Opinion: Bishops' immigration warning is a wakeup call. Will politicians answer?

"As we move into the holiday season with its familiar messages of peace and goodwill, it is worth pausing to hear a powerful warning from American faith leaders about the Trump administration's government-sanctioned cruelty toward immigrants. The U.S. Catholic Bishops' recent special statement on immigrants is an important moral intervention in our time. Our history shows that when faith communities speak with moral clarity about social crises, it often precedes the moment when political leaders finally wake up."

"History provides the pattern. Before the Revolution, ministers who had fled tyranny understood how easily power could twist religion into oppression. When Boston's Rev. Jonathan Mayhew declared in 1750 that resistance to tyranny is obedience to God, he warned a people who would soon fight for their freedom. John Adams later called Mayhew's preaching the spark that ignited the American Revolution."

"The bishops' message today is plain and urgent. They condemn indiscriminate mass deportation, call out the vilification of immigrants, and assure those suffering that you are not alone. They urge Catholics to welcome immigrants, support ministries that aid them, reject dehumanizing rhetoric, and defend the God-given dignity of every person. This is a moral alarm bell, the kind America has long relied upon, usually arriving before political leaders finally find their courage."

U.S. Catholic Bishops condemn indiscriminate mass deportation, denounce vilification of immigrants, and assure those suffering that they are not alone. They urge Catholics to welcome immigrants, support ministries that aid them, reject dehumanizing rhetoric, and defend the God-given dignity of every person. The statement frames this as a moral alarm bell calling for courageous political response. Historical precedents show faith leaders speaking with moral clarity often precede turning points—from pre-Revolution ministers to abolitionists, Social Gospel reformers, civil-rights clergy, and anti-war pastors. Faith leaders face backlash for speaking truth, including violence against clergy engaged in immigrant advocacy.

Read at www.mercurynews.com