TNSFIDCOTEOTFE

Ohhhh! How we wish this were true!

In fact, it’s like an ole fashion good news-bad news-sad news joke delivered as an email with a link to a Facebook post that began: 

"BREAKING: The Catholic Church enrages MAGA world as the Archdiocese of Miami unequivocally condemns [TNSFIDCOTEOTFE] as ‘unbecoming of public officials’ and ‘corrosive of the common good.’ The Church has quickly become Donald Trump's greatest enemy: ...”

[EDITORS’ NOTE: Because the Trump-DeSantis-chosen name for this detention center was designed to be as dehumanizing as possible, our editorial policy is to refer to it as TNSFIDCOTEOTFE - “the new state/federal immigrant detention center on the edge of the Florida Everglades.]

The good news is that on July 3 the official Web site of the Archdiocese of Miami published a “Statement by Archbishop Thomas Wenski on Immigration Enforcement.”

The bad news is that the Statement received as much publicity as a South Florida mid-summer rain shower and was overshadowed (drowned) by coverage of a dead serial rapist of teenage girls and his equally-rapist accomplice. 

The sad news is that the Statement was signed by only one of the state’s eight bishops.

Nonetheless, without giving a “tinker’s damn” about alleged enragement of some folks, we’re sharing the Archbishop’s statement:

“The bishops of the United States have long been advocates of reforms to our broken immigration system. Thoughtful observers of the challenges facing our country cannot help but recognize that serious reforms are necessary to preserve safety and the integrity of our borders, as well as to accommodate needs for labor, family stability, and the ability of those at risk of grave harm to migrate. We continue to propose reforms that will enhance our immigration system, respect “human dignity, and promote the common good. 

The administration has effectively achieved control of the border. It is aggressively moving to remove and deport “bad actors,” those who have entered the country and committed serious crimes, but, as employers in the agricultural or services sectors of our economy can tell you, most immigrants are hardworking and honest and only want to build a hopeful future for themselves and their families.

“The majority, although not having permanent legal status, do enjoy some form of status such as TPS (Temporary Protective Status), parole, or a pending asylum application. Some (Haitians, Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans) came with special humanitarian visas good for two years, but conditions in their countries of origin have yet to improve. Others came legally as students or visitors and fell out of status.  The Dreamers were brought by their parents, and while the government has afforded them “deferred departure,” they have no path to legal permanent residence. 

“The US faces labor shortages in many industries, including healthcare, service, and agriculture. Removing immigrant workers will only exacerbate these shortages. Rather than spending billions to deport people who are already contributing positively to our nation’s well-being, it would be more financially sensible and more morally acceptable for Congress, working with the Administration, to expand legal pathways for non-criminal migrants to adjust to a permanent legal status. The administration is responsible for enforcing the laws, but Congress makes the laws and has the authority to change them. 

“As the new detention center at Dade-Collier Airport, also known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ becomes operational, it seems necessary to take stock of recent developments in immigration enforcement and reiterate the need for more than enforcement-only measures. 

“It is alarming to see enforcement tactics that treat all irregular immigrants as dangerous criminals. Masked, heavily armed agents who do not identify themselves during enforcement activities are surprising - so is the apparent lack of due process in deportation proceedings in recent months.

“Along these lines, much of the current rhetoric is obviously intentionally provocative. It is unbecoming of public officials and corrosive of the common good to speak of the deterrence value of “alligators and pythons” at the Collier-Dade facility. Common decency requires that we remember the individuals being detained are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of distressed relatives. We wish to ensure that chaplains and pastoral ministers can serve those in custody, to their benefit and that of the staff. We also raise concerns about the isolation of the detention facility, which is far from medical care centers, and the precariousness of the temporary “tent” structures in the Florida heat and summer thunderstorms, not to mention the challenge of safely protecting detainees in the event of a hurricane. 

“We call on all people of goodwill to pray for our government officials, for those in immigration custody and their families, for those who work in enforcement, and for justice for all in this nation, whose prosperity immigrants have always contributed to.”

A quick little YouTube opens with the line “This guy did so much that instead of Hollywooding it up they actually had to Hollywood it down.”

The citation ends with “His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.” Between April 29 and May 21, 1945, Private First Class Desmond Thomas Doss

“…refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them one by one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On 2 May, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and two days later he treated four men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within eight yards of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making four separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On 5 May, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small-arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small-arms fire, and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On 21 May, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aidman from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited five hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, this time suffering a compound fracture of one arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Private First Class Doss saved the lives of many soldiers.”

In a time when the current President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense seem focused on a “warrior ethos,” they and the nation might remember – and return to the values of – a Seventh Day Adventist and conscientious objector who refused to carry a weapon into combat because of his religious and personal beliefs, yet was awarded two Bronze Stars with a “V” for combat valor, was wounded four times during at the infamous Battle of Hacksaw Ridge and the Battle of Okinawa, and was presented the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman “in the name of the United States Congress.”

During World War II, over 70,000 men were designated conscientious objectors; most opposed bearing arms because of religious beliefs; 25,000 served as medics and chaplains.  

Desmond Doss lives in history as a permanent symbol of the “ethos” the nation deserves and demands.

Honoring Desmond Doss, it is time for Americans of Faith to give living express to Scripture’s edicts

"The stranger who resides with you shall be to you 
as the native among you, 
and you shall love him as yourself, 
for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: 
I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 19:34

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,
for by so doing some have shown hospitality
to angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:2

The Gospels – especially the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes and the Parable of the Good Samaritan – must bind the consciences of all Christians. The Gospels oblige political and military leaders, as well as every person of Faith, to form our consciences properly and in accord with the Truth, as it can be known to us. In the treatment of immigrants – with and without documents, regardless of age but especially concerning children and minors – we are bound to recognize that they are all children of the same God Christians and Jews claim to worship. The Gospels and two millennia of Christian theology demand that we recognize the humanity of others without regard to their race or nation of origin. The Gospels and two millennia of Christian theology demand that religious leaders and theologians develop a new Theology of Conscientious Objection for members of the military, ICE agents and others involved in the establishment and enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws.

The Gospels and two millennia of Christian tradition demand nothing less of the nation’s religious leaders than a straightforward statement of the acceptable – and unacceptable – actions of every law enforcement officer – from the newest hire to presidential appointees – in the just and proper administration of immigration laws. When - if – religious leaders fail to provide these pastoral guidelines, they fail as pastors.

When – if – religious and political leaders, ICE agents and local law enforcement officials fail to treat immigrants justly – without regard to documentation, they dishonor the memory of Desmond Doss and every other man and woman who fought – often giving their lives – for the ideal “all men are created equal.”