For the past twelve years, I taught undergraduate courses in American government at a local university. Most of my students were freshmen. And most of them were not very interested in politics and public policy. So, my challenge was to connect our academic work with how politics and politicians work in the real world. Each semester began with a discussion about how the United States is unique among the nations of the world. Not necessarily better, but different. Unlike other countries, whose identity is rooted in a common culture, language, religion, race, or ethnicity, our national identity is based on our commitment to five core values and beliefs. Scholars identify these as freedom, democracy, equality, capitalism, and a delicate balance between individual interests and the common good. By this standard, whether we are born in Massachusetts or Mozambique, one becomes an American by believing in certain basic principles.

Three months ago, millions of Americans voted in our national elections. A new president was chosen according to the terms of our constitutional tradition. And last month, we commemorated the peaceful transfer of power from one presidential administration to the next. But during the past two weeks, hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens have taken to the streets or to social media platforms in order to protest a presidential order that bans travel from seven predominantly Muslim nations to the United States. The order also suspends our country’s entire refugee admissions program for three months; suspends indefinitely our resettlement program for Syrian refugees fleeing that country’s civil war; and reduces by half the total number of refugees that will be allowed into our country this year. At this point, a federal judge has blocked implementation of this order and the issue is being contested in the federal courts.

People of faith and goodwill can respectfully disagree over our country’s immigration and refugee resettlement policies. That is the nature of our democratic republic. As Catholics, however, our opinions about these and other difficult issues should be shaped by our understanding of the scriptures, the teachings and traditions of the Church, the guidance of- fered by our bishops and pastors, and our own individual consciences. Throughout the New Testament, we find a preference for the poor and the weak, and a call to welcome the stranger as if he were Christ himself (See Matthew 25). In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we learn that while government has a duty to defend national borders, it also has an equally compelling responsibility to welcome and care for immigrants and refugees (CCC 2241). And in recent days, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has strongly objected to the president’s executive order and renewed its call for comprehensive and compassionate immigration reform.

In addition, Pope Francis has consistently urged the world’s wealthiest nations to welcome immigrants and refugees with generosity and love. For example, during his speech last year to a Joint Session of the United States Congress, the Holy Father said: “Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities that we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, then let us give security. If we want life, then let us give life. If we want opportunities, then let us offer opportunities.” Pope Francis pleaded with our elected representatives to be guided in their decisions by the Golden Rule and by our best instincts, not by bigotry or fear.

Likewise, Cardinal Sean wrote last week in the Boston Globe (2-2-17) that our leaders should make important decisions about immigrants and refugees based on our shared religious beliefs and core values as a people. These are the same core values and beliefs that I shared with my students for more than a decade. These are the principles that created our country’s astonishing power and wealth. These are the principles that shine so brightly throughout the world and beckon people of all colors and creeds to our shores. And these are the principles that prompt us to balance our individual interests with what is best for all people, especially our brothers and sisters who may have never enjoyed what we sometimes take for granted: the natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In his book, “The American Soul”, Jacob Needleman writes: “The deeper hope of America was its vision of what humanity is and can become, individually and in community. It was through that vision that all the material and social promise of America took its fire and light and its voice that called to men and women within its own borders and throughout the world. America was once a great idea, and it is such ideas that move the world, that open the possibility of meaning in human life…The question of America is there: if America loses the meaning of its existence and if, in fact, America is now the dominant cultural influence in the world, then what will become of the world?” Let us pray that our answer to this challenging question will be inspired by the basic principles of our democracy, the Judeo-Christian traditions of charity, goodwill, and love of neighbor, and the opening of our hearts, minds, and arms to embrace the stranger as we would wish to embrace Christ himself. May the Lord give you peace, now and always!

Cliff Garvey
Associate Minister
Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport
Contact: cgarvey@ccgronline.com

CCGR Weekly Newsletter (2-12-17) 
Bringing Home the Word (2-12-17)

__________

Pastor’s Note
Statement of the Cape Ann Clergy