The treatment of immigrants in the United States violates the biblical and ethical norms that God requires of his people, according to speakers at a conference at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago on Nov. 2 about the ethics of immigration. Deportations, for example, often cause suffering for families and children. William O’Neill, S.J., an associate professor of social ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, Berkeley, Calif., pointed out that throughout salvation history God reminds the people of Israel that they are to “love the stranger and the migrant” because they themselves were once exiles. The Gospels describe how Jesus, born away from home, was forced to flee and was brought back, mirroring the story of the Jewish people. “To oppress the alien is no less than a betrayal of faith,” said O’Neill. “It is apostasy. Hospitality is the measure of righteousness and justice.... Hospitality is the very heart of Christian discipleship. It is not offered to kith and kin, but to those whose only quality is vulnerability and need.”
Welcome the Migrant
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
More than 60 Catholic institutions, congregations and individuals have signed a letter imploring Mr. Biden to endorse a new round of assistance to the world’s most indebted nations from the International Monetary Fund.
‘Nickel Boys’ preserves Colson Whitehead’s critically acclaimed narrative style while adding cinematic texture that enhances key details of the book.
I have trouble talking about the loss without tearing up, as if the smoke and ash from Los Angeles traveled across the country to find me.
In 2017 speech to a conference of the World Meeting of Popular Movements, Cardinal McElroy, the newly appointed archbishop of Washington, gives a hint as to how he might approach the incoming Trump administration.