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Father Vela of St. Mary’s University’s theology department earned his doctorate from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, concentrating in cross cultural ministries, and has been a teacher, pastor and missionary, as well as program director and faculty member at the Mexican American Cultural Center. He received his master’s in administration from the University of Notre Dame and also holds a master’s of divinity from St. Michael’s College, the Toronto School of Theology.
Marcus Gemoets, director and attorney-at-law with immigration services at Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and received his juris doctorate degree from St. Mary’s University.
Father Vela focused on examining Catholic social teaching by highlighting portions of a joint document written by the United States Conference of CatholicBishops and the bishops of Mexico — Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope. The first such document of its kind, he noted it deals with issues of immigration that go beyond more than just those of the Mexican and the U.S. borders.
Referring to an article by St. Mary’s law professor José Roberto Juárez, Father Vela stated emphatically, “Today there are no illegal immigrants, for migrants are persons and no person is illegal.” He pointed out the need to change language that carries with it a judgment, something many church documents are doing. “Judgment needs to be suspended when we speak about people,” he said, “particularly at this moment, when the tendency to judge is very strong. The dignity of a person ... does not expire as a visa or a passport does.”
He described the twofold significance of the title of Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, pointing out that in Scripture the need to welcome the stranger is foremost. The words “together on the journey” emphasize that we are united as people who need to be welcoming one another.
“Migration is an issue that affects not only church or churches, but the whole United States, the entire world,” he said, adding, “We recognize that our faith, when we talk about Catholic social teaching, crosses all borders, all boundaries.”
There are currently estimated to be over 65 million Catholics in the United States and over 90 million in Mexico and the joint letter of the bishops is directed to both, as the migration phenomenon affects persons on both sides of the border. The bishops noted: “We witness the vulnerability of our people involved in all sides of the migration phenomenon, including families devastated by the loss of loved ones who have undertaken the migration journey and children left alone when parents are removed from them. We observe the struggles of landowners and enforcement personnel who seek to preserve the common good without violating the dignity of the migrant. And we share in the concern of religious and social service providers who, without violating civil law, attempt to respond to the migrant knocking at the door.”
“Our common faith, the common faith of people from both sides of the border in Jesus Christ moves us to search for ways that favor a spirit of solidarity,” said Father Vela, referring to the document. He pointed out five themes and principles surface in the document and guide the church’s view on the issue of immigration. Of primary import among these is the right for persons to find economic, political and social opportunities in their own countries in order to live in dignity and achieve a full life through the use of their God-given gifts. “In this context, work that provides a living wage is a basic human need,” he said.
When basic human needs cannot be met in a person’s country, people have the right to seek them elsewhere and this is the second principle espoused by the document. The third has to do with nations’ right of sovereignty. “The church recognizes the right of sovereign nations to control their territories,” he quoted from the document, “but rejects such control when it is asserted merely for the purpose of acquiring additional wealth.”
The fourth principle holds that refugees and asylum seekers must always be afforded protection by the global community. At the very least, they must have the right to claim refugee status without incarceration and to have their claims considered by a competent authority. Lastly, the bishops call for respecting human dignity and the human rights of undocumented migrants.
Father Vela noted that in 1995, when the church celebrated World Migration Day, Pope John Paul II clarified the entirety of Catholic social teaching when he said that in the church no one is a stranger.
Marcus Gemoets explained the purpose of the bishops’ joint document was to address immigration laws, especially in the United States. “They wanted to create a foundation by which to establish a faith-based initiative where dioceses throughout the United States and Mexico could encourage their congregations to promote immigration laws,” he said.
He related that in recent months the Bush administration, along with several members of Congress, have reached the decision to modify existing immigration laws. “Unfortunately, they just can’t decide how they want to do that,” he added. The current immigration laws have been in place since 1952 and, while they have been amended along the way, what looms ahead now is a complete overhaul of the system.
Reiterating the importance of the principle of human dignity, Gemoets pointed out that Americans hold dear the right to freedom of movement. However, in other areas of the world, such as Central America or Sub-Saharan Africa — nations with a history of war, we must be aware that sometimes people are forced to migrate because of factors beyond their control.
The bishops’ document urges nations throughout the world to promote a philosophy of economics of nations, he said, affirming that each nation is responsible to its own citizens to develop an economy where they can find jobs that will pay for rent, for food and other basic needs.
“Because, ultimately,” said Gemoets, “when someone doesn’t have food to feed their children, when they don’t have shelter, when they don’t have security, when they don’t have law enforcement, they are going to end up trying to go somewhere else where they can find these things.” They also migrate to other nations in search of employment that would allow them to send resources back to their home country.
This concept of economics in Strangers No Longer is not new, Gemoets pointed out, as Pope John Paul II has continuously said that goods traded though the international market do not belong to any independent nation, but to all countries through which they pass.
“And so Strangers No Longer argues,” he said, “if we are willing to pass goods through each country — that come from Africa, Asia, Latin America — then why can we not also expect that the people who planted those resources, who cropped them, who did everything for those resources, also have the same rights of migration?”
The church recognizes the root cause of much migration is the taking of resources from third world countries by the more affluent nations and not expecting them to have needs in return.
The bishops’ document promotes world peace, said Gemoets, something that is impossible without respect for human rights and human dignity. “Catholic Social Teaching does not say that every individual who comes to the United States seeking refuge deserves it,” he said, “but it says that they must be given the opportunity to seek that refuge.”
This, he noted, is why recent attempts to modify the Immigration Act have raised concern, especially among those practicing immigration law and involved with Catholic social teaching, because the modifications seek to limit access for persons claiming refuge here.
He explained the basic aim of Catholic Charities here in San Antonio is to promote family unity. Of concern to them then is how to help clients “who have no access to justice, no access to the courts, no access to immigration services.” He added that a significant portion of the working population, especially day laborers in the United States, are undocumented individuals, who have no employment authorization.
As such, they do not have the right to return to their home countries without risk of losing the expectation of legalizing their status here. Gemoets noted that immigrants coming here to provide for their families back home often do not get to see their children for many years.
“And so the question,” he said, “especially for people who are involved in pro bono services, legal aid, the Catholic social services, is, ‘How can we modify the laws to create a system where people have access to legalization if they’re producing economic goods in the United States? How can we have access to family members to be reunited to their family members in the United States?’”
Gemoets sees Strangers No Longer addressing these weighty subjects and attempting to promote an agenda within Congress to remedy the situation. He urged people to get involved in promoting positive changes in immigration laws by working with organizations such as Catholic Charities and other initiatives as, under our Constitution, only Congress has the authority to regulate immigration.
Father Vela suggested advocating for another amnesty, such as the one that took place in the mid ’80s, to ease the backlog of immigration cases before the courts where, presently, it can take 14 to 16 years to become a legalized citizen. |