The News & Topicality Thread

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Title: Site of Newton emergency shelter for migrants, families in need disclosed after months of silence
Source: Boston Herald
Link: bostonherald DOT com/2024/02/14/site-of-newton-emergency-shelter-for-migrants-families-in-need-disclosed-after-months-of-silence/

The Money-Quotes:

A parish in Newton has provided a safety-net shelter for up to 30 families since November, but officials had kept the location out of the public purview because of threats of violence.

[…]

Around the time [Cardinal] O’Malley sent his letter [calling for supplemental aid for ministering to migrants], Catholic Charities received an urgent alert from Catholic Charities USA warning them to take steps to protect the safety of their teams and clients after a very disturbing online threat emerged, according to an agency spokesperson.

The spokesperson provided the Herald with an article from Newsweek about how Stew Peters, a conservative commentator and radio host, slammed Catholic Charities USA for helping migrants while addressing the crisis during the Fall Freedom Fest in Florida.

“We need troops on the border that will shoot people that are trying to invade our country. That’d be a good first step.” Peters said. “But you know what a better second step would be? Shooting everyone involved with these fake charities.”

[Jocose]

https://x.com/RickyDoggin/status/175900 ... 92493?s=20

Share this now, before it disappears. Globalists don't want people to know this.

[Del]

+JMJ+

Title: Site of Newton emergency shelter for migrants, families in need disclosed after months of silence
Source: Boston Herald
Link: bostonherald DOT com/2024/02/14/site-of-newton-emergency-shelter-for-migrants-families-in-need-disclosed-after-months-of-silence/

The Money-Quotes:

A parish in Newton has provided a safety-net shelter for up to 30 families since November, but officials had kept the location out of the public purview because of threats of violence.

[…]

Around the time [Cardinal] O’Malley sent his letter [calling for supplemental aid for ministering to migrants], Catholic Charities received an urgent alert from Catholic Charities USA warning them to take steps to protect the safety of their teams and clients after a very disturbing online threat emerged, according to an agency spokesperson.

The spokesperson provided the Herald with an article from Newsweek about how Stew Peters, a conservative commentator and radio host, slammed Catholic Charities USA for helping migrants while addressing the crisis during the Fall Freedom Fest in Florida.

“We need troops on the border that will shoot people that are trying to invade our country. That’d be a good first step.” Peters said. “But you know what a better second step would be? Shooting everyone involved with these fake charities.”

Not a credible threat. Conservative media listeners do not take up violence after Newsweek reports that some conservative radio guy might have said something ugly.

Mind the chatter on social media by activists with Antifa, BLM, and LGBT radicals. That is where violence comes from.

If there had been any violence against migrant shelters, we would have heard of it by now. The Democrat media are anxious and hungry for something like this to report (that doesn't turn out to be a hoax).

As the election draws closer, do not be surprised if some violent event occurs -- followed closely by accusations from independent news reporters that the violence appears to be a false flag operation. Democrats want some violence that they can blame on Trump, and they are likely to create it.

Always keep in mind that Democrats do not love or care for the migrants whom they hope to control as a voting bloc. And that Catholic Charities is a pro-life group, funded by largely conservative-voting Catholics. Democrats do not like working with Catholic Charities.... Remember that Obama fired Catholic Charities who were helping victims of sex trafficking (for refusing to provide abortions). And Illinois fired Catholic Charities who were placing kids in foster care and adoption homes (for refusing to consider same-sex couples as guardians and parents). Both in spite of the fact that Catholic Charities was the largest and best NGO partnering in those arenas.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

[…]

Mind the chatter on social media by activists with Antifa, BLM, and LGBT radicals. That is where violence comes from.

[…]

… Democrats do not love or care for the migrants whom they …

Tru enuf that — Tucker's recent Russian Agitprop Tour notwithstanding — the GOP doesn't have a lock on Xenophobia, Nationalism, and other such Fashy enthusiasms. There could very well be a Leftist/Dem Fascist groundswell (think: Black Panthers, the Weathermen, etc. in addition to Antifa and others) in the cards.

Sad!

[Del]

+JMJ+

[…]

Mind the chatter on social media by activists with Antifa, BLM, and LGBT radicals. That is where violence comes from.

[…]

… Democrats do not love or care for the migrants whom they …

Tru enuf that — Tucker's recent Russian Agitprop Tour notwithstanding — the GOP doesn't have a lock on Xenophobia, Nationalism, and other such Fashy enthusiasms. There could very well be a Leftist/Dem Fascist groundswell (think: Black Panthers, the Weathermen, etc. in addition to Antifa and others) in the cards.

Sad!

oy... Poor Tucker. All of his friends in conservative media are shaking their heads at how badly he got played.

GOP doesn't have xenophobia. They just want an orderly immigration policy, for the benefit of both immigrants and citizens.

