POPE FRANCIS AND IMMIGRATION
Author: New York Immigration lawyer Alena Shautsova
Pope Francis is not only the leader of the Catholic Church, but also a strong and influential political figure. His actions and manifests are being construed as messages not only to the Catholics, but to the whole world, every person, regardless of confession. The world watches and listens to his every word, every step, and every visit he makes, be it a manifesto regarding gay members of the Church, a visit to Cuba, or his anticipated addresses before the United Nations. The Catholic Church that has remained one of the most conservative institutions for centuries received a progressive and open-hearted leader who over the years achieved through reforms more, than certain societies in decades…
It is not a coincidence that meeting with an Immigrant community in New York is a part of the Pope’s schedule during his 2015 September visit. Perhaps, by visiting children-immigrants, the Pope would like to direct our attention to the one issue the U.S. is more capable of resolving but has neglected to effectively address for some time. Of course, Pope Francis does not have a vote in the Congress and cannot force any world leader to accept his point of view, but he can show that only people, people themselves who elected their leaders can bring a change. While we all can sit and complain that the U.S. government, the President, Republican or Democrats do not do anything, we all should ask ourselves, what we did to change the situation…
Regardless of the answer, one thing is clear, if Pope Francis made it a point to accent his visit on the U.S. Immigration issue, it is time to really address it, and address it by DOING something, rather than complaining. It is without a doubt the U.S. declared increased numbers of Syrian refugees will help a little to alleviate the European refugee crisis, the U.S. can and has to address inner Immigration problems as well.