In Luke 20 is an account of yet another attempt by Jewish rabbis and teachers to trip Jesus. Trying to entrap our Lord by catching Him saying something untoward so that they could then hand Him over to the Roman authorities, they sent “spies” to ask Jesus “Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”.
To which, Jesus calmly replied that we are to abide by the government’s laws: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” (Luke 20:25)
In the matter of immigration, St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), whom the Catholic Church honors as a Doctor of the Church and regards as its greatest theologian and philosopher, respected a country’s laws governing immigration and would gravely disapprove of illegal “immigrants,” much less their brazen demands for special treatment in the U.S. today. So prudent and concerned was St. Thomas for the wellbeing of the host country that he recommended that even legal immigrants be granted citizenship only after 2 or 3 generations.
See “St. Thomas Aquinas disapproved of illegal immigration and expected all immigrants to assimilate“
But Christian churches in the United States have become lawless and law-defying institutions.
In the name of “charity,” some churches are defying and violating U.S. federal government laws on immigration by providing “sanctuary” to those who are in the U.S. illegally and face deportation. See DCG’s Dec. 13, 2016 post, “Churches vow to offer sanctuary to illegal aliens“.
More than defying immigration laws, under the Obama administration, churches and other “faith-based” institutions had formed a lucrative alliance with the U.S. government in aiding and abetting illegal immigration and “refugee” re-settlement, contrary to the Left’s mantra of “separation of church and state”.
As an example, the Baptist Child and Family Services (BCFS) had very lucrative contracts with the Obama administration’s HHS, DHS, and other agencies. One such contract was for BCFS to acquire and operate the luxury Palm Aire Resort & Hotel to house illegal “children” at a cost of $50 million. Another contract was for the BCFS to provide “basic shelter care” to 2,400 “unaccompanied alien children” for just four months in 2014, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $182 million. BCFS’s lucrative contracts with the federal government would explain its president and CEO Kevin Dinnin’s bloated annual salary of more than $477,799.
But under President Trump, that gravy train is drying up.
Michele Jurich reports for Catholic Voice, May 13, 2019, that “With the U.S. government continuing to severely limit the number of refugees who enter the country under its auspices, Catholic Charities of the East Bay (CCEB) [in the San Francisco Bay Area] has ended its resettlement program.”
Nationally, according to Refugee Council USA, the Trump administration has admitted only 12,151 refugees, which is less than 40% of the historically low 30,000 refugee admissions goal.
CCEB’s 90-day service contract with the federal government ended on May 8, 2019. As a consequence, although CCEB was scheduled to receive 100 refugees in fiscal year 2019, which began Oct. 1, 2018, the agency received “just eight”. But the numbers of refugees in CCEB’s resettlement program already had decreased over the last two years. In fiscal year 2018, CCEB was projected to receive 145 refugees; 100 were received.
This effectively ends the involvement of about 40 East Bay parishes in setting up apartments, driving newcomers to appointments and helping them feel at home in their new land. Over the past three years, these parishes have been actively involved in co-sponsoring refugee families. Reportedly, “many” of those refugees had worked for the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Christopher Martinez, CCEB’s chief program officer, said that those who have received assistance from Catholic Charities in the past can still request assistance in legal and housing matters: “Any family, if they need support, can always reach Catholic Charities. We want to build on that legacy.”
Jewish Family and Community Services East Bay in Berkeley and the International Rescue Committee in Oakland will continue to resettle refugees in the East Bay.
See also:
- 1,216 rabbis sign letter to lobby Congress to welcome ‘refugees’
- Despicable: Evangelical leaders use ‘Jesus was a refugee’ to lobby Congress
- Illegal alien in country for 18 years gets sanctuary at Seattle church to avoid deportation
- Pope Francis donates $½ million to aid migrant invaders ‘stranded’ in Mexico
- Congressman Clay Higgins confronts bishop on Catholic Church’s hypocrisy on border wall
- Catholic Church welcomes & shelters deportees at US-Mexico border
- CA Catholic church to install hideous 40-ft $2M statue of Mary to welcome illegal border-crossers and refugees
~Eowyn
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We should always use brackets and a small c when referring to these “christian” churches and organizations. They are Bolsheviks with a capital B and their purpose is to facilitate the demographic displacement of white European Christians and slowly and inexorably erase our culture, history, and heritage. If I asked them for assistance they would laugh and say get a job
William . . . You are absolutely correct. As a white person, you would be told to hit the road, as would I.
