Mahony Calls Prop. 187 a Threat to Moral Principles, Urges Its Defeat

Saying the measure would undermine “clear moral principles” of “compassion and welcome,” Cardinal Roger Mahony on Saturday called on California Roman Catholics to defeat Proposition 187, which promises sweeping crackdowns on public benefits for undocumented immigrants.

The spiritual leader of 3 million Catholics in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties also said the so-called “save our state” initiative runs counter to the church’s teachings and traditions because it would harm families.

“The church recognizes and supports the need for immigration reform,” the cardinal said. “But Prop. 187 is fraught with measures that will tear families apart and will have a severe negative impact on children.”

Mahony made his remarks in a homily during a Mass before several hundred people at the 17th annual Multiethnic Celebration of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Mass, in a gymnasium at Cantwell-Sacred Heart High School in Montebello, followed a procession of Catholic immigrants from 38 nations.

Paying tribute to the immigrants, the cardinal said that the church and the nation share a history of people who have made risky decisions worthy of respect to move in search of better lives for their families.

“Together, we can take a step toward protecting families by seeing to it that Prop. 187 never becomes law,” he said.

The initiative would, among other things, bar illegal immigrants from public elementary and secondary schools. To stay in school, children would have to prove their legal status.

Proposition 187 also would bar publicly funded clinics and hospitals from providing all but emergency care to the undocumented. And it would require law enforcement agencies to notify the Immigration and Naturalization Service of any arrestees “suspected” of being illegal immigrants.

Mahony’s opposition to the initiative came as no surprise. The Catholic bishops of California had joined the top leadership of all the state’s other major religious denominations in announcing their opposition. And Mahony had denounced the measure at a conference for Latino Catholics, calling it “a devastating assault on human dignity,” and more recently in a pastoral letter in a church newspaper.

In the letter, he said the initiative would harm everyone. Youngsters deprived of education would constitute “a new class of young people without the opportunity to grow and develop,” undocumented immigrants deprived of health care would pose a public health threat, and health care workers and educators would create widespread distrust because of requirements that they not only deny services but report to the INS people they suspect are here illegally.

Mahony last used his pulpit to comment on a ballot initiative two years ago when he blasted ill-fated Proposition 161, which would have allowed the terminally ill to choose doctor-assisted suicide.