I was a stranger

Black Jesus from Color of the Cross movie

The rebellion of the Church, and also of bishops in the whole Italy,against the security decree is now widespread. All catholics organizations and religious orders have spoken against the new racial laws in Italy that criminalize undocumented immigrants as such, from the organization Pax Christi, to Jesuits, Franciscans, Combonians and Salesians orders, to the workers union ACLI, to Caritas. The missionary Alex Zanotelli ask for civil disobedience against the decree. Even the Pope has indicated quite clearly his thoughts.

So the Catholic world engaged in social assistance reacted to this law profoundly unjust and persecutory as all secular associations involved in the same issues, and even harder. Inevitably they do so, given that the Old and New Testament are quite clear about the matter.
"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt," we read in Exodus 22, 21. And similar steps are repeated in many other books of the Bible. Leviticus 24, 22 is even a direct reference to the italian security decree: "You will have only one law for the stranger and the citizen of the country, because I am the Lord your God ". Or Deuteronomy 27.19 "Cursed be anyone who violates the right of the stranger, widow and orphan! All the people say, Amen". Throughout the Bible who does wrong to foreigners, for their intrinsic condition of insecurity, is assimilat to whom does wrong to orphans and widows. A despicable man and liable to divine punishment. But the Old Testament, however, also contains passages that consider legitimate slavery and the death penalty, so it's a bit difficult to consider a source to be taken literally for modern Christians.
The Gospel, however, is much more explicit in Matthew 25, 41-45: "Then he will say to those at his left hand, `Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' 45 Then he will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' "
In light of these readings is questionable the reason why many Italian Catholics seem fairly indifferent about the alarm launched by the Church on the security decree. Indeed it seems that the vast majority of right voters, ready on other occasions to defend Christianity by the sword, in this case are in favor of the measure of the government. It may be because, as in many other cases, the propaganda television system does everything to make the decree look like something normal instead of the monstrosity that it is, of course, and stifles the voices of dissent, even if they are from the Church.
Or maybe they read a different Gospel, or perhaps they have not read it at all.
The Italian Catholics were mobilized in the past against assisted human fertilization, biological will and gay couples. But certainly the Bible does not speak at all of human insemination, and the opposition of the Church is based on an interpretation, not on the letter. The same is true for the biological testament, about which until a few decades ago the Church had a position quite different, as was generally hostile to excessive medical treatment when the time had obviously come. On homosexuality the Church has chosen to follow the condemnation in Leviticus, which calls it "unnatural." But the same book defines unnatural also to eat crustaceans and eels and incites to murder and stoning against sinners.
Jesus in the Gospels rather strangely never condemn homosexuality, yet it is impossible that he wasn't aware of it, as was quite common and known in the Greek-Roman world of which Palestine was part in that time. On the other hand he calls on numerous occasions to love others without judging them.
But whatever has to be considered the idea of the Catholic Church on these other issues there is no doubt that Jesus takes a very hard stand against those who do not accept the alien. It's ever possible to interpret this part of the gospel as a licence to reject in Libya refugees fleeing the war, who often in Libya have been subjected to violence? It's possible to interpret this as a licence to fine, arrest and deport people who work in Italy since years and whose only crime is that they worked illegaly or have lost their jobs? It seems a bit difficult. So why so many Italian Catholics, willing to mobilize with so much security on other more controversial topics, now aren't in the streets?

Francesco Defferrari

Small tales of dangerous criminals. Who the illegal immigrants really are
Like a Shame. If they are so proud of rejections, why they don't show them on television?
Welcome to a inhuman country . International organizations against the decree
Humans and not. The decree security deprives illegal immigrants of basic human rights
The colossal lie, it is not true that immigration increases crime
I do not reject, the campaign against the rejection in Libya
What kind of Christians they are, why too many Italian Catholics support the inhuman policy of rejection
Blame the weakest, immigrants on barges used as scapegoats for all the problems in Italy
They are all happy, the scandal of rejections in Libya
Criminals, the ineffectiveness of the criminalization of illegal immigrants

Appeal against the return of racial laws in Europe, from Camilleri, Tabucchi, Maraini, Fo, Rame, Ovadia, Scaparro, Amelio