The National Catholic Reporter gives an update on the US Bishops’ National Call in Day for the Dreamers. You can read about it here.

The activist page on the USCCB website is here.

With the March 5th deadline looming, we ask once again that Members of Congress show the leadership necessary to find a just and humane solution for these young people, who daily face mounting anxiety and uncertainty.

Therefore, the bishops are asking individuals to contact their Members of Congress to urge them to:

  • Protect Dreamers from deportation
  • To provide them a path to citizenship
  • And, to avoid any damage to existing protections for families and unaccompanied minors in the process

To take part in the Call-In-Day to Protect Dreamers, please contact your Members of Congress by calling 855-589-5698 and visiting https://justiceforimmigrants.org/what-we-are-working-on/immigration/daca-resource-page/ (English and Spanishdownloads are available).

I am sure this is a worthy enterprise and one of the ways Catholics should be involved in the public square. I support the fair and compassionate treatment of immigrants and ways to keep families together, and I’m glad our bishops have stood up for the marginalized. No criticism from me on this initiative.

However, I do wonder what happened to the “seamless garment”. Our peace and justice efforts are all meant to be part of the same pro life effort aren’t they?

Why then did we not have a similar effort before the Senate’s vote on Lindsey Graham’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the run up to the vote on January 29?

It could be that there was a similar media campaign and Call in Day push by the Catholic Bishops, but I missed it. If such a campaign did take place and it escaped me, then I am happy to be corrected.

I suspect, however, that the pro life office of the USCCB did not undertake such a campaign. If this is the case, then what happens to the “seamless garment” so trumpeted by our Catholic leadership?

Furthermore, why has only one of our Bishops spoken out about the fourteen Senators who present themselves publicly as Catholics, but who voted for the dismemberment of unborn children?

As far as I know, so far Bishop Paprocki is the only one who has publicly called out Senator Dick Durbin for his bloody decision and called for him not to present himself for communion.

Canonist Ed Peters points out that the actions of these senators do not require formal excommunication, but the proper response is that of Bishop Paprocki–for this public offense against decency and their Catholic faith calls for a public reprimand and a request that they do not present themselves for communion unless they also publicly repent and change their heart and mind on this issue.

While I support the Bishops’ call for a generous response to immigrants, I wonder whether there was a similar call to action on behalf of the unborn.

That is, after all, what the seamless garment is all about isn’t it?

As a reminder this post outlines the problem and names the fourteen.