Do the Bishops Really Emphasize "Using Proper Terms?" That Depends!

When I'm in a masochistic mood, I read the Arlington Catholic Herald. Usually, I just scan the headlines and put it in the paper recycling. Occasionally, though, I actually do read at least a few articles. Sometimes it even gives me a good laugh, an eye roll, and a rueful head shake.

Such was the case when I read an article yesterday explaining how the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is getting a new name, OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults). Wow! Now that is an earth-shaking change. Well, perhaps not.

The first laugh came when I read:

Like a singer switching up a stage name, the process of initiating new Catholics into the church has changed monikers, but largely remains the same.

So what's the point? 

It's a better translation of the original Latin word "ordo."

Ah....Right! 

Okay. I can go with that since I love words. I love the etymology of words, and I love accuracy. So I can agree with this statement from the article: "With this new change comes an emphasis on using proper terms." 

Proper terms. Hmm.... I'm all for that. Call a spade a spade as the saying goes.

But are the bishops in favor of that? Well....it all depends! 

Like I wrote yesterday, the bishops avoid at all cost describing those breaking the law to invade our country as "illegal aliens." Isn't that the "proper term" for someone who defies the laws of a country to sneak in over the border unvetted? All of them are breaking the law, so they are committing a crime. Would "criminal" not also be an appropriate term? 

Not apparently in the bishops' lexicon. The bishops call them refugees or migrants and lecture us incessantly on our obligation to "welcome the stranger" even though some of those strangers are killing our citizens and engaging in gang activity and sex and drug trafficking. Shut up and welcome them anyway!

Think about it. Would the bishops describe a person breaking into the rectory to rob it as "a visitor?" Would they hurry to the door to "welcome the stranger" and give him the silver candlesticks? Many Catholic parishes have big signs in the parking lot warning people not to park there or risk being towed for trespassing. 

But an entirely different approach comes when they are defending their lucrative "refugee resettlement" programs. They decry the "deportations" which aren't deportations at all but repatriation of individuals who have no right to be here to their countries of origin. 

Most of those invading our country at the southern border are not "refugees" fleeing persecution They are seeking a better life in a nation they see as more prosperous, and one that, under the Biden administration, gave out goodies like Christmas candy. 

But the bishops make no distinction between legal immigrants who come in according to our immigration laws and those who come illegally. They are serious enablers of the disaster inflicted on the nation. Why aren't our U.S. bishops urging changes in those countries of origin that will help their citizens build a better life at home among family and friends? Why don't our bishops cooperate with the bishops of those countries to help build a better life for their citizens. 

The Arlington diocese has a mission in Banica, for example, a great  missionary activity. Why not more of that to help the stranger stay home in his own country to serve there and build up his own nation?

When I worked at a crisis pregnancy center, I remember a hispanic woman who came to this country illegally and was pregnant because she was raped by a coyote. We helped anyone who came to us regardless of their immigrations status. This pretty young woman wouldn't accept our help, and insisted she was going to get an abortion. We never discovered what happened to her. All I could think was that she should have stayed home with her mother! 

Amnesty International says about 60% of women who come to the U.S. illegally are raped on the way. In 2022 Senator Ted Cruz described seeing rape trees at the border where cartel members hang women's undergarments as trophies of their violence. This is what the bishops have helped to enable by their support for illegal entry to the United States. 

Retired U.S. Marshall tells Jesse Waters about Rapes at our Southern Border

Do the bishops really want to put the "emphasis on using proper terms." If so, they should begin with the correct use of all the terms describing the immigration crisis. They should begin emphasizing the difference between legal and illegal entry into the country. There's a big difference! They should use the terms deportation and repatriation correctly. None of the illegals being evicted from the country are being "deported." They are being "repatriated" to the countries they left. The bishops should not hesitate to describe those who break our laws to enter the U.S. as illegal aliens, because that is exactly what they are. 

The bishops have helped create a humanitarian crisis by advancing the globalist, no-borders agenda with the fiction that the U.S. can support anyone who wants to come here. We can't. They have benefitted financially from supporting that fiction and have used government money to pay a horde lawyers to keep the gravy train moving.

The truth is that the illegal invasion is destroying our national identity. Many of those coming have no intention of integrating into American life. Does anyone really think the Islamic invaders creating no-go zones in some of our cities love our Christian history? Many illegals hate us as they show by their protests on college campuses and in our cities waving the flags of their home countries. They have no intention of identifying as Americans.

It's time to put a stop to it. We are not called to welcome millions of illegal aliens. Every country has a right to its sovereignty. Those who come should come legally! Charity begins at home. The order of love demands it!