Catholics led by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston took their recent Mass to the Arizona-Mexico border to stage a transnational prayer event aimed at pressing President Obama to hold back on deportations and save lives.
Roughly 300 attended, including bishops from across the West and Southwest, The Los Angeles Times reported. The main message of the mass: To honor those who died while trying to cross into the United States illegally.
The event was just the latest Catholic Church try to get Mr. Obama to use his executive authority — including his pen to sign executive orders — to keep deportations of illegals at a few and far between figure, The Los Angeles Times said.
Pro-immigrant activists have dubbed Mr. Obama the “deporter in chief” for what they say is his tendency to send illegals packing — an accusation that isn’t born out by federal statistics, however. Recent numbers show that the number of deportations among Mr. Obama have fallen by more than 40 percent since he first took office.
But the Catholic Church is keeping up the charge, nonetheless.
Mr. O’Malley first laid a wreath at the border wall in Nogales, and then made an emotion-filled statement: “We know the border is lined with unmarked graves. They call them illegal aliens. We are here to say they are not forgotten. They are our neighbors. Our brothers. Our sisters. … You cannot love God without loving your neighbor,” The Los Angeles Times reported.
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• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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