Let millions of illegals in, deport one Christian family

This story from the Christian Post is missing some needed details, but the overall picture shows us yet another example of our broken immigration system, and it may be an example of anti-Christian bias at work in our justice system.

 A German family that fled to the United States over 15 years ago after being fined thousands for homeschooling their children may be deported within the next few weeks, the advocacy group representing them says. 

The Home School Legal Defense Association says the the devout Christian Romeike, who came to the United States in 2008 on visas and lives in Tennessee, was told by their local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on Sept. 6 that they have four weeks to leave the country.

The Romeike family garnered national headlines when they requested asylum status because they wanted to homeschool their children for religious reasons. Homeschooling is banned in Germany under nearly all circumstances, and any parents who refuse to send their children to school can face fines, imprisonment or even lose custody of their children.

The decision to homeschool came from what HSLDA calls a "growing concern that the content of the German public school's curriculum — particularly anti-Christian and sexual elements — threatened to harm their children."

Initially, the U.S. federal government agreed not to deport the family. Although the Department of Homeland Security granted the Romeikes asylum, officials overturned the decision, and the family was granted indefinite deferred action status in 2014 after years of legal battles, according to the HSLDA.

Over the last decade, the family has regularly reported to their local ICE office and has been allowed to work and homeschool their children. 

ICE's decision to deport the family reportedly was announced during a routine check-in and came as a surprise to the couple and their seven children, two of whom are now adults and married.

In 2008, the Romeike family immigrated to the United States after experiencing harassment from the German government over their decision to homeschool their children.

The Romeikes faced years of legal battles in the U.S. as immigration officials argued that they did not meet the parameters for receiving asylum.

In May 2013, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit unanimously ruled against the Romeike family, arguing that they were not being persecuted for their beliefs.

"Congress might have written the immigration laws to grant a safe haven to people living elsewhere in the world who face government strictures that the United States Constitution prohibits. But it did not," read the panel opinion, in part.

Whoa! Tell that to those who are calling the current wave "asylum seekers." 

"There is a difference between the persecution of a discrete group and the prosecution of those who violate a generally applicable law. As the Board of Immigration Appeals permissibly found, the German authorities have not singled out the Romeikes in particular or homeschoolers in general for persecution."

Go back and read the fourth paragraph. Home-schooling is illegal in Germany.

In 2014, several months after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in the case, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security granted the Romeike family a special status that allowed them to remain in the country.

That Supreme Court was not today's Supreme Court.

If they are letting in everybody, why are they kicking this family out? Is it because they home-school, or is it because they are Christian?

"Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?"

This Sunday's reading from Matthew 20:1-16 contains the choice quotation in the title to this post. 

‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’

The Lord's ways are not our ways. When we forget that, we grumble if things don't go our way. 

St. Benedict repeats Jesus' admonition in chapter 34 of his Rule for monastic life, and the saint adds a command for discipline,

1 It is written: Distribution was made to each one as he had need (Acts 4:35). 2 By this we do not imply that there should be favoritism–God forbid–but rather consideration for weaknesses, 3 Whoever needs less should thank God and not be distressed, 4 but whoever needs more should feel humble because of his weakness, not self-important because of the kindness shown him. 5 In this way all the members will be at peace. 6 First and foremost, there must be no word or sign of the evil of grumbling, no manifestation of it for any reason at all. 7 If, however, anyone is caught grumbling, let him undergo more severe discipline.

 Benedict's rule is meant for the kingdom of the monastery, and Jesus' story is about the kingdom of heaven, but I see a parallel. 

If Christ is in us, we won't grumble and spread the lie that the Lord is unfair even during those times when it appears that evil is rewarded and good is punished.

 

 

Capitol Office Building Invasion is O.K. (if you support the zeitgeist)

 This past Monday evening while the Pewstermanchild (PMC) and I were walking with a large crowd to a football game in the Queen City, our ears were accosted by electronically amplified, obnoxious shouting from a group of protesters outside a popular steakhouse. We could not understand their words, but as we scurried by, I caught a glimpse of their signs and was able to explain to the PMC that they were mad that the steakhouse was serving pâté de foie gras. This required a more detailed explanation than PMC could absorb, so I shortened it into a few choice words which would have infuriated the fatted goose protestors if they had been able to hear me over their racket. The PMC left wanting to try pâté, the opposite effect that our noise makers desired. I considered that a success.

Protests often fail because of such backlash, but most such small events are ignored until they get bigger and destructive, which is the danger from stupid movements.

Of course we do have a two tiered system when it comes with the consequences to protestors who disrupt the operations of government. So guess what will happen to this group,

 WASHINGTON, D.C., September 15 (C-Fam) A group of activists were arrested after invading and occupying Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s office on Monday.  Shutting down the work of the U.S. House of Representatives, they demanded McCarthy support the reauthorization of the U.S.’s international HIV/AIDS program without safeguards to prevent it from being used to support abortion groups.

