San Antonio, Texas, Aug 13, 2009 / 08:31 am
Discussing the topic of immigration reform, Archbishop of San Antonio José H. Gomez is warning that those who break U.S. laws should not expect to escape punishment. However, instead of deportation, he is proposing community service as a “far more constructive solution” that would build communities rather than “tear them apart.”
In his latest column for the archdiocesean newspaper, which will be published on Friday, Archbishop Gomez will recount his personal history as both an American citizen and an immigrant. He was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico and some of his ancestors have been in present-day Texas since the early 19th century.
“I’ve always had family and friends on both sides of the border. So I have many conflicting emotions about the way this debate has played out in recent years,” he says.
But it’s not his personal life that drives his efforts to push for immigration reform, rather Archbishop Gomez writes that it’s the need for Catholics to be true witnesses to the “generous love of Christ” in observing the “spiritual, emotional, social and economic deterioration” that the law is causing both for immigrants and their families and the entire United States.