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Entry: Benedict on the Border--A Showdown over Church and Nation-State Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/benedict_on_the_border_a_showdown_of_church_and_nation_state#24906 Post contents: It is a misreading of the Catechism to assert that it holds for a right of immigration. It does not. As in other places, the english translation of the Catechism is deceptive on this point, and one must make reference to the Latin edition (the NORMATIVE edition) to find the actual quote. Here's 2241 in the Latin: "2241 Nationes ditiores accipere tenentur, in quantum fieri potest, alienigenam, qui securitatem quaerit et opes necessarias pro vita, quas in sua originis regione nequit invenire. Publicae potestates observantiam curabunt iuris naturalis quod hospitem ponit sub protectionem eorum qui eum accipiunt. Politicae auctoritates possunt ratione boni communis, cuius suscipiunt munus, exercitium iuris emigrationis diversis condicionibus subiicere iuridicis, praesertim observantiae officiorum emigrantis erga nationem adoptionis. Immigrans tenetur cum gratitudine patrimonium observare materiale et spirituale nationis eum accipientis, eius oboedire legibus et ad eius conferre onera." Note in the second paragraph, where the right is described explicitly, the word used is "emigratio, emigrationis (f)" is a third declension latin noun, composed of the preposition "e" or "ex" meaning "out of" and "migratio, -onis" meaning "a change of abode, move". The OLD defines it as "the action of moving out (of a house); quitting". Thus the "right" the Catechism is talking about states having the duty to uphold is the right to Emigrate from a country, not to IMMIGRATE to another country. Indeed, it is difficult to percieve how a right to IMMIGRATE would oblige a country of which one is not a citizen. Catholics do a severe disservice to public discourse when they invent ways in which Catholic Doctrine can be compatible with prevailing currents of political discourse. Certainly Catholic Doctrine counsels the welcoming of the stranger. But the positing of a right based on that duty, and corrolarly counsel of perfection Sent at: 2008 10 12