"Whether they are traveling because of poverty, or violence, or with the hope of reuniting with relatives on the other side of the border, it is urgent to protect them and help them because their vulnerability is greater and they are defenseless against any abuse or misfortune".
Pope Francis has hit the news several times in two days and the subjects of debate are shocking and straightforward: the Vatican admitted that at least 2% of all clergy (including bishops and cardinals) are ... pedophiles. Addressing the subject, the pontiff also questioned the efficacy of celibacy (!). And with a very quick shift in gears, Francis made pointed remarks about other juvenile victims: the refugees flooding Texas, Arizona and California borders from Central America.
"The Diocese of West Texas released this photo Wednesday of Central American refugee children apprehended at the southern U.S. border. Tens of thousands of them have fled their homes in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, hoping to reunite with relatives in the North. It's a humanitarian crisis, government agencies are overwhelmed, and the diocese is working with Episcopal Relief and Development and other agencies to find shelter, safety and legal protection for these refugees. It's like a human earthquake, caused by violence and worsened by politicians; meanwhile Episcopalians and other churches are trying to focus on the kids." From The Daily Office.
Obviously, Rick Perry didn't like what the pope said. In a FOX News interview with Brit Hume, Perry said that deporting the children during the immigration crisis brewing in the south was "the most humanitarian thing we can do." Perry lambasted Obama's efforts to support border patrol, intimating that it was his "Katrina." But although he stated that the children should be humanely accommodated, his strident tone for the children's reasons for being here in the first place took over:
The former Republican presidential candidate said that he knew refugees would send the message back to their families that troops were on the border because "their conversations are being monitored with calls back to Central America, and the message is 'Hey, come on up here, everything is great, they're taking care of us.' And that needs to stop."
No, Perry could have been pleased with the Pope's plea for
unconditional compassion.
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