Illegal Immigration And The Papacy
By Robert Klein Engler (04/15/05)
The death of Pope John Paul II opens up papal politics for the world to see. What interest groups in the Church will clash or harmonize? Who among the College of Cardinals has the best chance to be elected Pope? What possibility is there that the Pope will be an American? These are some questions the faithful and curious ask.
The possibility of a man from the U. S. becoming Pope are slim according to most papal observers. They argue that the U. S. already has too much power in the world. For others in the Vatican, the idea of a Pope from the U. S. does not show up clearly on their radar. They have not come to appreciate yet the meaning of the New World and America.
The New World is not mentioned in the Bible. For almost 1,500 years it was unknown to the Popes. Eurocentric factions in the Church are still trying to understand the meaning of America in general and the United States in particular. Someone like Abraham Lincoln, who has not been canonized a saint, but is regarded as a saintly man by many, is difficult to explain from a Eurocentric perspective. Furthermore, the idea of "American Exceptionalism," that motivates some U. S. politics is threatening to many in the Vatican who have a global, transnational perspective.
There are those in the Vatican who hope the Italians get the Papacy back. They argue that the Pope is foremost the bishop of Rome, and therefore should be Italian. This might happen, because pro-Italian forces make up a large voting block in the College of Cardinals. Some leading Italian candidates are Dionigi Cardinal Tettamanzi of Milan, Angelo Cardinal Scola, the archbishop of Venice, Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re, a Vatican bureaucrat, and Tarciso Cardinal Bertone of Genoa.
Then there are those who prefer a non-Italian Pope, but do not want a man from Asia or Africa. They argue that it is not the right time to elect a Pope from those areas of the world. A non-Italian mentioned often is Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, but most important of the non-Italians are those candidates from Latin America. These include Oscar Andres Cardinal Maradiaga of Honduras and Claudio Cardinal Hummes of Sao Paolo, Brazil. It could be that those who favor a Latin American Pope will prevail.
If we do have a new Pope from Latin America, then it will signal what the shape and policies of the Church will be for many years. A new Latin American Pope will certainly have as an agenda a confrontation with U. S. secularism. Many in the Vatican believe that two of the most unchristian forces in the world have been Soviet communism and American secularism. The battle with Soviet communism was won by the past Pope. That leaves the battle with American secularism up to the next Pope.
Writing in Global Nation, Lito B. Zulueta looks at the politics of selecting a new Pope from a Filipino perspective, a perspective that may give those in the New World a broader view on papal politics. Claiming there are 90,000 documented Filipinos in Italy alone, Zulueta states that the new Pope is expected to be "global" in his orientation. He writes, "Typical of how 'global' is widely if sometimes disparately interpreted, Filipinos here see it as meaning basically 'pro-immigration.'"
Zulueta continues, "Under Pope John Paul II, the Church had campaigned for the relaxation of Italian immigration policies. Some Italian prelates openly lobbied for immigration amnesty 'for Filipinos and Latin Americans,' said George Weigel, the papal biographer. There's an evangelical dimension to the Filipinos' wish for a "pro-immigration" Pope. "The Pope called the Filipino migrant workers the new missionaries..." If this is the case regarding Filipinos in Italy, you may also expect the same rhetoric regarding Mexicans who immigrate illegally to the U. S.
The elevation of a man from Latin America to the papacy could complicate matters for those hoping to stem the tide of illegal immigration from Mexico to the U. S. The politics of the Church confronting secularism may include policies to increase the number of Roman Catholics in the United States. One way to do this is to support politicians who favor amnesty for illegal immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries which are mostly Roman Catholic. A pro-immigration Pope may see illegal immigrants to the U. S. as new missionaries, too, in the battle against secularism.
Even if the new Pope is not from Latin America, expect the Church to campaign against abortion, gay marriage and other secular movements. Expect also that the issue of illegal immigration will figure in this debate about secularism. It would be a shame if this debate used New World illegal immigrants to open up Old World wounds. Protestants and Catholics might once again confront one another in the nation that Abraham Lincoln suffered to unite.
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