’s Vick reports:
"By local standards the convent property promises no economic windfall. Oprah Winfrey paid $50 million for an estate in neighboring Montecito. But in the heavily Hispanic, relatively poor section of Santa Barbara that the sisters have served since 1952, comparable two-bedroom homes go for around $700,000. That is roughly one-tenth of 1 percent of the $660 million the archdiocese agreed to pay accusers. Among them are former altar boys who described being molested by the late Rev. Matthew Kelly at Our Lady of Guadalupe, the church adjacent to the convent."
Mahony’s math is as bad as his morality — and his patriotism.
Donald A. Collins is a freelance writer living in Washington DC and a former long time member of the board of FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. His views are his own.
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