Summary: On Thursday Pope Francis delivered a political speech in his address to Congress. He asked that the US accept the millions of undocumented immigrants. The Pope felt that to deport the millions of undocumented immigrants would contradict American's founding purpose as a nation for immigrants seeking a better life. He connected the surge of immigrants to the exodus of Syrians seeking refuge in other Middle Eastern and European countries- the immigrants coming to America are seeking safety and a chance at survival just as the Syrian refugees are. In addition to speaking about immigration, Pope Francis made his stances on other controversial issues clear. For example, the Pope shared is pro-life stance, stating that we should "protect and defend life at every stage of its development," as well as advocated for a global abolition of the death penalty. Throughout the speech Republicans and Democrats applauded for his various stances, and the topics Pope Francis covered were described as a "laundry list of policies."
Questions: Do you agree with the Pope's belief that it is America's "founding purpose" to accept and help anyone that enters our country? What does it show about the strength of religion in America that the Pope has such a strong political presence? Should religious leaders be regarded as political leaders as well? Are the church and state as separate in America as we have been taught?
I also appreciated how Pope Francis spoke of the fact our entire continent has a history of immigration. Good questions about our nation as a secular state - remember we have had 43 Protestant Presidents. People voted against Kennedy for fear of the Pope.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the Pope's beliefs; however, I do not agree that it is America's "founding purpose" to accept and help anyone that enters our country. In certain circumstances like the exodus of Syrians seeking refuge, I agree that America should help in as many ways as possible, but allowing all illegal immigrants to remain defeats the purpose of legal immigration and citizenship. People have the right to immigrate to America (which is country w/ a major history of immigration), but they should do so legally to withhold the standards that have been set over the course of time. The country's response to the Pope shows how strong religion actually is in America. While most people think of America and the government as fairly secular, this shows how religion actually still has a significant influence. Religious leaders should not be regarded as political leaders because they are religious leaders; however, they may have certain political ideals and influences. The church and state are not completely separate in America (and are therefore not as separate as we have been taught).
ReplyDeleteI agree with the argument that there are limits to what America can do. Although it may be moral to admit everyone in search of a better life, in reality this is something that cannot be achieved. There is no way, realistically, that the United States could admit an unlimited amount of immigrants. Immigration, like you said, should be done legally in a way that is manageable. To take advantage of America's resources and opportunities is unfair for those who have a right to live here. The influence of the Pope and his message to Congress show the power of religion and the blurred lines between church and state. While our government is secular, there is no escape from the religious principles that guide the beliefs of its people. Religious leaders, although powerful, are not political leaders. They represent the ideals of a group of Americans, but cannot present opinions that are completely unbiased. The Pope's interaction with Congress proves that there is a clear blur between the boundaries of church and state.
DeleteI feel like as a nation America stands as either a villain or a hero. We give our citizens a lot more freedom than other countries, and while we are not perfect, we try to also spread this democracy throughout the globe. America has to toe the line of a double standard as it tries to promote democracy while debating on the illegal immigration issue. Illegal immigrants should not be allowed to come in freely as not abiding by regulations defeats the purpose of citizenship in the first place. Tied to democratic beginnings are also religious ones ("In God We Trust" on coins, "One nation, under God," etc) and the obvious influence the Pope's words had on the legislative body shows that religion is still a big factor is American politics. Despite this, the church and state should be separate as the Constitution states, which is why our political leaders are not also our religious leaders
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should help as many people as possible, since our country was founded by immigrants, but it is almost impossible to help every immigrant that wants to come into America. Illegal immigrants should be regulated more, or else it defeats the purpose of saying it is illegal. America is quite secular, but still has ties to religion since we listened to what the Pope had to say. The church and the state are supposed to be separate, like it says in our Constitution, but it is clear that the government still has some ties to religion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the Pope, our country was built by immigrants looking for better opportunities so there is no good reason for us to turn away people seeking a better life. Religion has always had a huge say in political matters, even though we claim to be a secular nation I believe it still has a huge impact because of the religious beliefs of many citizens. I do not agree that religious leaders should be considered political leaders, but they still have a large say in what happens. America claims to be secular however, religious backgrounds of our leaders are often judged harshly demonstrating that we are not as secular as we say.
ReplyDeleteI partially agree with the Pope's belief that America should help its immigrants. The large influx of immigrants to America cannot possibly all be helped, and some should be offered more aid than others. While it is important to help illegal immigrants, especially those escaping violence and persecution, legal immigrants should held to a different standard. The fact that the Pope has such a presence in American politics is very telling of our stance between church and state. While there is no set religion for the country, it is hard to ignore the fact that many of its politicians and leaders have a background religion of Christianity. While America is supposed to be free for all religions, it struggles with an underlying identity as a nation heavily influenced by Christian values.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should help immigrants, but if we accept all immigrants as we once did during our countries early beginnings, then we may become over populated. It currently is hard for immigrants to come to the US, and because of this there are many undocumented and illegal immigrants. If we made it legal, many more would come and we would see increased numbers of immigrants in all parts of the country. At some point we need to spend our time fixing the problem in their home country instead of accepting all of them. It is unrealistic to join 2 nations into one, yet it is realistic to help another nation find its path. I do not necessarily like that Pope Francis represents a religious group, but his messages he delivered are strong. We should instead view the Pope as a world leader, speaking for many he has talked to. If we think of him as this, then his comments are valid and ok to permit. We should be open to hearing diverse perspectives, even when told by religious leaders.
