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Megamarch, April 9th in downtown Dallas
This political march event is looking to be HUGE. If you can go to a Mass other than any at the Cathedral this day, it is highly advised. I've got an e-mail in to the contact on the web page and a post on the Yahoo boards trying to find out the route. As a downtown resident, this is not only going to mess with my being able to go to my usual Mass at the Cathedral, but it's also going to mess up any plans I have of getting out of downtown.
I wish this political movement could have waited two weeks, until Easter was over. I understand the reasonings behind the timing for the marches, but I'm still a touch irked. My Palm Sunday is going to be hosed. This is the last time that our RCIA class was going to get to meet in Mass, plus this is my first Palm Sunday as a Catholic. I'll probably end up going to the early morning Mass at St. Jude.
I e-mailed my RCIA teachers about this but have gotten no response so far. I'm sure we'll talk about it tonight. Maybe our class can go to Vigil Mass together or something. I'll keep the blog posted as I receive information.
UPDATE: I just e-mailed my City Councilperson, Angela Hunt, to see if she could find out the march route information. Ms. Hunt is an excellent councilperson and I'm so glad she got elected. I'm sure she'll respond as soon as she has time to get the information.
posted by DB @ 1:28:00 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
“You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the soul of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 23:9)
“And when a stranger resides among you in your Land, you shall not taunt him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am HaShem your God.” (Lev. 19:33-34)
“You shall not deliver a slave to his master who has escaped from his master to you. [Rather] he shall dwell with you in your midst, in whatever place he will choose in one of your cities, which is beneficial to him; you shall not taunt him.” (Deut. 23:16-17)
“Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”
That march is set for Palm Sunday not as inconvenience but to remind us that as Catholics we are called to a radical view of the world. Not only do we have the Eucharist, the actual body and blood of Christ, given to us, we are also called to minister to one another and to seek justice for the stranger in our midst.
“Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”
I think this is worth noting on this issue (hopefully following proper blog quoting rules):
CATHOLICS AND IMMIGRATION [Ramesh Ponnuru]
Republican congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner, Henry Hyde, and Pete King have sent an open letter to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. An excerpt:
Since the House bill's passage, many have misconstrued the House's good-faith effort to bring human traffickers to justice as a way to criminalize humanitarian assistance efforts. The House bill does no such thing, nor did it intend to.
We can assure you, just as under current law, religious organizations would not have to "card" people at soup kitchens and homeless shelters under the House bill's anti-smuggling provisions. Prosecutors would no sooner prosecute good Samaritans for "assisting" illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. under the House bill than they would prosecute such persons for "encouraging" illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. under current law, which has existed for nearly 20 years.
Nonetheless, we stand willing to work with you and other persons of good will to ensure humanitarian assistance efforts are not mistakenly ensnared in this moral effort to end suffering at the hands of human traffickers. We remain optimistic this goal can be achieved.
Lastly, we know many of you are concerned about the House bill's provision making illegal presence a felony. We share that concern. As you should know, during the House debate, Chairman Sensenbrenner offered an amendment to reduce the bill's penalty for illegal presence from a felony to a misdemeanor. Unfortunately, this amendment was unsuccessful, primarily because all but eight of our Democratic colleagues decided to play political games by voting to make all illegal immigrants felons. A felony penalty is neither appropriate nor workable. We remain committed to reducing this penalty and working with you to this end.
Thank you, BOTH of you. Vajra, for reminding me as to WHY the Church is making a stance, and John for pointing out a little more detail what the politics are.
On the other hand, it's still clear as mud. I understand both sides here, and as far as I can see, the measures do not interfere with the Catholic perspective.
So why the disturbance?
My main concern is that this is coming within a block of my house. That means that I cannot leave my house pretty much all day Sunday.
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