Democrats don't have xenophobia. They just have a taste for creating a new slave class to replace the Black voting bloc whose families they have destroyed. Democrats have never given up their racism; they just changed how they live it.

The Democrats already have their Brownshirts in play. As playing coins go, they have simply flipped to the other side as far as "motivation" is concerned. Antifa and BLM are the new KKK. They have been quiet during the Biden regime, but they will re-activate as soon as Trump looks like he will win.

I don't see any enthusiasm or movement in conservative America toward citizen militias. Do you? But such a reaction is possible.... if riots, crime waves, and left-wing terrorism reach a tipping point. Take away the police and something will develop to fill the void. Communities will protect themselves. Let's hope it doesn't get that bad.

[Jocose]

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-usa/2024/02/texas-effort-to-shut-down-catholic-migrant-shelter-unfounded

Texas effort to shut down Catholic migrant shelter ‘unfounded’

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NEW YORK — A Catholic migrant shelter in El Paso has defended its decades-long track record of serving migrants and called an attempt by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to shut down its ability to operate in the state “illegal, immoral and anti-faith.”

“Annunciation House has kept hundreds of thousands of refugees coming through our city off the streets and given them food,” Annunciation House said in a Feb. 21 statement. “The work helps serve our local businesses, our City, and immigration officials to keep people off the streets and give them a shelter while they come through our community.”

“If the work that Annunciation House conducts is illegal — so too is the work of our local hospitals, schools, and food banks,” noted the organization, which has operated in El Paso since 1978.

Paxton’s office announced on Feb. 20 that he sued Annunciation House, seeking to revoke the organization’s registration to operate in the state. According to the announcement, Paxton’s office has reviewed public records that suggest the organization is “engaged in legal violations such as facilitating illegal entry to the United States, alien harboring, human smuggling, and operating a stash house.”

Paxton said he “demanded access” to records related to these potential violations, which Annunciation House failed to produce, and that’s what prompted the lawsuit. Annunciation House claims that when Paxton asked for documents it asked the courts to decide what documents Paxton can legally access, which the organization argues is its legal right to do.

However, Paxton’s office claims it has “complete and unlimited authority” to examine business records.

“And the consequence of a flagrant failure to comply with such a request is that OAG may terminate the business’s right to operate in Texas,” the announcement from Paxton’s office states. “The OAG lawsuit seeks to revoke Annunciation House’s authorization to do business in Texas and asks the court to appoint a receiver to liquidate their assets.”

[…]

In response, Annunciation House said Paxton’s comments show his goal all along was to shut it down.

“The AG has now made explicit that its real goal is not records but to shut down the organization. It has stated that it considers it a crime for a Catholic organization to provide shelter to refugees,” the organization said. “The Attorney General’s illegal, immoral and anti-faith position to shut down Annunciation House is unfounded.”

Annunciation House opened in 1978, two years after a small group of young adults in El Paso first gathered to discuss whether something like it was possible. Then, in the fall of 1977 the second floor of an old building owned by the Diocese of El Paso became vacant, which the five young adults moved into in early 1978 with no money or resources, but with a commitment to serving the poor.

It operates under the “scriptural and Gospel mandate to welcome the stranger.”

After Paxton announced the lawsuit a number of Catholic humanitarian organizations came to the defense of Annunciation House, calling Paxton’s actions a “morally unacceptable attempt at intimidation.”

“These actions seek to criminalize essential humanitarian aid provided by local faith communities and NGOs and are an attack on the fundamental Catholic imperative to welcome the stranger, as well as a vicious targeting of borderland community members resisting the militarization of border communities,” the humanitarian organizations said in a Feb. 21 joint statement.

The statement was signed by the Hope Border Institute, Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico, Sisters of Mercy, Franciscan Action Network, Pax Christi USA, Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, St. Columban Mission, Las Americas Migrant Advocacy Center, Estrella del Paso, and the Border Servant Corps.

Dylan Corbett, the executive director of the Hope Border Institute — an El Paso faith-based humanitarian organization that works closely with the Diocese of El Paso, Annunciation House, and other organizations — called the actions of Paxton “vile” considering “faith-based organizations in particular have been picking up the pieces of a broken [immigration] system for decades.”

“This is a threat. This is a shot across the bow. It’s an action designed for political effect. It’s an action designed to have a chilling effect,” Corbett said during a migration webinar on Feb. 21.

Corbett, who is an official at the Vatican’s Migrants and Refugees Section and a migration consultant to the USCCB, also defended the executive director of Annunciation House, Ruben Garcia. He said Garcia is “a symbol of our resilience as a community, our ability to put faith into action.”

“When they attack him. They are attacking all of us,” Corbett said.

“The community will rally behind Ruben and Annunciation House. We’ll stand together because that work represents the best of El Paso,” Corbett added. “It represents the best of the border, which is a welcoming, generous, can-do spirit focused on practical solutions, and passion for doing what’s right.”

