From the Pastor Feb 1/2

It Doesn't Have to Be Like This

President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise to use Executive Orders and not the legislative process to enforce his immigration policies. He did that on Inauguration Day. The Catholic Bishops Conference has expressed grave concern about these orders because of the possible detrimental effects they will have on immigrant families and particularly Trump's rescinding of a long-standing policy preventing ICE agents from making arrests at sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools, and hospitals. 

While most Americans, including most Catholic Americans, would agree it is necessary to return to their country-of-origin serious criminals, the wholesale deportation of undocumented immigrants is inhumane. While every nation has the right to secure its borders and the safety of its citizens, it needs to do so in a just way. 

Our immigration system is broken, but the wholesale deportation of people who, like our immigrant ancestors, came to this country to escape war, poverty, religious persecution, or to seek a better life for themselves and their families is inhumane and counter to our national ethos. Last year, a bipartisan group in Congress proposed a bill to reform our immigration policy. It wasn't perfect, but it would have relieved many problems. President Trump was against the bill and threatened Republican politicians to kill the bill, and so we have the chaos we have now.

Several years ago, our bishops proposed Catholic Elements of Immigration Reform. You can read the complete proposal at https://www.usccb.org/resources/immigrationreform.pdf. Here is a short synopsis of the bishop's proposals. 

1. 
   Enforcement efforts should be targeted, proportional, and humane. The bishops state that while a country has the right to secure its borders, enforcement should focus on those who present genuine risks to society. Enforcement procedures should uphold the sanctity of life and everyone's God-given dignity. 
2. 
   Humanitarian protections and due process should be ensured. As I mentioned before, many people coming to our country are escaping violence and deprivation at home. Their lives depend on a safe refuge. Depriving them of protection is contrary to the rule of law and an affront to God.
3. 
   Long-term residents should have an earned pathway to citizenship. An estimated 80 % of undocumented immigrants have been in this country for over ten years. They contribute over $100 billion in taxes, own property, run businesses, and contribute to our economy. Many are so-called dreamers brought here as young children who know only our American culture. Providing them with a pathway to citizenship would only strengthen our country.
4. 
   Family unity should remain a cornerstone of the U.S. system. Chain immigration, where members of a family immigrate and then use a portion of their income to help other members immigrate, has long been a practice in our country. Immigration policies need to foster the reunification of families and give them support.
5. Legal pathways should be expanded, reliable, and efficient. Today, legal immigration is severely restricted. Quotas set by law are no longer responsive to today's social, economic, and political realities. They contribute to illegal immigration. Our country needs new legal pathways, and backlogs resulting in decades-long wait times should be eliminated.
6. 
   The root causes of forced migration should be addressed. Migration is as old as history. It is natural to move from place to place, seeking better living conditions. Migration should be a free choice, not one caused by hardships and the desire to sustain and protect human life. Countries need to work together to help stem conditions that cause forced migration. Americans need to reconcile with the fact the cause of much of today's immigration over our southern border is attributed to conditions caused by political and economic policies that put America first over the well-being of the citizens of those countries. 

It has been almost forty years since U.S. Immigration Laws were last reformed. Just solutions to our immigration problems will only come if our politicians face their need to make substantive reforms to our laws that respect the dignity of our citizens and immigrants who sincerely desire to contribute their gifts to help our country attain the greatness God wants us to achieve. 

Start Returning Baby Bottles 

It is time to return the baby bottles parishioners took to fill with loose change as part of the Baby Bottle Boomerang to celebrate Sanctity of Life Month. Holy Redeemer has held this fundraiser to benefit Your Options Medical Centers for several years. Your Options is an agency that offers pregnant women services such as ultrasound tests and counseling to help women considering abortion know all their options. Pro-life people need to be ready to help women with problem pregnancies with prayerful and financial resources. We need to meet our words with action. Please return the filled bottles to one of the baskets for that purpose at the welcome desks at the entrances to the church. 

Howard Whelden Announces Retirement 

Parish Business Manager Howard Whelden has announced his retirement effective June 30, 2025, the last day of our fiscal year. We'll be looking for a replacement. The job is part-time, 20 hours a week. The business manager is responsible for parish accounting, procurement, and other little jobs. We prefer a parishioner for the job. So, if you are interested or know someone who would be a good candidate, please have them call the parish office. 

Catholic University Collection

Catholic Schools Week ends this weekend, and we turn our focus to Catholic Higher Education. While many parishioners are Holy Cross and Boston College alumni, and we're all Notre Dame fans, the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., is also a foremost Catholic institution of higher learning.

As the national university of the Catholic Church in the United States, founded and sponsored by the bishops of the country with the approval of the Holy See, The Catholic University of America is committed to being a comprehensive Catholic and American institution of higher learning, faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ as handed on by the Church.

Dedicated to advancing the dialogue between faith and reason, The Catholic University of America seeks to discover and impart the truth through excellence in teaching and research, all in service to the Church, the nation, and the world.

Next weekend, the annual Catholic University collection will be taken up at the Offertory. Please be generous in your support for this important institution.