SAN DIEGO — The following are remarks by Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, of the Diocese of San Diego, delivered on Feb. 9 at St. Joseph Cathedral during a prayer service, “The Church Stands with Immigrants.”
Afterward, the estimated 1,500 people on hand, including many faith leaders from other faiths, walked to the federal vigil, where they heard testimonies and prayed for federal authorities to treat undocumented immigrants with compassion, dignity and justice.
“We come together and pray and proclaim our faith; that the rights of every man, woman, and child are inviolate. And that when our society violates those rights, we must speak up with clarity. We understand that God created all of us. We are all children of our God. When misery, fear, and terror are unleashed upon the land, we cannot stay silent. When parents don’t know that they will be able to come home to be with their children after work, we cannot stay silent. When Costco becomes a ground to target people without papers, we cannot stay silent. When children become the targets to intentionally inflict pain on their parents with the threat their separation, we cannot stand silent. When our houses of worship are turned into houses of fear because they are targets for deportation, we cannot stand silent. But we do not stand silent today.
“Catholic teaching says that the nation has the right to secure its borders. That is true.
“We have a right to secure our border in a way that respects the dignity of all. But what we are witnessing is far different than that. It is not a targeted effort to secure the border. It has become an indiscriminate campaign to bring fear into the hearts of every undocumented person, man, woman, mother, and child in our society. Those who are our coworkers, those who are our neighbors, those who worship with us, those who have lived here for so long, helping to build up our society. We cannot stay silent.
“We must speak up and proclaim that this unfolding misery and suffering, and yes, war of fear and terror, cannot be tolerated. We must speak up and say, “Go no further,” because our brothers and sisters, who are being targeted, are too precious in our eyes and in God’s eyes. And we should speak up, we must speak up, as Americans, because it is the American belief that we are a nation of immigrants, and that our shores welcome all those who are poor and needy and come here seeking a better way of life. And that is the undocumented population we’re talking about, people who have come here seeking a better life, and who live among us, and work among us, and contribute to building up this country, who serve in our military, and help us in manifold ways.
“So, as we go forth this day, let us remember, not just at this moment, when we pray to our God and ask God’s blessing upon us all, but in every moment in the unfolding weeks. We cannot stay silent but need to speak up for the rights of those who are undocumented, and for the wrong of unleashing a campaign of fear, which is unfolding in our midst.”
