Looks like the Catholic Church has decided to relive its better days (when it was led by brave people like El Salvador's Archbishop Oscar Romero).
The Archbishop of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony (above) has come out swinging against Arizona's illegal immigration measure calling it something the Nazis would have been proud of.
He blasted the bill as "the country's most retrogressive, mean-spirited and useless anti-immigrant law."
"American people are fair-minded and respectful. I can't imagine Arizonans now reverting to German Nazi and Russian Communist techniques whereby people are required to turn one another in to the authorities on any suspicion of documentation," Mahony wrote on his blog.
The measure would allow police to stop someone if they suspect them of being in the country illegally.
The bill does not specify what grounds the police would need but the implications are frightening.
The new measure would also require all immigrants to have their papers on them in the event they are stopped by police.
"The tragedy of the law is its totally flawed reasoning: that immigrants come to our country to rob, plunder and consume public resources. That is not only false, the premise is nonsense."
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.bonjouryall | Jul 03, 2010, 09:54 AM EDT
What is not being said here is important and typical. I believe that American law and practice has in actuality favored the importation of darker skinned people for several decades now. The Archbishop favors continuing this approach, along with employers that want a cheap, obedient and docile work force. He, like most priests, never mentions lighter skinned people in places like the Ukraine who would love to come to America if they could. So why is this? The Catholic Church and its priests would have somewhat more creditabiilty if they did not advocate positions on immigration with a racial and ethnic bias.
shidoobe | Apr 30, 2010, 10:42 AM EDT
Guess I am a Nazi now?
Fran Connor | Apr 28, 2010, 10:12 AM EDT
When is irishcentral going to get it? Most irish americans are all for LEGAL immigration, but don't want our country overrun with ILLEGAL immigrants who will bankrupt us. Read your comments, irishcentral. Unfortunately, the only thing our politicians care about is getting re-elected, so the D's will push for making the illegals citizens.
mrkennedy | Apr 28, 2010, 09:57 AM EDT
What do you expect from this man whose shoes I wouldn't want to be in when he faces his final judgement before God!!
LORIEANN | Apr 27, 2010, 06:55 PM EDT
archbishop Mahoney is misguided and irresponsible ....this law has no relation to nazi anything and using this language is never helpful....I guess being illegal is ok with mahoney...that is criminal behavior is now condoned by the church in ca. and if it was up to Mahoney we would be and are a sanctuary state...our schools, hospitals, and communities are paying the price...this is one time I won`t be listening to my bishop
rpmschevy | Apr 25, 2010, 11:47 PM EDT
Novel concept, come here legally and there is not an uproar. I brought my wife and her daughter here legally. I paid thousands of dollars to go through the proper channels. Why must I pay for them, and pay for all of these criminals?
miniwicker | Apr 24, 2010, 01:14 PM EDT
I think it's a great plan--at least they are trying to get something done about the problem. Maybe the catholic church should pay the american taxpayers back the expense we've been out for illegal mexican imigrates
patrickesq | Apr 23, 2010, 10:17 PM EDT
The us needs national standards to deal fairly with undocumented residents and provide a reasonable program for citizenship.
RosemaryKelly | Apr 23, 2010, 08:34 PM EDT
Who cares what Archbishop Mahoney thinks?????!!! Wonder how many priests he has transferred after they were found to molest boys??
Monsoonman | Apr 23, 2010, 01:34 PM EDT
If Manny Ramirez's papers are in order, there is nothing for him to fear.
Nicomax | Apr 23, 2010, 01:25 PM EDT
This is a bad law, and we will soon be surprised when some of the Hispanic Major League ball players coming to Phoenix to play the Diamondbacks are picked up for questioning. Can't wait to see how Manny Ramirez reacts to that.
allentown | Apr 23, 2010, 01:21 PM EDT
Follow the money. Mahoney's Los Angeles Dioceses owes $600,000,000 for his priests child abuses. Where do you think Mahoney is getting the money? Could it be the Hispanic community of Los Angeles?
Monsoonman | Apr 23, 2010, 12:15 PM EDT
If it wasn't for their education system, I am starting to wonder what the catholic church is good for? Like Winston Churchill once said about the British Navy when he was Lord of the Admiralty: the navy is only good for three things: The lash, rum and sodomy.
irishwxman | Apr 23, 2010, 11:58 AM EDT
I tell you what Bishop...why don't you worry about problems in the church, and stop worrying about the Arizona people trying the keep illegals out of the country. You hypocrite.
Searlit | Apr 23, 2010, 11:30 AM EDT
Arizona, being on the border with Mexico has a large influx of illegal immigrants, so unless one lives there you can't really know what citizens there are contending with. However, I think gestapo tactics will hurt not help the situation. It is a problem for the Federal Government to do something about.
Joanhugh | Apr 23, 2010, 10:01 AM EDT
If your Irish you have to be for the immigrants. When our parents and grandparents came there was no such thing as legal or illegal. People who wanted to come just came.
DLW12183 | Apr 23, 2010, 08:59 AM EDT
Tell him to clean up his church first before diving into politics. Have him tell the dead rancher, who was trying to help an illegal in medical trouble, that this law is not needed. Maybe it is time to boycott the Catholic church.
knockatee | Apr 23, 2010, 08:43 AM EDT
Nice to see the Catholic Bishop speak out on this. Maybe it's time to boycott Arizona as a vacation destination.
Doctorgeri | Apr 22, 2010, 07:37 PM EDT
Ask the Cardinal if he will send money to transport all the illegals to his diocese, where he can take care of them.
plasticpaddy | Apr 22, 2010, 07:19 PM EDT
Agreed KathleenBerrio, most of them didn't have any papers either and gained 'legal' status while in this country or applied for citizenship here in the US. Well done Archbishop and as a humanist it is not often that I say that!
gregwb57 | Apr 21, 2010, 07:09 PM EDT
You need to realise that illigal immigrents in Arizona is indeed a BIG problem!
IrishAndProud | Apr 21, 2010, 06:16 PM EDT
Oh, and btw I also do janitoral work -- you know, scrubbing toilets and hauling trash...the kind of stuff that you seem to think only illegals will do nowadays, because white gringo's like me will not. And I was doing it even BEFORE the economy tanked. Sorry to bust another pro-illegal lie, but that's the way it is.
IrishAndProud | Apr 21, 2010, 06:15 PM EDT
I don't know about YOU, Kathleen, but I was descended from LEGAL IMMIGRANTS (a redundancy), who actually followed the law and came here to be AMERICANS...not ILLEGAL ALIENS. Do you not know the difference betweent the two, a legit IMMIGRANT and an ILLEGAL?
KathleenBerrio | Apr 21, 2010, 05:08 PM EDT
We are ALL descended from immigrants. Our ancestors took the jobs no one else wanted, as do these immigrants. This sounds like a police state.
Monsoonman | Apr 21, 2010, 04:54 PM EDT
I applaud the Bishops sense of compassion, with other peoples money and livelihoods. So I suggest the Catholic church open up its vast coffers and start supporting all of these illegals...in Rome. Think for a minute, WWJD? Would he have built opulent palaces and churches for his own glory? Accumulated vast property, wealth and power? NO he would have given it away and lived a humble life. When the church starts living by a vow of poverty I will take seriously what its minions have to say.