August 18, 2024 - "Catholic Social Teachings on Immigration"

He begins the discussion of three principles by pointing to a landmark encyclical issued in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII:  Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor). Father Betz notes that Catholic theology has always promoted human rights based on natural law and divine revelation, Leo XIII gave a systematic presentation of principles of the rights and responsibilities of people.  In Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII commented on the situation of immigrants.  In later documents both popes and conferences of bishops synthesized the Catholic theological tradition to formulate the three basic principles on immigration that we are discussing in this column and subsequent columns.

 

The First Principle is that people have a right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. Lou Baldwin, a reporter for Catholic Philly.com, interviewed Father Betz and asked what he meant by this. Father Betz replied that people have a right to live in safety and free from fear. People often leave their home country because they are fleeing from war or violence. This was the experience of my own family. Thomas and Josephine Stehle, my great-great grandparents, fled their home in Bavaria to come to the United States in the 1830s because of the political instability in Germany at that time.  Another set of my great-great grandparents, Edward and Julia Dillon, emigrated to the United States from Ireland in the 1840s because of the Potato Famine.

 

Father Betz also mentioned that people, including many Christians, leave their homes because they are persecuted because of their religion or ethnic background.  In many cases people migrate because they are not able to find what they need to live in dignity.  Their home countries cannot offer them jobs to allow them to care for themselves or their families.  Many people cannot find work that pays enough for them to educate their children.  They cannot purchase a home that is suitable for raising a family.  Many have decided to come to the United States and work for very low wages so that they can send money back to give their family a decent life.

 

The resources of the earth are from God.  They do not belong to any one people.  They belong equally to all God’s children.  People have a right to the basics of life.  If a person’s country cannot provide any way to live or support a family, people will go somewhere else. Thomas and Josephine Stehle as well as Edward and Julia Dillon did what was necessary to support their families.  If I were in their shoes, I would have done the same thing. I think Father Betz is right when he says that if we are honest, we must say that we too would do whatever is necessary to support our families, including moving to a different country, with or without legal papers.

 

Until next week,

Fr. John