Dr Eowyn . . . Bless your heart, you have really made my day. Here in Portland, OR we had church after church who sponsored Romanians to come to the US–just as soon as they landed here, although they were sponsored by these churches, they were dumped on the taxpayers of Oregon. There was an organization of Romanians that was formed, and is called the Romanian Mafia–they were big time into auto thief, parting out stolen autos, etc. In fact a guy I worked with at the Dairy had his car stolen. The police told him that when the car… Read more »
St. Augustine had much to say about this and similar topics. Basically, even if a country has laws that allow for sin a Christian’s duty is to God first. It is the obligation of the country to adjust its laws accordingly. He was especially troubled by sodomites. He made it VERY clear that there were NO circumstances where that behavior was acceptable. Regarding “immigrants’, there is clearly a difference between LEGAL immigrants and ILLEGAL ones. The very reason that we have countries at all is to protect their residents. Realizing that that is their goal, to eliminate borders, helps understand… Read more »
Well I am really happy to hear this. It’s about time, but seriously it is just a drop in the bucket compared with the masses coming over the border and being released. They will all end up on welfare too or live lives of crime to get by. I just heard that out of all those arrested only 13 % show up foe their hearings. Now why are the Jewish Community services of the Eat Bay still continuing with their program? Are they not having their resources from the gov cut off too? Or is it they are so hellbent… Read more »
Yeah, that’s what’s happening alright. For many years there has been an overly simplistic misunderstanding about Christian duty. We are expected to weigh the totality of what we do against the harm it causes. For example, it would be wrong to let a child die from hunger. Saying that, I’m not so sure it would be right to feed his parent who acted illegally to come here and subject his obligation to risk. Churches, just like any other group, are not filled with moral experts. I could make an argument that they should, but they’re not. I’ve said (and say… Read more »
You laid things out well in your other post Lophatt with the thoughts from St Augustine etc. There were some years in the past where I was really searching spiritually and I read a lot of Paramahansa Yogananda. I distinctly remember him saying that it was a sin, or in his words, “bad karma” for a person or persons to go to another country with the intent to take for themselves without giving back. And isn’t this exactly what we have? And these words were written at least 70 years ago or more. How People who are not interested in… Read more »
Lana . . . God Bless you for adding such reasonable comments to this discussion. I believe with all my heart that Our Eternal Father feels that each of us needs to study out in our minds the truthfulness of the actions we take in all matters. There is no doubt, just as you have stated, that far too many churches are pandering after the “wisdom of the day,” rather than seek after the wisdom of The Lord.
Thank you Auntie. You are always so kind. Anyone who has the patience to read past all my typos deserves a medal. My current excuse is that I have the flu. I do have a very well developed sense of justice and fairness as many here do. And I am not without compassion. But really, Yogananda’s comment above encapsulates the idea that a moral question is not a shallow, or always an easily distinguished question. Morality must be contemplated and understood from a transcendent spiritual perspective. In other words, a long term view of the soul within eternity and its… Read more »
Amen! “McChristianity”. Fast food religion. You stated it exactly. They want to run through the line and have salvation done for them. They’re willing to pay by credit card.
Talk about ordering one’s priorities. NOTHING else matters if you don’t get this one in its proper place. That’s in front.
Lana . . . I would love to have you as my next door neighbor. You are the epitome of goodness, and intelligence. If only some of your character could rub off on others–what a wonderful society we would have.
Gosh Auntie, that is truly one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. Thank you. If I still could, I would be blushing!
