Public advocacy part of church work with immigrants, says cardinal

Published: 2007-01-25

ST. PAUL (CNS) -- The church must supplement its ministerial programs with political advocacy if it is to meet the needs of the growing immigrant population in the United States, said Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony. Some people question the church's role in politics or challenge the church's position on immigration reform, but the church's mission is not limited to people's spiritual well-being, the cardinal said. "Our concern is with the whole person and his or her human development," he said Jan. 18 at an immigration conference at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. The Jan. 18-19 conference was sponsored by the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity and the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. Catholics should form their opinions on immigration by considering the capacity of the United States to accept immigrants and the benefits immigrant workers provide to the nation's economy, the cardinal said.

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