Waving the white flag?
I hate to resort to cliches, but this one fits: No good deed goes unpunished.
The June 11 issue of The Catholic New World included our annual Guide to Catholic Chicago. The cover theme celebrated how immigrants from around the world built the faith here. The cover depicted scores of national flags illustrating the ethnic breadth of Chicagoans whose roots lie elsewhere.
After the issue hit the mailboxes, the calls started.
I’m not naming names, but representatives of a couple of ethnic groups sounded off because THEIR country’s flag wasn’t shown. In one case, not only was THEIR flag not shown, but a rival nation’s was. Another call complained that their former country’s national colors, which were shown, had been superceded by a new flag. And they didn’t much like the rulers of that country THEN.
People, get a grip.
The many flags were a graphical device to demonstrate that Chicago-area Catholicism has roots in many different cultures and nations. It was NOT meant to identify all those who came from where and when.
I told the callers that, but I don’t think they believed me. Which is too bad.
Chicago—and the church which has flourished here—has been enriched in uncounted ways by people whose forbears came from elsewhere. This corner of the world echoes still with the accents, the flavors and even the languages of other places. And these have helped make Chicago—and our shared Catholicity—great.
It’s not always been without struggle. Immigrants haven’t always felt welcomed, even by other immigrants. But for the most part, we have been a welcoming people. That’s a core part of our faith.
Maybe that’s why I admit I was troubled by the reaction of some people to the art illustrating the article. Perhaps I’m naïve, but I thought it was welcoming to all people. I thought it showed that we can all get along. That’s especially important when the church is so deeply involved in urging a productive debate on immigration laws and policies which are not working well or which are, in fact, unfair and unjust.
The U.S. bishops, meeting in June in Los Angeles, reaffirmed the church’s commitment to a comprehensive immigration policy. (See stories, Page 1, 14, 15)
It is an action which, sadly, has angered many Catholics.
At the bishops’ meeting, USCCB president, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., acknowledged that, saying, “We have heard from Catholics and others of good will who both agree and disagree with us on how best to respond to the immigration crisis.”
Boy, do I understand.
The Catholic New World hears from many people upset by the church’s desire to impact current immigration legislation.
There are generally two types of critics: those who clearly don’t understand the Gospel-rooted efforts by the church, and those who think that immigration reform overshadows the debate on other vital cultural concerns. And some have lost perspective, living in a world in which tunnel vision sees only abortion, clergy sex-abuse and homosexuality as worthy issues of concern to Catholics.
They’re wrong. The Gospel call to justice is a broad one.
If you’re angry because you think the church is incorrect to support immigration reform, you owe it to yourself to know what is being said. Read these stories. Visit www.justiceforimmigrants.org. Don’t rely only on emotional reaction.
If you’re angry because you think the pope, the cardinals and the bishops are ignoring other vital issues in favor of immigration, you’re not paying attention to the many ways in which faithful Christians are called to challenge culture when it doesn’t reflect Gospel values.
And, yes, I suspect there’ll be some complaint letters about this column, too.
Tom Sheridan
Editor and General Manager
