AMERICA/UNITED STATES - Mgr. Gomez on immigration: Recover "forgotten history"

Monday, 12 September 2016 refugees   politics   bishops  

Los Angeles (Agenzia Fides) - Yesterday, Sunday, September 11, many places of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles talked about the issue of immigration in the United States. According to a note sent to Fides, many lay groups, movements and parishes commented on the intervention of His Exc. Mgr. José Horacio Gómez Velasco, Archbishop of Los Angeles.
"As we all know the history of our country began in 1600 with the Pilgrim Fathers" said Mgr. Gomez who opened the public conference on September 8. "But with all due respect to the Pilgrims, they arrived in this country about a hundred years later! Long before the United States had a name, and before George Washington and the 13 colonies or Plymouth Rock, Spanish and Mexican missionaries and even some explorers, had settled in the territories that today are Florida, Texas, California and New Mexico. Not only, Hispanics were not the only ones to arrive in the US before the Pilgrims: the first were Asians, of the Philippines, and this about 50 years before".
"The first spoken language in this country was not English. It was Spanish", said Mgr. Gomez in his speech, stressing that while not wishing to dedicate his speech to Hispanic and Catholic roots of America, however, he had plans to recover the "forgotten history of the Country", an issue that has affected public opinion. Mgr. Gómez Velasco also stressed that "Immigration reform is one of the great problems of our time, more than politics and economics. It is a struggle for justice, dignity and human rights. It is a challenge to the conscience of every individual". (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 12/09/2016)


Share: