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Washington D.C., Jul 10, 2017 / 02:17 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The United States House of Representatives on June 29 passed two bills in an effort to crack down on undocumented immigration and sanctuary cities.

The “No Sanctuary for Criminals” Act, also known as HR 3003, would strip federal grant eligibility from sanctuary cities which seek to harbor and protect undocumented immigrants from federal immigration authorities. It would ban any legal authority from seeking to prohibit or impede the enforcement of or compliance with national immigration law.

Dozens of such cities exist throughout the country, largely concentrated in California, which have some law or set of laws seeking to inhibit local cooperation with national policies.

The topic had been addressed just weeks before by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Cardinal DiNardo said June 9 at a migration conference that local law enforcement authorities should not be compelled to enforce federal immigration law, as this “would fundamentally alter the relationship between our local law enforcement officials maintain with our local communities, especially immigrant communities.”

He also warned that this “burden” would “tak(e) away from their efforts to ensure public safety” as they “pursu(e) those who are otherwise-law abiding.”

The House also passed a bill dubbed “Kate’s Law” which would establish mandatory minimum sentencing for deported immigrants who return to the country.

According to the Washington Post, the American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the bill for penalizing those fleeing persecution in their home country.

The U.S. bishops have spoken up repeatedly in recent years on the subject of immigration. In 2003, they issued the pastoral letter “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope.” In the document, they defined the rights of persons to migrate, as well as nations to control their borders. They called for refugees and asylum seekers to be protected, and for respect for the human rights of undocumented migrants.

The bishops have been very vocal in recent months in speaking out against the Trump administration’s immigration policies and proposals, calling for a balance of national security and welcoming migrants.

In a November 11 statement, Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary of Seattle, congratulated Donald Trump on his election and called for the protection of immigrant families. In the letter, he expressed the bishops’ desire “to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans.”

Following the president’s January executive orders to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and increase immigration detention centers, Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin, Texas warned that “(t)he policies announced today will only further upend immigrant families.”

Acting in his role as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration, Bishop Vásquez stated that the bishops “strongly disagree” with a decision to halt refuge admissions in a similar order.

In a similar letter in response to two memoranda implementing January’s orders, Bishop Vásquez “recognized “the importance of ensuring public safety” and called for “reasonable and necessary steps to do that.”

However, he condemned the memoranda, saying that “the policies contained in these memoranda will needlessly separate families, upend peaceful communities, endanger the lives and safety of the most vulnerable among us, breakdown the trust that currently exists between many police departments and immigrant communities, and sow great fear in those communities.” He also warned against “the militarization of the U.S./Mexico border.”

The U.S. bishops’ conference voted to give permanent status to their working group on migration at their annual spring meeting in June. The leader of the group, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, stated that “(t)here was a desire to express solidarity with and pastoral concern for those at risk, but also a desire to avoid encouraging exaggerated fears.”

On June 18, Archbishop Gomez celebrated a Mass in Recognition of All Immigrants and in his homily praised “the immigrant spirit that makes America wonderful.” In a July 2 interview, Crux reported, the archbishop came close to tears when recalling that “(i)n the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, many times children don’t want to go to the Catholic schools because they think that their parents are not going to be home in the evening.”

The current administration has deported nearly 66,000 undocumented immigrants, according to Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly. This constitutes a spike from President Obama’s final years in office.

 

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Marawi, Philippines, Jul 10, 2017 / 04:30 pm (CNA).- As violent conflict unleashed by Islamic militants in the Filipino city of Marawi continues to rage, the nation's bishops have stressed that the problem is not a religious one, and have urged all faiths to work together for peace.

“We all cry from our hearts: War in Marawi, never again! War in Marawi, no more!” the Philippine bishops said in a July 10 statement.

They called for a return to peace and normalcy in Marawi as soon as possible, and questioned whether “the continued state of Martial Law, much more its extension, will bring this about.”

Furthermore, the bishops stressed their belief that the conflict, which has been raging since May, “is not religious.”

Despite the fact that Islamist militants incited the violence, the bishops pointed to “truly stunning stories of how Muslims have protected and helped Christians to escape from almost certain death.”

“Even now Christians are assisting thousands of Muslims who have fled from Marawi for safety. These are indisputable signs that there is no religious war,” they said, and condemned the militants “in the strongest terms possible, as did Islamic religious scholars in Mindanao.”

Militants of the Maute group stormed the city of Marawi, on the island of Mindanao, May 23. The group, formed in 2012, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2015.

Violence began after a failed army and police raid to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a local Islamist leader. The initial attack launched by Maute burned several buildings, including the Catholic cathedral and the bishop’s residence.

The militants still have about 100 civilian hostages, whom they use as human shields, ammunition carriers, and stretcher-barriers.

In a video released shortly after the attack, the vicar general of the Marawi territorial prelature, Fr. Teresito “Chito” Suganob, was featured in a video released one week after his capture appealing to President Rodrigo Duterte to withdraw the army and stop the airstrikes. Although he has yet to be released, he was seen alive a few days ago.

The majority of the city’s 200,000 people – mostly Muslim – have fled since its occupation. Nearly 400 people have been killed in the fighting in Marawi.

The government has said some of the militants appear to be from abroad, including countries like Russia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. However, according to officials there are indications other slain militants have come from the Middle East.

According to the Philippine bishops, the Maute group and its leaders, in pledging allegiance to ISIS, “have contradicted the fundamental tenets of Islam by abducting and hostaging, maiming and killing the innocent.”

The bishops urged Christians and all people of goodwill to be proactive in promoting interfaith dialogue “so that our various faiths may not be exploited and abused for the sake of terrorism or violent extremism.”

“Let parents, schools, churches and mosques ensure that none may be lured by the recruitment efforts of terrorists. Let us teach the young and the old that our faiths are meant for peace,” they said, adding that “no religion teaches the killing of innocent people simply because they belong to another religion.”

Quoting a 2007 letter on “the Common Word” issued by Islamic leaders throughout the world calling for peace between Muslims and Christians, the bishops said “the basis for peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God and love of neighbor.”

They then cited several biblical passages on love of God and neighbor before urging action in showing solidarity with those who have fled Marawi and those who have been taken hostage.

“Let us be vigilant and alert, helping our security forces thwart the threats of terrorism in other areas of Mindanao. Let us help the government rebuild the city of Marawi so that its citizens may return and restore their broken lives.”

The bishops then entrusted efforts for peace and religious harmony to the intercession of Mary, who is “praised and honored” not only by Christians, but also in the Quran.

 

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Dublin, Ireland, Jul 10, 2017 / 04:30 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Former Irish soccer pro Philip Mulryne was ordained a priest of the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans, on Saturday.

Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., an assistant secretary at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, ordained him to the priesthood at Dublin’s Saint Saviour’s Church July 8.

“In a real sense, your experience as an athlete has helped to prepare you for this moment: you have known the meaning of working hard to attain a goal, and now the goal is Christ,” Archbishop Di Noia said at the ordination Mass, according to The Irish News.

“Impart to everyone the word of God which you have received with joy,” the archbishop continued. “Meditating on the law of the Lord, see that you believe what you read, that you teach what you believe, and that you practice what you teach.”

As a Dominican, the new priest has professed vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

He will join the chaplaincy at Newbridge College in Ireland’s County Kildare. He said his first Mass Monday at his home parish of St. Oliver Plunkett Church in the Lenadoon area of Belfast.

In a video interview published by the U.K. newspaper Daily Mail in 2016, Mulryne said he was attracted by the ideals of the Dominican life: “To give oneself completely to God through the profession of the evangelical counsels, to take him as our example and despite our weakness and our defects, trust in Him that he will transform us by his grace, and thus being transformed, communicate the joy in knowing him to everyone we meet.”

Father Mulryne’s soccer career began when a talent scout for the prominent Manchester United Football Club saw him play for his parish soccer team and invited the then-14-year-old to try out for the club’s youth team.

He played soccer for Manchester United for only one game in 1997, sharing the field with star David Beckham. He later moved to the Norwich City club. The Irish native, born in Belfast, brought fame to Northern Ireland’s international team by achieving 27 caps – international appearances – in his athletic career. His career earnings topped $600,000.

After suffering major injuries in 2008, he began to question how he would spend his days after his 2009 retirement.

Fellow soccer pro Paul McVeigh told the U.K. newspaper the Catholic Herald that Mulryne began to engage in charitable work and helped the homeless on a weekly basis.

Bishop Noel Treanor of the Diocese of Down and Connor became influential in his life and later invited him to enter the seminary. He first entered the diocesan seminary at Saint Malachy’s Belfast.

He began studies at the Irish Pontifical College in Rome in 2009, then entered the Dominican Novitiate House in Cork in 2012.

On Oct. 30, 2016, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin ordained him a deacon in Belfast.

The Irish Dominicans welcomed his ordination to the priesthood.
“We rejoice with Fr. Philip and his family on this beautiful day. Please keep Fr. Philip O.P. in your prayers as he starts the next step of his life as a Dominican in his priestly vocation!” the Irish Dominicans said on their website July 8.

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