Boston Cardinal Hopes for ‘More Humane’ Immigration

BOSTON – After federal immigration officials spirited away to Texas nearly half of the 327 people arrested in a March 6 raid on a New Bedford handbag and backpack factory, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston called for “some kind of comprehensive immigration reform.”

“While immigration reform is urgent, the needs of the women and children in New Bedford are desperate,” Cardinal O’Malley said in the Boston Globe in an opinion piece titled “A more humane immigration policy.”

According to news reports, Massachusetts officials, including Gov. Deval Patrick, were angered that before caseworkers from the state Department of Social Services were allowed to speak to detainees to determine whether any of those arrested had left children behind at home or school, almost half of the detainees were flown to Texas.

Federal officials refused to share with the state a list of those detained, and have refused requests by the state to halt additional flights.

“I hope our first priority is the families who were impacted, not a search for the villains,” Cardinal O’Malley said.

Pope: Confession Helps Those with ‘Guilt Complexes’

VATICAN CITY – Many people today seem to have a difficult time recognizing sin, but at the same time the number of people suffering from “guilt complexes” seems to be growing, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“We see a humanity that wants to be self-sufficient, where not a few maintain they can do without God and still live well, and yet so many seem sadly condemned to face dramatic situations” of emptiness, violence and solitude, the pope said.

“Today it seems that a ‘sense of sin’ has been lost, but in return ‘guilt complexes’ have increased,” he told priests and seminarians participating in a Vatican-sponsored course on the sacrament of confession.

The sacrament of confession, he said, makes the love and mercy of God visible and gives people the grace they need to continue fighting sin.

Polish Prelate Sees No Need To Tighten Anti-Abortion Law

WARSAW, Poland – A Polish archbishop has said there is no need to tighten anti-abortion laws by amending the Polish Constitution.

“I’m convinced our constitution protects life decisively enough at this moment,” said Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski of Gdansk. “The stable situation now created should prompt us not to take actions which could dramatize or complicate things even more.”

The archbishop told Poland’s Catholic information agency, KAI, March 11 that people have the “right to life from conception to natural death – if we want to be Christians, we should never abandon this.”

However, he said that Poland “must be guided by realism, and not let loose some yearning for good which causes a drama.”

In an interview with Poland’s Radio Zet he said Poland already had “one of the best laws” in Europe restricting abortions and would risk “unleashing a (political) war” if further changes were attempted.

Priest’s Arrest Highlights Vietnamese Rights Crackdown

WASHINGTON – The arrest of Father Nguyen Van Ly in February by Vietnamese police was denounced by members of Congress and several Vietnamese-American rights activists during a March 14 press conference at a House office building.

Father Ly, who was arrested inside the rectory of the cathedral in Hue, Vietnam, is “the vocal heartbeat of their country,” said U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., who visited Father Ly and other religious rights and human rights activists in the country last year.

“All they want is human rights and freedom.”

Doan Viet Hoat, chairman of the Washington-based International Institute for Vietnam, said the monthlong Vietnamese crackdown on activists in the spheres of religious rights, labor rights and human rights took place “right after Vietnam gained entry to the WTO (World Trade Organization), met with the Holy See, and right after the issuance of the 2006 U.S. human rights annual report.”

In that report, Vietnam was listed as “a country of concern” over the human rights situation there.

Vatican Criticizes Jesuit Liberation Theologian

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican strongly criticized the work of Jesuit Father Jon Sobrino, a leading proponent of liberation theology, saying some of his writings relating to the divinity of Christ were “not in conformity with the doctrine of the Church.”

In publishing a detailed notification, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said it wanted to warn pastors and ordinary Catholics of the “erroneous or dangerous propositions” in Father Sobrino’s work.

The notification did not, however, impose any disciplinary measures on Father Sobrino, such as limiting his right to teach or publish as a Catholic theologian.
Father Sobrino, 69, was born in Spain and has taught for many years at the Jesuit-run Central American University in El Salvador.

Father Sobrino, in a letter to Jesuit superior Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, said the criticisms in the Vatican notification misrepresented his theology.

He said some Vatican curial officials and other Church leaders are trying to put an end to liberation theology.

Nun to Accompany Texas Man to His Execution

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Sister Doris Moore is against the state killing inmates for personal and religious reasons.

Her friend, Vincent Gutierrez, is on death row in Texas and is scheduled to be executed March 28. Sister Doris plans to be there.

“I’ve been with him on the whole journey,” said Sister Doris, who began corresponding with Gutierrez in 1998 when he had just arrived on death row at age 19.

After an initial letter to introduce herself, Sister Doris – then working at one of her order’s wellness centers in San Antonio – committed to driving four hours to Livingston, Texas, to visit Gutierrez at least twice a year.