Journey to Justice: A Catholic Vision of Immigration
Social realities: language and culture
The question of immigration often provokes an anger in people that is understandable. Reactions can be strong and even fierce. The core issues seem to drop off the radar screen and give way to other questions, like the effect immigrants are having and will have on the general society, for example access to health care and paying taxes. The question of language is raised to demonstrate this point. Even in our own Catholic churches different religious expressions and devotions are eyed with suspicion, as is the use of other languages. Many wait for the day when these types of religious practices will pass away so that “they” will be more like “us.”
We must tread very lightly through this part of our journey. The terrain here has many pitfalls. We do not want to stumble and fall into the sin of racism or ethnocentrism. Sometimes people trip themselves up and are unable to continue on the path toward solidarity. This can be likened to spraining an ankle. Although we may have the intellectual desire to continue, we have become injured and it seems impossible to go on.
The journey toward solidarity is more than an intellectual exercise; it is much more a movement of the heart. On an intellectual level we may wish to move forward, but we can’t because the heart is not able to move with the mind. Remember the sandals on our feet representing open-mindedness and, more important, our heart’s desire? They call us to continuing conversion. This has very little to do with the immigrant per se. We know that their dignity is not predicated on any other attributes or qualities, that is, that they be more like us. This is an interior movement of our own heart.
The cure of the demoniac in the synagogue at Capernaum (see Mk 1:21�27) illustrates the point. Intellectually, the people are impressed with Jesus’ teaching and with his authority. The demon seems to represent a deeper level of reaction to Jesus. This is the full impact of Jesus’ teaching coming into our hearts. Reactions to the reality are fierce.
What does this say about our interior conformity to the gospel, which calls us to love and serve others, especially the poor? We must quiet the voices in our hearts that lead us to others. With Jesus’ help we can appreciate the grand diversity of the human family.
Thus the bishops, together with the pope, have called first for conversion. Without interior transformation, communion and solidarity remain nearly impossible goals. The bishops of Mexico and the United States call us not only to tolerate the reality of immigration but also to embrace it.
This, my fellow travelers, is to take a long, satisfying drink from the Church’s biblical tradition. Welcoming the immigrant stranger is a way of opening the door to Christ, who knocks at the door of our hearts. No matter how different they are from us, our sacramental spirituality lets us see the face of Christ shining through each and every one.
The journey toward solidarity is more than an intellectual exercise; it is much more a movement of the heart.