The protesters were from Health GAP and Housing Works, an organization linked to ACT UP, an AIDS activist group known for its public demonstrations in the 1980s and 1990s, which often targeted Catholic churches and charities, interrupting Masses and even desecrating the Eucharist.

Inside the office, the protesters linked arms and shouted “Pass PEPFAR now, McCarthy!”  They were arrested on charges of unlawful entry after refusing to leave...

...pro-abortion organizations, including some that benefit from PEPFAR funding, have taken to social media to declare their support for its reauthorization.  Among them was the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which supports legislation that would permanently rescind the Mexico City Policy and “protect women’s access to comprehensive reproductive health care,” including abortion.

Another organization outspoken in support of PEPFAR reauthorization without abortion restrictions is amfAR, The Foundations for AIDS Research, which also advocates against abortion restrictions in U.S. foreign assistance and denounced the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Another abortion activist group expressing support for PEPFAR in recent days is Fòs Feminista.  In January, they expressed disappointment that the Biden Department of State hadn’t done more to update its PEPFAR guidance in light of the rescinded Mexico City Policy, in order to maximize the program’s ability to partner with abortion-promoting organizations.

In all, the loudest voices protesting that PEPFAR has nothing to do with abortion belong to those organizations and individuals who would be most supportive of PEPFAR being used to fund and promote abortion, as well as other controversial issues involving gender ideology, in countries ravaged by HIV/AIDS.

Housing Works, which employs six of the seven protesters arrested Monday, has also staged protests in favor of abortion, which it declares is “healthcare” and “a human right.”

Health GAP, whose executive director was the seventh person arrested, advocates for abortion in countries like Uganda, campaigned against the Mexico City Policy, and supported the integration of “reproductive health” more broadly into PEPFAR.  Actions by Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden to integrate family planning into PEPFAR contributed to the current dispute over pro-abortion family planning groups receiving PEPFAR funding.

Both Housing Works and Health GAP campaigned against the PEPFAR anti-prostitution pledge, which formerly required funding recipients not to advocate for legalized prostitution.

The protesters are unlikely to be jailed or face any penalties apart from possible fines, in contrast to those who entered the U.S. Capitol building during the protests on January 6, 2021.

I can bet they will walk.

Guess what would happen if Chuck Schumer's office was invaded by a pro-life group. 

Forgive or else

In this Sunday's reading from Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus teaches us about forgiveness, and the consequences of not following his instructions, 

Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’

The thing about forgiveness is that these days you very seldom hear people asking for forgiveness unless they are a celebrity who has offended the zeitgeist.  

Asking for forgiveness should be an act of humility, not something done to regain public favor. 

Voices From Beyond the Grave

For personal reasons, I found the results of this recent Pew Research Center survey interesting.

Around half of U.S. adults (53%) say they’ve ever been visited by a dead family member in a dream or some other form. And substantial shares say they’ve had interactions with dead relatives in the past 12 months:

34% have “felt the presence” of a dead relative

28% have told a dead relative about their life

15% have had a dead family member communicate with them

In total, 44% of Americans report having at least one of these three experiences in the past year.

Women are more likely than men to say they have had these kinds of interactions with dead family members. And people who are moderately religious are more likely than others – including those who are highly religious and those who are not religious – to have experienced these things.

The survey was conducted March 27-April 2, 2023, among 5,079 adults on the Center’s American Trends Panel. It included Americans of all religious backgrounds, including Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. But there are not enough respondents from these smaller groups to report on their answers separately...

Overall, 46% of Americans report that they’ve been visited by a dead family member in a dream, while 31% report having been visited by dead relatives in some other form.

Roughly two-thirds of Catholics (66%) and members of the historically Black Protestant tradition (67%) have ever experienced a visit from a deceased family member in some form. Evangelical Protestants are far less likely to say the same (42%).

Over the years, I have worked with thousands terminally ill people and their caregivers. Many have reported these experiences to me and my co-workers. I recall one story in particular. It involved a woman who was caring for her bedridden, terminally ill mother to whom she was very devoted. One night the daughter was awakened by the presence of her mother standing at the foot of the bed. Shocked to see her mother out of bed, she got up. Her mother then reassured her that she was alright and left the room. The daughter rushed to her mother's bed and found that her mom had passed away. 

