The New York Times gets one right

In Friday's editorial section, the New York Times addressed the Ash Wednesday call by Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles for a campaign of civil disobedience by priests and laity against the government, should Congress pass H.R. 4437. The bill, making the sheltering and aiding of illegal immigrants a felony, was passed by the House in December and now has been incorporated into Senate legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Arlen Specter.

The Gospel vs. H.R. 4437

It has been a long time since this country heard a call to organized lawbreaking on this big a scale. Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, urged parishioners on Ash Wednesday to devote the 40 days of Lent to fasting, prayer and reflection on the need for humane reform of immigration laws. If current efforts in Congress make it a felony to shield or offer support to illegal immigrants, Cardinal Mahony said, he will instruct his priests — and faithful lay Catholics — to defy the law.

The cardinal's focus of concern is H.R. 4437, a bill sponsored by James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin and Peter King of New York. This grab bag legislation, which was recently passed by the House, would expand the definition of "alien smuggling" in a way that could theoretically include working in a soup kitchen, driving a friend to a bus stop or caring for a neighbor's baby…

After this brief synopsis of events, the Times gets to the point …and does so with a clarity of conscience not recently seen in the pages of the grey lady.

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Tag: immigration

The cardinal is right to argue that the government has no place criminalizing the charitable impulses of private institutions like his, whose mission is to help people with no questions asked. The Los Angeles Archdiocese, like other religious organizations across the country, runs a vast network of social service programs offering food and emergency shelter, child care, aid to immigrants and refugees, counseling services, and computer and job training. Through Catholic Charities and local parishes, the church is frequently the help of last resort for illegal immigrants in need…

Cardinal Mahony's declaration of solidarity with illegal immigrants, for whom Lent is every day, is a startling call to civil disobedience, as courageous as it is timely. We hope it forestalls the day when works of mercy become a federal crime.

New York Times

Say what you will about the Times of late, but this time thay got one right and deserve credit for doing so.