Tag: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Conference of Catholic Bishops Asks Obama, Congress to Pass Immigration Reform

Obamas appearance at Notre Dame in May drew criticism from the bishops. (Photo: ND Office of News and Information.)

Obama's appearance at Notre Dame in May drew criticism from the bishops. (Photo: ND Office of News and Information.)

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called Thursday on President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders to pass comprehensive immigration reform, saying that the system “requires repair” and that immigrant “suffering should not continue.”

In San Antonio this week for their annual spring meeting, the bishops said in a statement by their president, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, that immigration is a “humanitarian issue” and U.S. society should not “tolerate a status quo that perpetuates a permanent underclass of persons and benefits from their labor without offering them legal protections.”

The statement is not surprising. Feet in 2 Worlds has reported on several occasions about Catholic bishops’ support –and activism– for immigration reform. George himself appealed publicly to Obama in March to end raids against undocumented immigrants and to push immigration reform forward.

As USA Today’s Faith and Reason blogger Cathy Lynn Grossman pointed out, after the bishops criticized the president on abortion, this is an issue where both sides can work together.

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