In a statement today, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles called on the federal government to enact comprehensive immigration reform, while reminding that reform should balance humanitarian principles.
The new Alabama immigration law would threaten the ministry of the Church, a statement from the U.S. bishops explained.
«The Catholic Church provides pastoral and social services to all persons, regardless of their immigration status,» Archbishop Gomez said. «Our mandate is to provide for the pastoral and social care of all of God’s children. Government should not infringe upon that duty, as America’s founding fathers made clear in the U.S. Constitution.»
The archbishop’s statement begins by expressing solidarity with Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, Alabama, and Bishop Robert Baker of Birmingham, Alabama, and other religious leaders of the state.
«Our nation,» Archbishop Gomez said, «is in great need of a federal solution to the challenge of illegal immigration, one that balances the rule of law with humanitarian principles.»