On a personal note, before I met Pewsterspouse, I was in a serious romantic relationship which ended painfully for me. I lost touch with that person, but never lost the memory of our time together. Twenty five years later I met them in a dream that shook me awake. In my dream, I was walking along an empty city sidewalk when we came together. We touched, and I knew that  they were dead, but in words that I still hear today they said with those same eyes and same smile, "Don't worry. I'm okay." Four years later their death was confirmed to me by their brother. He had only learned of it 2 years after their death. Their life had spiraled downhill due to substance use and contact with family had broken off. Their remains had been left unclaimed a half a continent away, until eventually he was found as the next of kin. 

Are these experiences just dreams, our products of our desire to hold on to the memories of our loved ones? Perhaps some are, but perhaps somethings that cannot be explained by mortals break into our world and touch us or speak to us in a dream.

These memories make me a little sad but hopeful that yes, everything is okay. Which reminds me of a poem,

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.

Write, for instance: "The night is full of stars,

and the stars, blue, shiver in the distance."

The night wind whirls in the sky and sings.

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.

I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

On nights like this, I held her in my arms.

I kissed her so many times under the infinite sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her.

How could I not have loved her large, still eyes?

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.

To think I don't have her. To feel that I've lost her.

To hear the immense night, more immense without her.

And the poem falls to the soul as dew to grass.

What does it matter that my love couldn't keep her.

The night is full of stars and she is not with me.

That's all. Far away, someone sings. Far away.

My soul is lost without her.

As if to bring her near, my eyes search for her.

My heart searches for her and she is not with me.

The same night that whitens the same trees.

We, we who were, we are the same no longer.

I no longer love her, true, but how much I loved her.

My voice searched the wind to touch her ear.

Someone else's. She will be someone else's. As she once

belonged to my kisses.

Her voice, her light body. Her infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, true, but perhaps I love her.

Love is so short and oblivion so long.

Because on nights like this I held her in my arms,

my soul is lost without her.

Although this may be the last pain she causes me,

and this may be the last poem I write for her.

 

Pablo Neruda

 

Separation

In this Sunday's reading from Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus instructs us on how to deal with sin in the Church,

‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

Jesus knows that some people will just not listen and must be separated from his sheep, but he also knows that you can win back "Gentiles and tax-collectors", and that means that we are not to give up on former members who have fallen into sin, but we are to pray for them, and when we interact with them, we should let them know that they are welcome to return when they repent.  

German Roman Catholics can receive same sex blessings

 Don't say you were not warned, but this story from the Catholic Herald shows that the slippery slope has started for Roman Catholics.

A German archbishop has told priests they can confer blessings on same-sex couples without fear of punishment.

The move by Archbishop Heiner Koch of Berlin opens the gates to church services for the blessings of couples who “cannot or do not want to marry sacramentally”.

In a five-page, 2,000-word letter, the archbishop told the priest of his archdiocese that “it is no longer possible to say that all who are in any so-called irregular situation are in a state of mortal sin and have lost sanctifying grace”.

“Acknowledging the goodness of a relationship is a way of speaking well of God to those people,” he wrote, according to reports.

He quoted Amoris Laetitia, the 2016 apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis on the pastoral care of families, to emphasise however that a blessing did not infer approval or legitimisation but the acknowledgement that “we all remain guilty people who need the edifying grace of God for our path in life”.

“Pope Francis emphatically calls for pastoral discernment,” wrote Archbishop Koch, adding that the Pontiff “gives the local churches, the pastors, a lot of leeway in dealing with people in so-called ‘irregular’ situations”.

He urged priests to use their judgement in deciding who was eligible for such blessings and said he hoped the archdiocese would succeed in “preserving unity in diversity”.

The archbishop also reminded priests that Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, the Argentine prefect-designate of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, whom the Pope will make a cardinal next month, is open to same-sex blessings as long as they remain distinctive from marriage.

Archbishop Koch said such blessings would not be “a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak”.

But at the same time as he permitted priests to confer same-sex blessings, he said he would not perform such ceremonies in person until the Pope had explicitly permitted them to take place.

Instead, he said he would continue to personally abide by the 2021 decree of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that prohibited such blessings.

It appears that the Pope initiated the slide down the slippery slope in his Amoris Laetitia, or at least that is what the German archbishop is hanging his miter on. 

Pope Francis is a softie, so I think the Germans will get away with this. We shall have to wait and see who else hops on the bobsled. 

Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord

In this Sunday's reading from Romans 12:9-21, Paul gives us wise words which often go unheeded,

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 "If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." No, it is not always possible, and it does not always depend on you. If a crazed individual comes at you with a knife for example. What about when a revisionist priest preaches falsehood and refuses correction? Can there be a peaceful resolution? Should we agree to disagree? 

"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Ultimately, justice will be done.

"Give them something to drink." Serve them up a dose of the truth. 

"Overcome evil with good." Revisionist thought fails when confronted with the Gospel of Christ.