Maryland's Dream Act: unborn

Friday, April 27, 2012

all the grimy little uns

In 2012, the Catholic Church in the United States is crucified between two thieves. That's not such a bad place to be, given our history, our roots, our future, our sign, our nourishment, our heroes, our Lord. Still, it's fun to fuss.

On one hand, there's an administration that has demanded that all employers provide insurance for contraception and sterilization and chemically induced abortion. The Church objects that this requirement is a violation of their conscience and also of a truce that has been in place for 30 years. On the other hand, there's a political party that has blocked all efforts to accept 12 million facts on the ground: undocumented immigrants. The Church objects that inhospitality is a violation of the nation's conscience, and a transformation of our national identity.

Dear Lord, protect the unknown unnamed unnumbered unwanted unloved unborn, and also the undocumented unwashed unfed unemployed uprooted unwanted illegals. Teach us to cherish and protect all the grimy little Uns you have placed in our lives.

Intro

There are about 12 million immigrants in the United States without legal documentation. Numerous efforts to solve the challenge of illegal immigration have failed. One such effort is the Dream Act. The federal Dream Act addresses the national challenge, but there are other state efforts as well, including the Maryland Dream Act. The Maryland law deals with a very small piece of the overall issue: it would provide in-state tuition rates at community colleges and in-state tuition rates for juniors and seniors at four-year state colleges and universities, to undocumented immigrants who meet a list of conditions. The law passed in April 2011, but opponents of the bill collected signatures to force a referendum on the issue in the 2012 election. Polls in late 2011 indicated that voters were split, but the bill was likely to go down in defeat.

Many of the leaders of the opposition to the Dream Act are conservatives who identify themselves as Christian. My intent to is open and maintain a civil argument among Christians on the issue. It is not my intention to exclude anyone from the debate; I am focusing on a debate among Christians because that’s who I am.

I am convinced that Christians who oppose the Dream Act have overlooked the clear and forceful teaching of Bible and the Church throughout the ages.

The easiest example: nearly everyone makes a mistake in discussions of the Last Judgment as described in Matthew 25. Nearly everyone makes the SAME mistake -- and it’s an interesting one. (See "9 of 10 ...")

So let’s talk.