ReplyDeleteNathan has made several valid points and proposals. First, addressing the risk of overpopulation, the United States is already experiencing a huge increase in population, and not mainly because of immigrants. An influx of immigrants being added to this current rapid growth of US citizens will only perpetuate economic, social, and environmental problems. This risk supports Nathan's statement that "It is unrealistic to have 2 nations in one," because realistically, there would be more than 2 countries merging, and America would, eventually, then solely be used for refugees to avoid issues of discrimination, war, and unfairness in other places. I believe that hearing this perspective from a religious figure helps add insight and opinions, which we should regard as representing a "world leader," rather than simply a pope that can only apply to a certain group of citizens.
DeleteI agree with the Pope's argument, but if we accept everyone into our country it will lead to over population (I agree with Nathan). Also, it is one thing to accept everyone that is currently trying to become citizens but if we were to accept those people, who know how many others would try to come to the US. Even though one of the rights stated in the first amendment is freedom of religion, because of the fact that the Pope has such a strong national presence suggests the popularity of certain religions, specifically Catholic citizens. Based on this fact, the US is not as secular as it is stated to be both currently and as we have been taught in history.
ReplyDeleteI found this article very interesting. The Pope is a type of person it would be an honor to meet. However, it is important to keep the church and government separate, which is stated in our Constitution and Bill or Rights. I do agree that America is a country based on immigrants, and that we should not be too strict with our immigration policy; however, we cannot just accept everyone, or EVERYONE would come to America. On the other hand, like I said, it is key to keep church and government separate. This is one of the main issues that seems to keep the Democrats and Republicans fighting. If religion and government coincide, then people would be able to morph the government into what they think is best, rather than following the Constitution.
ReplyDeleteWhen the first colonists arrived seeking religious and political freedom, America became a land for those seeking a safe place to call home, and better both themselves and society. This nation, even long before its founding, was built from the bottom up by immigrants, and when its founding fathers put the country's core ideals and principles on paper, they emphasized that this new nation would be a place that would take in and welcome people from all walks of life, including immigrants. The fact that both Democrats and Republicans alike applauded the Pope as he presented his "laundry list" of policies that under normal circumstances would have drawn deep divisions between the two parties shows the power of religion, especially in American politics. Alarmingly, this also exposes the fact that religion and politics in this nation are not as clear cut as we'd like to believe, and that often there isn't much of a difference between political and religious leaders.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the pope in the aspect that we should help immigrants. I support his ideas on this because it is good to try and bring up people who are struggling. He laid out an implicit counter-argument to some conservatives, including 2016 Republican front-runner Donald Trump. This shows the political strength of the Pope because he has the ability to affect politics in the U.S. In the United State the separation between church and state has still been prominent, but it is tarting to come into its own and expand on such situations involving the two of them
ReplyDeleteI do not agree that Americas founding purpose was to accept immigrants who seek a better life. Permitting illegal immigrants undermines the law and should not be "acceted" and unpunishable. This country does not have enough space or resources to let everyone seeking a better life, making the huge flow of immigrants unsustainable. I believe a better way to handle the issue is to help the immigrants improve their lives in their own countries by providing aid to other countries.
ReplyDeleteThe large political influence the pope has is evident in this article. It shows that the United States is not as secular as it would seem on paper. I think that this goes against the freedom of religion and a seperate church and state. This, I do not think the pope should be considered a political figure, even though history has shown that the pope has a large influence over politics.
ReplyDeleteWhile I believe that it was our "founding purpose" to accept anyone who entered our country, I do not believe that this is still our purpose; it is neither our obligation, nor is it economically stable. While those who have already entered the US should not be deported for humanitarian reasons, we should begin to institute a system to only allow legalized immigration. Religious leaders should not be regarded as political leaders. However, in this country, since the majority of citizen's are Christian and we are democratic, this majority tends to take a majority in voting.
I do not agree that America's "founding purpose" is to accept anyone who enters our country. The "founding purpose" is more or less about creating a better life in America. However, it's unreasonable and probably not the best idea to just let anyone who wants enter America. That means giving any immigrant rights that could effect the Americans who are already citizens, such as voting rights. Sure, immigration is a part of American history, however is needs to remain limited. I also do not thing that the Pope should be recognized as a political leader. Religion and government must always be separate, and accepting the Pope as a political leader is too risky and very questionable.
ReplyDeleteWhen people first started coming to America, they immigrated in order to find religious freedom, give themselves a second chance, or try to make a better life for themselves. Because of the fact that America was built by immigrants, I agree that the original founding purpose was to accept anyone who wants to come in and contribute to the country. But back then, we had only really settled in the east coast, and we knew that there were thousands more miles of land to give away. Now, we have settled all of the land and aren't planning on expanding, so although we can afford to be a little more lenient with our immigration policy, we can't let in everyone.
ReplyDeleteThe Pope's strong presence in America shows that religion, especially Christianity, is very powerful, and although we do a good job (for the most part) of separating church and state, the elected officials can't help but be influenced by their religious values and background. Since religious people are heavily influenced by their religious beliefs, and the people of this country are mostly very religious, I believe it would be impossible for us to completely separate church and state.
I support that America should take in the undocumented immigrants because it is what America stands for. Put yourself in their shoes and you would want to be accepted into a country for the sole purpose of seeking refuge from the harsh realities of being a refugee. How can America claim to be for equality when they can't treat people equally due to their lack of papers. Where do the boundaries lie that you stop helping other human beings?
ReplyDeleteI agree that America was founded as place of refuge for immigrants. We should be way more welcoming to immigrants, and figure out a system that isn't so archaic, damning, and unsafe. Illegal immigrants will continue to be a presence, you can either change the system, or pretend they don't exist, either way they're coming.
ReplyDeleteThe pope has power both because of his post as head of the Church, one of America's biggest organizations. But he is also a special figure, he has the power to unite people of all religious affiliations and backgrounds. Our government should listen to him, as he is such a force.