[Del]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-usa/2024/02/texas-effort-to-shut-down-catholic-migrant-shelter-unfounded

Texas effort to shut down Catholic migrant shelter ‘unfounded’

=========================================

Texas Attorney General Sues NGO Over Suspected Facilitation Of Illegal Immigration

[Texas Attorney General] Paxton announced Tuesday that his office was suing Annunciation House, a Catholic group that says it offers hospitality to migrants in El Paso, to shut down the organization in the state after it failed to produce documents requested by Texas. Paxton’s office said it suspects the group is facilitating illegal entry into the United States, alien harboring, operating a stash house, and human smuggling.
...
Paxton said that the organization has not produced a single document his office has requested. His suit to revoke the ability of Annunciation House to operate in the state comes after the organization sued Texas to block document requests.

We don't know if the NGO is profiting from associations with cartels with regard to human trafficking, or if they are skimming and defrauding taxpayers, or if they are actually trying to help Biden's illegal immigrants with their needs.

But if they aren't willing to cooperate with basic requests for documentation and compliance, it sure looks like they should be shut down.

I'm not going to give them a pass just because they are operating under the cover of being a Catholic charity. Homosexual priests got away with that for too many years.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: El Paso Matters
Link: elpasomatters DOT org/2024/02/22/opinion-bishop-mark-seitz-response-to-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton/

Catholic Church will not be intimidated by Ken Paxton’s threats to Annunciation House, Bishop Seitz says [Press Release]

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

From the desk of The Most Rev. Mark J. Seitz — For generations, El Paso has worked hard to build a resilient and welcoming borderland community, a place of welcome and dignity.

Today, however, we find ourselves in an impossible position, hemmed in on all sides. On the one hand, we are challenged by serious federal neglect to provide a safe, orderly and humane response to migration at our southern border. On the other hand, we are now witnessing an escalating campaign of intimidation, fear and dehumanization in the state of Texas, one characterized by barbed wire, harsh new laws penalizing the act of seeking safety at our border, and the targeting of those who would offer aid as a response of faith.

For more than 45 years, Annunciation House has been an effective, compassionate local response to a complex and broken immigration system. Rooted in the Gospel, and born of an encounter between Ruben Garcia and Mother Teresa of Kolkata, it has led our community effort to meet the challenge of migration in recent years. Its work is nourished by long-standing partnerships with the Catholic Church in El Paso, our local government, and our federal law enforcement partners, including U.S. Border Patrol.

Its work is an example of our Catholic commitment to the poor, the Christian call to love one’s neighbor, and stepping into the breach to take action where many will not. Our church, our city and our country owe Annunciation House a deep debt of gratitude.

This is not about politics. I know the guests at Annunciation House, those trapped on the other side of the border, and those who have died trying to cross it. I have encountered them and have experienced their pain, suffering and hope. This is about their lives and our shared human dignity.

Our community’s actions in this moment, the decisions that we make, and the response that we offer today, will be judged by whether or not we rise to that standard.

Let me be clear. For the church’s part, we will endeavor to work with all in pursuit of the common good of our city and nation. We will vigorously defend the freedom of people of faith and goodwill to put deeply held religious convictions into practice. We will not be intimidated in our work to serve Jesus Christ in our sisters and brothers fleeing danger and seeking to keep their families together.

As one El Paso community, this is our promise today. We will not surrender the identity of our borderlands, a place which chooses compassion over indifference, human fraternity over division, and radical hope and evangelical love over hatred and exclusion.

[Del]

+JMJ+

Source: El Paso Matters
Link: elpasomatters DOT org/2024/02/22/opinion-bishop-mark-seitz-response-to-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton/

Catholic Church will not be intimidated by Ken Paxton’s threats to Annunciation House, Bishop Seitz says [Press Release]

This is encouraging. If Bishop Seitz (and he's one of the good ones) has confidence in Annunciation House, then there is probably some documentary evidence to back him up. I hope so, in any case.

It is still very odd that Annunciation would sue Texas first to avoid sharing information about their operations. We still don't know the whole story.

Whoever thought it would be a good idea for Annunciation House to sue Texas over documentary requests..... We need to hear from that guy.

Either Texas is asking for information that they are not entitled to, and Bishop's lawyers should make this clear.

Or Annunciation House is hiding something that needs to be uncovered.
===========================

There are other possibilities. It is very likely that Annunciation House is acting in good faith, but some of their work is contrary to something in the maze of immigration law. Perhaps they have even been given license to ignore laws under Biden's blanket policy of ignoring immigration law.

If this is the case, then there is a Biden-tangle making it difficult to get Annunciation House back into compliance -- even if there are no bad actors in Annunciation House or Texas government.

I hope Bishop Seitz and AG Paxton work together and sort this out.