The media recently reported a statement from Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam, where he said that Catholics are 'morally obliged to welcome the stranger’.
This is the same media who never miss an opportunity to highlight church misdeeds, actual or perceived. When the Church makes a statement that runs counter to liberal orthodoxy, they report it as just another example of how out of touch the church is. When these articles appear online, catholic haters jump at the opportunity to pour scorn and derision on the church. Interestingly, these often hateful and bigoted remarks are never cited when they talk about why we need to introduce hate speech legislation. Look no further for such example of this than the vitriolic reaction to Bishop Fonsie Cullinan’s view on yoga being taught in Catholic schools.
However, when the Church says something about a topic which agrees with liberal dogma, the media then ramp up the hypocrisy machine to full power, pausing their default attack mode, to exploit and amplify the liberal viewpoint to their advantage.
This is exactly what is happening regarding Archbishop Neary's statement.
The Media's slippery and exploitative tactics tactics aside, the statement highlights some serious misunderstanding at best, or deliberate misrepresentation at worst, of the realities of mass migration to Ireland over the past 20 years.
Perhaps the biggest conundrum for Catholics who have issues with government policy here is the biblical quote to welcome the stranger. We don't wish to reject the word of God.
However, as every Catholic who has studied the bible knows, context is key. In Leviticus, adulterers are to be put to death. Any serious observer accepts that this has stopped being formal church doctrine for at least a millenia.
So also with the many quotes in the bible, like this source which seems to prove that Christians must accept mass immigration.
However, like Leviticus’ statements on homosexuality and adultery, it would be foolish to accept any such cherry picked quote as exactly applicable in the current age. Let’s take as an example Hebrews 13:2 “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
This message to me at least appears to be to help strangers, be they of your kin or not, if they need it. However, hospitality is temporary by it’s nature, so implied in the teaching is that this is a temporary gesture.
However, global NGOs, as well as the EU and UN, have aggressively pushed western governments in recent decades to accept more immigrants, some legitimate refugees, but many who simply want to avail of the increased economic opportunities in Western countries.
However, at the same time that mass migration was introduced across Europe, at no time were the citizens of those countries consulted whether they thought this was a good idea, not at the outset, nor after some time when the social and economic results could be measured. No, government policies across Europe in general, and Ireland in particular, are to accept as many migrants as the politicians think they can get away with.
Citizens, including Catholics, are entitled to have legitimate concerns about the impacts of unlimited mass immigration. The fact is that the primary international proponents of mass migration do not act out of any Christian imperative, (as they usually promote abortion and gay marriage just as enthusiastically), but they disingenuously try to use our faith against us to get us to accept their demands. It is unfortunate that many in the Church hierarchy have not seen through this, and appear to have fallen for the trick of these atheists to alter the demographic character of our country. However, there are some Church leaders who see through this slight of hand, like Cardinal Robert Sarah, who recently cited the example of Poland, a Catholic country that has strict immigration policies, and he urged it not to sacrifice its Polish and Catholic identities “on the altar of a technocratic and stateless Europe.”
“She is free to tell Europe that everyone was created by God to be placed in a specific place, with its culture, traditions, and history…This current desire to globalize the world by suppressing nations, specificities, is pure madness.”
Even the Church’s official catechism sets limits on immigration, and puts responsibilities on host countries as well as immigrants. From Church teaching 2241:
“The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.
Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”
It is unfair to tell Catholics that they: a. have a duty to obediently accept unlimited immigration (no government minister has ever mentioned an upper limit, so unlimited is a reasonable conclusion to draw), b. should not object to demographic displacement, or c. should not draw attention to social problems caused by immigration. Unreported in the mainstream media are the many communities with a high proportion of people from migrant backgrounds, which experience higher than average crime rates. Does not the Church owe these communities the courage to speak for them? Our Church leaders should not be afraid to stand up to Godless organisations who ostensibly don’t have the interests of Catholics at heart. They can instead heed the words of Cardinal Sarah who told the Polish people: “you are first and foremost Poles and Catholics and only afterward Europeans. You must not sacrifice these first two identities on the altar of a technocratic Europe that recognizes no homeland.”