“Can it ever, at any time or place, be unrighteous for a man to love God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his mind; and his neighbor as himself?. Similarly, offenses against nature are everywhere and at all times to be held in detestation and should be punished. Such offenses, for example, were those of the Sodomites; and even if all nations should commit them, they would all be judged guilty of the same crime by the divine law, which has not made men so that they should ever abuse one another in that way.… Read more »
Amen and Amen. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Lana, I really admire your comments. I did a lot of “searching” at one time too. There are places where truth intersects regardless of confession. I quoted St. Augustine here because this writing is 1,600 years old. Think about that. This book (and his others) are crammed with wonderful, faithful philosophies and his innermost prayers. After these great men and women who were “spiritual warriors” and dedicated their lives to the service of God were so wonderful as to communicate what they learned to us, we think we’re too bright to listen? So now we have rainbow haired,… Read more »
Beautifully stated Lophatt.
It truly is amazing ( in a sad way) when we look back at these giants like Augustine and so many others; by their great love of God and their personal struggles and sacrifices they gave us so many eternal truths to live our live by and yet that wisdom is discarded, never really being considered at all in the first place. And we have no giants their equal today. It is truly a Kali Yuga, a dark age we are moving through, with the irony that most think this is as good as it gets.
Bravo! Very well stated. I particularly agree these folks can be helped in their homelands–they do not need to sneak across our borders in order to get help. It is an outrage when our citizens abet these hoards of illegals coming across our border.
Go Trump. Stop Globalist Socialism in the Catholic Church. Wonder why the pews are empty Fathers? Try tending your flock. Feed my sheep. How much does it cost for a Catholic kid to go to Catholic school? Shame on you.
These fake churches are also organizing LGBTQ “meetings” with the public, there is some “bretheren” church by the border that is doing some “community outreach” (indoctrination) for the BLT crowd, of course it’s attached to the university.
I descend fr first Quakers to Delaware and Pennsylvania, as well as the Pennsylvania Mennonites/early Amish, mix in some German Reformed. I grew up there. My family experience with this has been “normal” to me and handed down through up to 10 or more generations into my upbringing. My husband and I have lived and worshiped with other sects, b/c of our geography through the years, the unavailability of our churches where we lived, and so, raised our kids in a church that was not mine, nor my husband’s….just to give them faith foundation. HOWEVER, upon moving to California 30… Read more »
Cal girl,
With the background you have given, you may not be comfortable in an Orthodox Church, but some of them, not all I am sure, are very conservative. Many Protestants are converting to Orthodoxy for that reason. Your bible study may very well be the only and best place for you, but if you haven’t already, check some of the Orthodox churches out. There is an American Orthodox Church, but here’s a hint: the further east you go…Greece Orthodox….Serbian Orthodox ……..Russsian Orthodox, the more conservative they seem to get.
Thank you Lana. Yes…when our kids were younger and we were visiting relatives “back East” from the intermountain West where we lived at the time, we stopped to visit/aquaint our kids with an Orthodox Church in Mt. Union, PA (I think Russian Orthodox, b/c there is a “spine” of Russian Orthodox up through PA Appalachia). I will look into this in CA then. Meanwhile, please do not turn me in to Nancy Pelosi or Robert Mueller for “Russian Collusian.”
Ha ha, notice how I worded my communication lest I be accused of the same!!!
All of these refugee/illegal immigration supporting activities, within churches and through parishioners, are still going on in full force right now. It’s just that the funding is coming from other [Soros] than the US government.
I think you are right. Let’s ask ourselves how far any of us would get traveling over 1700 miles with no money in our pockets. Someone is handing out goodies as incentives, and goodies along the way.
Yep. Soros (one of his organizations) is giving out debit cards. All of them have new cell phones. It ain’t the poor we grew up with.
“To which, Jesus calmly replied that we are to abide by the government’s laws: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” (Luke 20:25)” – NO- Get yourself educated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYf7wt5Gn5Y
So….now that the gravy-train is dried up….
We have children without baths…without toothpaste…going hungry.
Great job Christians!