Bishops’
Statement on Immigration
As bishops charged with responsibility for over 500 parishes
across our region, we write to share our deep concern about the current debate
over immigration in the United States. As we observe the unfolding situation along
our country’s border with Mexico we are troubled that this debate seems to be
driven more by rancor and political partisanship than by the deep moral and
spiritual dimensions of the issue at hand.
Our communities of faith share three foundational
principles regarding the issue of immigration:
First,
we assume that people have the right to migrate in order to sustain their lives
and the lives of their families. This assumption is based on the ancient biblical
teaching that the goods of the earth belong to our Creator who intends them to
be shared with all people. While
defending the right to private property, our churches teach that individuals do
not have the right to use private property without regard for the common good.
Second,
we assume that a country has the right to regulate its borders and to control
immigration. While
people have the right to migrate, no country has the duty to receive so many
immigrants that its social and economic life are jeopardized. The vast majority of our parishes were
established by immigrants to America. So
we realize that most persons migrate-- not simply to enhance their standard of
living--but to embrace safety, freedom, and opportunities that don’t exist in
their countries of origin. Our immigrant
heritage has also contributed to our churches’ strong commitment to assisting
immigrants and refugees.
Third,
we assume that a country must regulate its borders with both justice and mercy, both
fairness and generosity.
This third principle supplies the proper context for understanding the
first two principles. It is only in the
interplay of pursuing both fairness and generosity that the best discussion of
immigration will take place.
It is precisely such discussion of immigration that is so sorely needed in our nation at
this time. So we urge members of our
parishes along with all our neighbors to embrace the gift of respectful
conversation as we sort out this perplexing, critical issue of immigration. In that spirit we invite you to consider the
following possibilities:
- · Re-commit ourselves to fact-based reasoning, a free press, and free speech;
- · Insist upon civility in our public discourse—starting with ourselves;
- · Resist the urge to do all our “talking” via social media;
- · Sit down regularly with persons who hold opinions other than our own and listen more than we speak;
- · Urge our members of Congress, Senators and the President to pursue comprehensive immigration reform that is both compassionate and just;
- · Invite others to join us in pondering what it means to balance care for ourselves with care for the common good; and
- · Avail ourselves of the resources of our faith communities--principally the gift of prayer.
Bishop
Terry Brandt, Eastern North Dakota Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America
Bishop
Michael Hoeppner, Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston
Bishop Lawrence Wohlrabe, Northwestern Minnesota Synod,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Note: this
statement draws upon Catholic Social
Teaching On Immigration and the Movement of Peoples (United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops)[1] and A Message on Immigration (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).[2]
