Kim Daniels, director of Catholic Voices USA, has an essay on immigration reform at the National Catholic Register. The article is important for a couple of reasons. First, it reminds us of the importance of family reunification as a priority in reform, not just getting immigrants with Ph.D's, and recalls Archbishop Jose Gomez's observation that we need immigrants not only to aid in our country's economic renewal, but in its spiritual and moral renewal as well.
There is another reason Daniels' essay is important. It is easy to push for immigration reform here at NCR. That is preaching to the choir. But, we need voices within the Catholic community that are willing to reach beyond the choir and to challenge people on all sides of our nation's political divides to confront the imperatives of their faith on any given issue - and on all issues - too. Catholics on the left need to ask their fellows on the left why they are so concerned about the right to a living wage and not so concerned about the right to life. Daniels, in this essay, is challenging those on the right to ask themselves if it is truly Catholic to be indifferent to plight of our immigrant brothers and sisters. Brava!
