I think this is going to boomerang hard on the Church. Digital Hairshirt has a couple of really good observations from a legal perspective. I myself lived through the mess of good intentions several years ago when Catholic Charities and the Episcopalians brought a large number of Somalis to my neighborhood. It didn't go well. Most of the refugees had never seen a toilet, a sink or a stove and and they set fires at least once a week. Sometimes I'd be awakened twice in ONE night because the firemen were banging on the door looking for the fire. It was nerve wracking. And then there were the social issues... The ladies and the children were fine but some of the young men were aggressive. There was also the matter of the smell. The ladies naturally wanted to cook foods from home, most which to Western noses, stank horribly. My neighbors didn't blame the government. They grumbled about the Catholic Do-Gooders and busybodies, (everybody seemed to forget about the Episcopalians) who, in their eyes created the dangerous mess. One town up the road that also got a lot of Somalis ended up demanding that Catholic Charities not bring anymore people to their area. I'll bet most of the people who lived through that experience still bristle or shiver when they think about it.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Boomerang
The diocese of San Bernadino in California is working with the Federal government to deal with the latest immigrant crisis. Other dioceses are doing the same and various Catholic Charities offices have received grant money to provide services.
I think this is going to boomerang hard on the Church. Digital Hairshirt has a couple of really good observations from a legal perspective. I myself lived through the mess of good intentions several years ago when Catholic Charities and the Episcopalians brought a large number of Somalis to my neighborhood. It didn't go well. Most of the refugees had never seen a toilet, a sink or a stove and and they set fires at least once a week. Sometimes I'd be awakened twice in ONE night because the firemen were banging on the door looking for the fire. It was nerve wracking. And then there were the social issues... The ladies and the children were fine but some of the young men were aggressive. There was also the matter of the smell. The ladies naturally wanted to cook foods from home, most which to Western noses, stank horribly. My neighbors didn't blame the government. They grumbled about the Catholic Do-Gooders and busybodies, (everybody seemed to forget about the Episcopalians) who, in their eyes created the dangerous mess. One town up the road that also got a lot of Somalis ended up demanding that Catholic Charities not bring anymore people to their area. I'll bet most of the people who lived through that experience still bristle or shiver when they think about it.
I think this is going to boomerang hard on the Church. Digital Hairshirt has a couple of really good observations from a legal perspective. I myself lived through the mess of good intentions several years ago when Catholic Charities and the Episcopalians brought a large number of Somalis to my neighborhood. It didn't go well. Most of the refugees had never seen a toilet, a sink or a stove and and they set fires at least once a week. Sometimes I'd be awakened twice in ONE night because the firemen were banging on the door looking for the fire. It was nerve wracking. And then there were the social issues... The ladies and the children were fine but some of the young men were aggressive. There was also the matter of the smell. The ladies naturally wanted to cook foods from home, most which to Western noses, stank horribly. My neighbors didn't blame the government. They grumbled about the Catholic Do-Gooders and busybodies, (everybody seemed to forget about the Episcopalians) who, in their eyes created the dangerous mess. One town up the road that also got a lot of Somalis ended up demanding that Catholic Charities not bring anymore people to their area. I'll bet most of the people who lived through that experience still bristle or shiver when they think about it.
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