Bishop: Embrace immigrants, regardless of status

LITTLE ROCK Catholics in Arkansas should embrace all immigrants as they would the parents of Jesus on the night of his birth, regardless of how they came to the country, the bishop of the state's diocese says.

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor issued his first pastoral letter this week to Catholic churches in the state, calling on the Diocese of Little Rock's more than 116,000 parishioners to understand that people have a "God-given right to immigrate."

Though the nation's borders protect its citizens, Taylor warned that federal laws only "impede human migration rather than facilitate it for the common good."

"Expelling millions of people and closing the door to further immigration are not realistic options, historically, economically or socially," Taylor said in his letter. "Our only real choice is whether to facilitate this process for the common good or to create as much misery as possible and reap the undesirable consequences."

Taylor's pastoral letter, his first since being named bishop in April, was written in both Spanish and English and serves as an authoritative teaching for the diocese. The Little Rock diocese, which covers the entire state, is 55 percent Hispanic.

The pastoral letter, posted on the diocese' Web site, will be distributed to parishioners Nov. 23. That Sunday, a recorded homily from the bishop on immigration will be played at Masses throughout the state.

Taylor said he had a teaching day Wednesday with 80 priests from the diocese to explain his position on immigration. The bishop said those priests would return to their parishes to teach not only their flock, but serve as representatives to community groups as well.

The pastoral letter, titled "I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me," doesn't rely on Catholic teachings alone. Taylor heavily footnoted the letter to include data from reports on Hispanic immigration into the U.S., as well as Arkansas. U.S. Census Bureau figures suggest that more than 150,000 Hispanics now live in Arkansas. Other studies have estimated that about half of the state's immigrant population live illegally in the U.S.

Taylor likened illegal immigration to the current of a powerful river, as people found ways around borders and police to make better lives for their families. The bishop stressed that current U.S. immigration law prevents many coming into the country from obtaining visas, though illegal immigrants learn English over time and contribute to local economies.

"We cannot participate in an act of injustice," Taylor told reporters at a news conference Thursday. "People say, 'There's a law here,' but don't understand that law is an unjust law and people are prevented from exercising their God-given human rights."

Illegal immigration remains a politically sensitive topic in the state and likely will be a topic during next year's legislative session. Taylor said he timed the release of his letter to appeal to the state before the session begins in January, while not having it look like a statement during the presidential election.

While serving as a priest in Oklahoma, Taylor signed a statement of resistance, opposing a set of laws passed in Oklahoma over illegal immigration.

Throughout the Bible, the bishop said, readers could find stories of immigration Abraham leaving his country for Canaan, Moses leading the masses out of Egypt, and Mary and Joseph fleeing Bethlehem with their newborn child.

Taylor added that the new family "probably didn't have documents to do it."

"That history of salvation seems to be repeated in our own times," Taylor said. "Now, many Joses and Marias are coming up with baby Jesus to Arkansas. Will there be any room in the inn for them?"

On the Net:

Diocese of Little Rock: http://dolr.org/