LOS ANGELES (CA)
Gwinnett Daily Post
Bill O'Reilly
As an American of Irish descent, Roman Catholicism has been in my family for hundreds of years. I respect the church because I’ve seen firsthand the good that it can do. Worldwide, no organization does more for the poor and downtrodden than Catholic Charities, in my opinion.
Thus, it was no surprise when Cardinal Roger Mahony spoke from his pulpit in Los Angeles on Ash Wednesday and urged compassion for immigrants. Surely, people seeking a better life in the U.S. legally should get help from the Christian community. But the cardinal’s message turned out to include illegal immigrants as well, and then came the crusher: Mahony said he will order his priests not to obey a proposed new federal law that cracks down on people aiding “undocumented aliens.” ...
It is somewhat unfair to bring this up, but I must in the interest of full disclosure. Mahony was not proactive in protecting children from predator priests in his diocese. In fact, many believe Mahony is a villain in the matter; stonewalling authorities and not holding some criminal priests accountable.
There is no common ground between the issues of predator priests and illegal aliens, except respect for the law. Urging his priests to violate a proposed new federal immigration law, after handling the priest scandal poorly, puts Mahony in a tough spot both morally and legally.