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6 I CATHOLIC LIFE OCTOBER 2, 2013 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER SLATTERY & COMPANY Reform Robert F. Connor, Sr., Chairman • Robert F. Connor, Jr., President Providing Exceptional Service Since 1919 slatteryandcompany.com PLUMBING • HEATING • AIR CONDITIONING Commercial, Residential / Prompt 24 hour service Emergency needs command our total commitment! 181 Vallejo Street 303-744-6311 In this collection of poems, Eva Armbruster shows over and over again that fear, insecurity and the trials of life are no match for faith, hope and love. Makes a great Christmas gift! Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Email evearm777@hotmail.com ADVERTISING FOCUS CALENDAR Oct. 9 Health Oct. 30 Education Oct. 16 Oct. 23 School Open Houses Celebrating the Sacraments Seniors Medicare Enrollment Begins Nov. 6 Nov. 13 Veteran's Day Health Seniors From Page 1 Principles of reform The bishops' letter includes seven principles they urge lawmakers to use to guide their decisions. They stated it's easy to reduce immigrants to "lawbreakers" or "illegals" when instead the issue should be approached through the eyes of Christ. Reform should be grounded in the truth that each person is created in the image and likeness of God. "We hope that these principles, which move from the most basic to the more specific, will assist you in developing an ethically balanced view of the many goods that are at stake in this difficult issue," they wrote. "While responding to the many questions raised by immigration will not be easy, you and I cannot fail in our duty as Catholic citizens to do our best to make decisions that improve and maintain the social, moral and spiritual health of our great nation and those who seek membership within it." These principles include an understanding of the common good, or the integral fulfillment of the human person. It's an error to think of the common good without considering the impact on a person's soul. The Church Fathers taught that the right to private property CATHOLIC TEACHING ON IMMIGRATION Papal teachings "Rerum Novarum" (On the Condition of Labor) by Pope Leo XIII "Exsul Familia" (On the Spiritual Care of the Migrant) by Pope Pius XII "Pacem in Terris" (Peace on Earth) by Pope John Paul XXIII Pope John Paul II's 1985 address to the New World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Immigrants U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 2001 Pastoral statement "Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity" 2003 Pastoral letter "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope" Visit: www.usccb.org/issues-and -action/human-life-and-dignity/ immigration the well-being of families. The principles outlined also stress the need for the rights and dignity of all migrants, including the undocumented, to be respected and protected. This comes with the added right to control borders. "The Church teaches that the creation of nations and states with sovereign boundaries does not contradict the principle of the universal destination of the world's resources because it favors an internally just political order," the bishops stated. "For this reason, the Church also states that each government has the duty to protect and control its borders for the sake of the common good." This must be balanced with an understanding that people have a right to emigrate to seek better jobs and living conditions for themselves and their families. Countries have an added responsibility to afford refugees asylum, they said. Kraska said she hopes the pastoral letter will encourage the faithful to take action. "What I want to see is people to feel compelled after reading this to do something regarding this issue," she said. "There is still so much to do and the conference will lead the effort." should be respected in the common good. The Church upholds this right except when lives are at stake. Pope Paul VI wrote in Populorum Progressio that "No one may appropriate surplus goods solely for his own private use when others lack the bare necessities of life." But Pope Leo XIII wrote in the Nissa LaPoint: 303-715-3138; encyclical Rerum Novarum that nissa.lapoint@archden.org; www. property rights are of vital im- twitter.com/DCRegisterNissa portance to dignity, liberty and In the bishops' words all sentiments and manifestations of xenophobia and racism." Denver Archbishop Samu- released a joint pastoral letter el Aquila and Colorado Springs Oct. 1 outlining seven principles Bishop Michael Sheridan of reform to guide faithful's consciences and lawmaker's policies over immigration reform. Below is a snapshot of the bishops' letter. "On the one hand, (Blessed John Paul II) acknowledged that indiscriminate immigration can cause 'harm and be detrimental to the common good of the community that receives the migrant.' But on the other hand, he also insisted that nations should control their borders with 'full respect for the dignity of the (migrating) persons and for their families' needs.'" The common good "In practice, this means that the only meaningful goal for the common good is the integral fulfillment of the human person in community. In modern Western society, the common good is sometimes misconstrued as being what is good for the individual but without any thought of eternity, without any consideration of how a person's soul is impacted by a possible action." Resources and private property "In Catholic teaching, the right to ownership has always been understood as being qualified by the duty to use property in a socially responsible way, in a way that supports the common good, especially the good of the poor. …The Fathers of the Church taught that the right to private property should never be exercised in a way contrary to the common good." Dignity of migrants "Because of every person's God-given dignity, the Christian response to immigrants should be one of hospitality that rejects Control borders Right to emigrate "The Church has continually taught that people have a natural right to emigrate, that is, to leave their country in search of better economic and social conditions for themselves and their families. This also includes a corresponding right not to emigrate." Refugees "Refugees' urgent need for political asylum requires that public authorities must make realistic distinctions between the interests of those seeking greater economic opportunities and the rights of evacuees to be free from starvation or real persecution." Enforcement of laws "Experience shows that when a society is too ethnically and culturally diverse it can give rise to political instability. Therefore, when politicians make decisions about immigration policies, the question of integration cannot be overlooked."

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