The Immigrants’ Pope

La Opinion (Editorial)

September 23, 2015

The Immigrants’ Pope 

As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families.” Pope Francis chose the best words to introduce himself to the U.S. by pointing out a strong human connection that others may forget, but is still true for this nation.

For Latinos, those first words confirmed that the immigrant condition is among the visit’s priorities. The Pope’s voice, and his personal identification with immigration, is reassuring for a community that is being relentlessly bashed by presidential candidates seeking the support of the most xenophobic sector of their party.

Immigration is a hot topic around the world due to such situations as the Syrian refugee crisis, the violence in Central America or the mass displacement of people fleeing nations trapped by corruption or poverty. The Pope knows about this pain and alienation suffered by migrants and the global scale of the immigration problem.

The pontiff’s message ‒ so different from his predecessors’ ‒ makes a priority of the Church’s social doctrine, emphasizing the universality of topics such as the environment and poverty, and setting a tone of collective responsibility. Francis speaks of social morality instead of the values centered on the individual that our egotistical society promotes, where there is only either salvation or inflexible punishment.

Conservatives are already expressing objections that, although trying to be polite, make exotic analyses that seem to bend the Pope’s statements against capitalism. Some say that Francis is denouncing unfair and corrupted economic systems like the one in his native Argentina but that he does not know the way the U.S. works. They reject the idea that the savage capitalism he is referring to is actually ours, a system that allows an individual to raise the price of a vital and long-existing medication 4,000% higher overnight just because his soulless greed is perfectly legal.

Pope Francis is known for speaking his mind. Yesterday, he proved that this time will not be an exception. At the same time, he showed that he is the right diplomat to promote unity among the U.S. Catholic Church. We hope that his words and actions in defense of the most vulnerable will leave an indelible mark in our society.

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com