The following comes from an August 1 California Conference press release:
SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Catholic Conference (CCC) of Bishops offers its support for Proposition 57: The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act. This balanced approach to the criminal justice system in our state would advance the well-being of our residents and communities by re-focusing our collective efforts on rehabilitation, treatment and education programs. In addition, the initiative will place the decision to try juveniles as adults into the hands of those who best understand the intricacies of dealing with young people – the juvenile court.
Every day, in our parishes and ministries, we witness the devastating impact of crime on the people and families of our communities. Victims, whose lives have often been shattered, search for answers, look for healing and seek an opportunity to voice their needs. Families of perpetrators hide their pain, alone in their anguish and afraid to ask for help. And the incarcerated fruitlessly search for hope as programs that offer the possibility of rehabilitation are scrapped in lieu of the high costs of prison construction.
Many policy initiatives like “three strikes” laws and longer and mandatory sentences have tried – and failed – to correct our dysfunctional criminal justice system. The lack of resources for crime prevention has only led to overcrowded prisons, foreseeable recidivism rates and unsafe communities. These policies often result from fear, a natural spontaneous response to violence. We are called to take more constructive action by designing policies that employ resources most effectively, are based on the best available research and offer reasoned approaches. Appropriate and wisely-developed policies – such as offered in Prop 57 – will actually result in safer communities rather than a continuous cycle of crime and incarceration.
The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act offers alternatives: an increase in public safety leading to less crime; programs to promote healing and rehabilitation; the means to deal with offending juveniles as the wounded children that they are; placing more decisions in the hands of impartial judges; and a chance at parole for non-violent offenders.
You know what else would advance the well-being of our residents and communities? Stopping illegal immigration and returning illegal aliens back to their own countries.
It will be a cold day before the bishops decry illegal immigration, however.
You are going to return 15 million “illegal aliens” back to their own countries? Really? Who’s going to pay for that? Who’s going to take care of their citizen children? Who’s going to replace their jobs?
Returning them would cost a hundred billion dollars, minimum. What you would have to pay US citizens to do the jobs of those 15 million would cause inflation to spike, because nobody is going to pick your tomatoes for for you for $8 an hour. And what are you going to do when 15 million people aren’t buying your trucks, computers, 49ers jackets, etc?
Deporting 15 million people = worst economic depression ever.
No need for scare quotes: they are ILLEGAL and ALIENS. Fact.
Policies can be enacted that will cause self-deportation: no driver licenses, no employment, no benefits, no ability to rent or buy property. Most will leave on their own. Those that don’t can be deported.
Their children should accompany them back to their own countries. Taking care of those children is a problem we didn’t create and are not responsible for; that’s the parents’ responsibility. You can’t break laws and cry about how hard it is for you when the consequences of breaking those laws come down on you.
Robots in agriculture will soon replace human laborers anyway.
Handled wisely, ridding the country of illegal aliens would strengthen the nation.
Why…
Sawyer is so right. Means YFS… well is, barking up the wrong tree. In spite of brainwashed PC stories, the truth is: ILLEGAL immigration COSTS the USA more then we get. A HUGH financial drain on ALL our systems (schools, medical, law & order) = higher operation costs for govt. passed down as TAXES on business & home owners. SENDING them HOME, pays for itself. The massive DRAIN on the infrastructure = lower taxes passed down to us. (BTW, aren’t there special exemptions for ‘agriculture’ help?) The middle class is SICK & TIRED of footing the bill for — millions of illegals, thousands of migrants from the middle east & global re-distribution of our jobs, wealth, businesses via trade losses. PUT AMERICANS 1st & VOTE them OUT!
Of course you spout lots and lots of supposed facts without any source for supporting your claims. When you are ready to pay $20 a pound for tomotoes, get back to me.
“This balanced approach to the criminal justice system in our state would advance the well-being of our residents and communities by re-focusing our collective efforts on rehabilitation, treatment and education programs.”
There will be no balanced approach to the well-being of communities unless our shepherds first collectively re-focus on the rehabilitation of transmitting the fullness of truth. There is a reason that families are broken up, but like the messages of Fatima, no one will touch this topic with a ten foot pole, so the violence increases. The culture of broken families became widespread when shepherds collectively decided to ignore Humane Vitae from the pulpit. God bless those who do speak up.
Once again the Bishops of the State of California have it WRONG. Even if some youth is from a bad home, there comes a time when he/she knows the difference between right and wrong. If a juvenile acts like an adult criminal than he/she should be tried as an adult criminal. Only for non-violent crimes such as shoplifting might a juvenile be afforded opportunities for education and rehabilitation. Even the criminal code for adults recognizes the difference between petty and felony crimes. I INTEND TO VOTE NO ON PROP 57.
“Wounded CHILDREN”? I taught high school for 24 years. 16-18 yr old gang-bangers are not CHILDREN! This may be a good idea, but don’t defend it with witless romantic nonsense.
The California Catholic Bishops are very naïve! They also do not take crimes of their own clergy very seriously! It would help a great deal, if our Church would get busy, and teach and preach Christian Morals, daily, as they used to do.
This is insane. These poor little kids are thugs. There is nothing safe about letting these monsters out early. As for illegal immigration, there is no dispute if you look at it by the numbers. Illegals are a drain on everyone. The surge of illegals over the border over the last couple years was an explosion of instant welfare recipients. They don’t pay taxes, they get earned income credit if they work, usually at unskilled labor. The Bishops are living in another world.
Even worse, is the influx of well-educated immigrant students and young, highly-skilled workers, in the scientific fields, in the U.S.!! They are wanted only for their scientific abilities! Some are from very dangerous, anti-Christian, and anti-American cultures, incompatible with Judeo-Christin beliefs and values- and some are ISIS sympathizers! The dangerous, evil gunman of the Orlando FL shootings, was the son of a Muslim immigrant family, very unstable, and he became an ISIS fanatic!! Some of the “most wanted” U.S. immigrants (due to their education and brainy abilities in science fields) should be denied entrance here, for either school or work! Very dangerous people! Stay in your home countries!
Since the horrible 1960’s “hippie revolution,” statistics state that about ONE-FIFTH of Americans have had CRIMINAL RECORDS!! If the crime of MURDER OF BABIES IN THEIR MOTHERS’ WOMBS (ABORTION) had been considered illegal– the statistics of American CRIMINALS– would have been even higher! But for ONE-FIFTH of our population to be CRIMINALS — is already way too high, for a good Nation, that is a highly-respected world leader!
Please back up your statement with sources. In fact, net migration of the border is flat. And immigrants DO pay taxes.And, they lower the costs of goods you pay for including the tomatoes you had in your salad tonight. Please stick with the facts.
I wonder if any of those who commented here have ever visited Juvenile Hall. As a volunteer who visits boys in juvenile hall I can tell you that in there things don’t quite look as you’d think. I visit those in MAXIMUM security and while there are a FEW exceptions, most of the boys look quite “normal”. I’m not saying that they are angels, they’re there for a serious crime, but they could be anyone’s nephews or kids. The great majority were not even gangbangers. And as far as them being “illegals”, you would be wrong again. About equal numbers of white, African-American and Latinos.