Bishop Olmsted

Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, J.C.D., is bishop of Phoenix, Arizona.

As we draw nearer to the election, I wish to share with you the Catholic Church’s view on immigration. But first, it is important to review what She says more generally about each Catholic’s role in the public square.

The role of the laity is in a special way to “seek the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them according to the plan of God” (Lumen Gentium, 31). As such, lay men and women are in a unique position to bring their faith into all areas of society. It should be remembered that as the laity engage in temporal affairs, in their own way, they participate in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly mission of the Church by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation.

Furthermore, every Catholic receives from God a call to holiness that is rooted in Baptism. In order to fulfill this call, lay men and women are required to “follow and imitate Jesus Christ in embracing the Beatitudes; in listening and meditating on the Word of God; in conscious and active participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church; in personal prayer; in family or in community; in the hunger and thirst for justice; in the practice of the commandment of love in all circumstances of life and service to the brethren, especially in the least, the poor and the suffering” (Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 16).

With regard to each Catholic’s rights and duties as a citizen, ‘the separation of Church and state’ all too often is used as an excuse to silence people of faith and to discourage them from legitimately participating in the public square. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution, of course, does not advocate for a separation of Church and state at all, but rather the protection of religious freedom from the state. Our founding fathers intended all persons to have the equal right to voice their opinions, including those based on religious convictions. Even more, they understood that it was imperative that the state not infringe upon the religious beliefs of its citizens. The Constitution is aimed at allowing all people to have a voice in government, including those whose voice is distinctively religious. In other words, there is nothing in the Constitution excluding people from bringing their faith into the public square.

There are times when the Church’s intervention in social questions is needed. As the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “The Church intervenes by making a moral judgment about economic and social matters when the fundamental rights of the person, the common good, or the salvation of souls requires it” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 510). When Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States in April 2008, he told the American Bishops, “Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.”

It only makes sense that if Catholics are supposed to live their faith in all of their daily activities that they should also take their faith into account while voting.

As noted in the Second Vatican Council’s teaching, “every citizen ought to be mindful of his right and his duty to promote the common good by using his vote” (Gaudium et Spes, 75). In preparing to vote, Catholics need to understand their faith so that their consciences are properly formed. Subsequent to this formation, it is important to research all of the important issues and candidates that will appear on the ballot. Only after sufficient preparation and prayer, is a Catholic fully ready to discharge his or her responsibilities as a faithful citizen and cast a meaningful vote.

It is critical to emphasize that the Church is never partisan and does not endorse political candidates. She does, however, encourage her laity to be involved in political parties in order to devote themselves to promoting the common good. In this regard, political and civic education is deemed necessary so that all citizens will be able to play a part in political affairs (Gaudium et Spes, 75).

The immigration issues facing our country today are extraordinarily complex and do not lend themselves to easy answers and simple solutions. Nonetheless, there are certain principles of Catholic Teaching that are relevant in addressing these matters. It is true that a nation has the right to enact laws that regulate immigration, but those laws are always subject to the greater laws of God. They must be just and must preserve the dignity of each human person. Furthermore, there are certain natural rights of the human person that must be protected and which no man-made law may usurp. Consider, for example, the teaching of the Church found in the Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in America” in which Pope John Paul II wrote (#65), “The Church in America must be a vigilant advocate, defending against any unjust restriction of the natural right of individual persons to move freely within their own nation and from one nation to another. Attention must be called to the rights of migrants and their families and to respect for their human dignity, even in the cases of non-legal immigration.”

America has experienced many waves of immigration over the years (from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Cuba, Vietnam and so forth). Frequently, these people left behind famine or natural disaster, persecution, war or other injustice; and they came to our country for the same reason that immigrants come today, in hope of a better future for themselves and their children. Some of them came with proper papers, others did not. Whatever the case, the Church has always felt obliged to extend a warm welcome and helping hand. We have no less an obligation in 2008. We cannot forget Jesus’ words (Mt 25:35), “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

What we are dealing with here is more than a matter of justice, even though it certainly is that. It is also a matter of love. No man-made law, no circumstance, no custom can excuse us from the obligation to love our neighbor, whether the neighbor is a Samaritan or a Hispanic, whether he speaks our language or not. The demands of Christ’s call to love our neighbor are great indeed.

Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, J.C.D., is bishop of Phoenix, Arizona. He served on the board of directors of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. from 2000-2003 and has written extensively on the topic of faith in public life.