Phil Lawler at Catholic Culture posits that the bishops are playing a dangerous game – supporting the democrat’s ‘comprehensive immigration reform’ bill (also known as amnesty with no border protection) – while knowing that the democrats will use this bill to advance another aspect of their radical (and un-Catholic) social agenda. You see, the bishops have added provisions to advance same-sex marriage in the immigration bill. Isn’t that odd – how does gay marriage relate to immigration? The same way abortion relates to health care – it’s a core part of the remaking of American society.
So the bishops are supporting the immigration bill, but demanding it be changed. The bishops tried this game with Obamacare, and got burned:
Do you recognize the pattern? Several months ago the US bishops took a clear position in favor of comprehensive health-care reform. Their enthusiasm for the Obama administration’s proposal was limited only by their reservations about the funding of abortion.
How did that work out? The Democratic majority highlighted the bishops’ support for health-care reform and–citing the bishops’ own words about the need for a solution that went beyond partisan ideological concerns–insisted that the bill deserved Catholic support despite the abortion-funding problem. The Democrats won that round; the bishops lost.
Undaunted by that defeat, the US bishops are using exactly the same strategy in their approach to the immigration debate.
I’ll add a further aspect to this – three years ago, the bishops through the USCCB supported the McCain-Kennedy-Bush ‘Amnesty’ bill, which was a catastrophic failure. That bill was opposed by 65% of the American people. Opposition to the new bill is even higher – topping 70%. I understand the bishops feel they are trying to advance their vision of Catholic social doctrine, but this could be another embarrasing situation where the bishops put their reputation at stake and either get burned by the dems and wind up having to retract their support, or are attached to a complete failure. What is more, supporting this bill is yet another chance for severe confusion on the part of the large majority of Catholics who don’t know the Faith and who are easily moved by influence peddlers in the media.
During the Obamacare debate, because of the parsing of the alternative magisterium of progressive Catholic publications, groups, politicians, and religious orders, a significant portion of American Catholics came to think the Church supports abortion rights. Shouldn’t the bishops be exceedingly careful that a similar situation does not recur, with the alternative magisterium again leading the faithful to a completely wrong conclusion?