By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald
A number of Catholic leaders in Hawaii have added their voices to the critical backlash against President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order banning immigrants and refugees from seven mostly Muslim nations.
The directive created a firestorm of controversy as it initially blocked the entry of refugees slated to enter the country. The order was quickly blocked by a number of court decisions.
Terry Walsh, the new president and CEO of Catholic Charities Hawaii, on Feb. 6 issued a critique of the president’s order that tapped into his own personal experience.
“Where would we be as a country if not for its rich history of welcoming immigrants from all over the world? Most of us would not even be here,” he wrote. “My wife wasn’t born in this country. We have seven foster sons who are Sudanese refugees. My mother-in-law is a Vietnamese immigrant. My wife’s aunt is a Vietnamese refugee. My great-great grandparents were immigrants from Ireland.
“This, in many ways, is a typical American family, made up of a quilt-work of different languages, cultures and ethnicities,” he said.
“In Hawaii, this is more evident than on the Mainland. Hawaii’s population is the most diverse in the nation, 75 percent of which is comprised of a mixture of different ethnicities,” Walsh said.
Walsh drew on his 20-plus years of work in refugee and immigration programs with Catholic Charities on the Mainland and with the United Nations to repudiate President Trump’s action.
“With this perspective, I can say with confidence that the vetting process for refugees coming into the U.S. is comprehensive and exhaustive,” he said. “Very few refugees make it all the way through the vetting process, with less than half of one percent of all of the world’s refugees eventually resettled in the U.S.”
Catholic Charities Hawaii has a long tradition of assisting refugees and immigrants, Walsh said.
“Catholic Charities Hawaii will continue to advocate on behalf of all people, especially those with the greatest need, regardless of their faith or culture, and serve them with the greatest care and compassion,” he said.
The local Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet released a statement by their congregation on the executive order, asking the president to cancel it.
“We the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, urge President Trump to lift the recent executive order on refugee and immigrant resettlement,” they said. “We also call upon congressional representatives to respect the rights and dignity of all persons and to respond to the needs of refugees in a way that is always humane, just and loving.”
The sisters continued, “We are committed to being persons of unifying love grounded in prayer, contemplation, nonviolence and faith.”
“We reflect and seek open spaces for dialogue which balance concerns for national safety with being a welcoming nation,” they said. “May we see, listen, and continue to prioritize the best responses to the situations of refugees today.”
On Feb. 7, Marianist Brother Bernard Ploeger, president of Chaminade University, issued a statement on behalf of himself and the university’s leadership council in response to “a flood of reaction including on our campus.” His statement essentially repeated and affirmed the Jan. 30 letter issued by the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“The bond between Christians and Muslims is founded on the unbreakable strength of charity and justice,” the U.S. bishops said. “The church will not waver in her defense of our sisters and brothers of all faiths who suffer at the hands of merciless persecutors.
“The refugees fleeing from ISIS and other extremists are sacrificing all they have in the name of peace and freedom,” they said. “Many are families, no different from yours or mine, seeking safety and security for their children. Our nation should welcome them as allies in a common fight against evil. We must screen vigilantly for infiltrators who would do us harm, but we must always be equally vigilant in our welcome of friends.”
Brother Ploeger wrote, “We hold ourselves to the commitment of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Conference and ask the same of all members of the campus community.”
Damien Memorial School’s president and CEO Wes Reber Porter on Jan. 30 wrote a letter to “members of the Damien community” about the impact the executive order has had on “our teaching and community values at Damion Memorial School.”
“I write today because the young men and women who attend Damien’s middle and high school are watching,” he said. “We teach our students to live according to their personal faith, morals and values.”
“At Damien, we advocate for peace, justice and global awareness. We prepare students to help create a just society that uplifts the poor and marginalized,” he said.
“Our students need to know that the executive order and travel restrictions dearly run counter to our teachings at Damien. This is not how we view immigrants, refugees and those marginalized by injustice. These are not the American values our service members defend,” he said.
“At Damien, our hope is that we use these events to reinforce our Catholic teachings and community values while recognizing the lessons of service and advocacy around us,” Porter said.
