Greeley – Archbishop Charles Chaput urged people to exhibit more compassion in the debate over illegal immigration and said the Catholic Church supports comprehensive reform that includes a pathway to legality for undocumented immigrants.
The meeting at Our Lady of Peace Church on Monday was the first of several meetings Chaput plans to hold on immigration.
“Sometimes, there is more heat than light,” he said. “It’s the job of the church to reduce the heat and increase the light.”
Comprehensive immigration reform should include a way for illegal immigrants who already live and work here to gain legal status, he said. Any racism involved in the discussion in a sin, he said.
“Because someone has broken the law does not take away their human dignity,” he said. “The application and implementation of laws can hurt families. … To say these people have no chance to regularize their situation goes against the common good.”
Parishioners and community members who attended the town hall were at odds on the issue.
Barbara Martin, of Fort Collins, said people entering the country should learn how to speak English. Her daughter works in a Texas hospital, and Martin said there is controversy about emergency medical care for undocumented immigrants. “It’s hard to know how far we can go in our admission of illegal peoples,” she said.
A young woman in the audience, Lluvia Gutierrez, challenged Martin to support comprehensive reform so immigrants can receive an education and contribute to society.
“They want to resolve it, but they don’t want to fix it for us,” she said. “I want to go to college, I work and I think the country is overlooking the even bigger contributions we could be making.”
Pres Montoya, a former Greeley school board member, was disappointed that the archbishop did not take a stronger stand on the issue.
“The church has taken positions on candidates for choice but not on whether they support immigration reform,” he said. “I thought he would be able to take a stronger stand on behalf of Coloradans for immigration reform.”
Staff writer Elizabeth Aguilera can be reached at 303-820-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com.
