The Center for Faith and Public Life: A voice of reason

It was rough going for the Rev. Rick Ryscavage, S.J., as he went head-to-head last month with CNN talk show host Lou Dobbs on national television. True to the format of so many of these shows, the issue was controversial, the conversation one-sided, the volume shrill, and the tone sarcastic. Wanting only "to interject some reasonableness into the conversation," Fr. Ryscavage, director of Fairfield University's new Center for Faith and Public Life, resolved to remain a dignified presence as he explained the opposition being voiced by U.S. Catholic bishops to proposed changes by Congress to immigration law. The reforms in question would, among other things, make it a crime to provide any form of aid to an undocumented immigrant.

"From the 19th century on," Fr. Ryscavage explains, "the Catholic Church has been a leading defender of immigrants in this country, helping them get an education, find jobs, receive health care, and gain citizenship while preserving their cultural traditions." This pastoral concern for our nation's newest and most vulnerable residents led to the founding and growth of a system of Catholic elementary and secondary schools, hospitals, and social service agencies dedicated to the dignity and welfare of those whose needs few others would serve.

"Almost all the east coast Jesuit universities were set up for immigrants, who were not being accepted at other places," notes Fr. Ryscavage. "It was part of the Church's effort to help. The plight of immigrant remains the same today. What's changed is that they come from different places."

igration is but one of many concerns the Center for Faith and Public Life will address in serving as a public forum for balanced, intelligent reflection on the role of religion in local, national, and international political life. Formally launched at a ceremony in November attended by two Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church and a representative of the White House, the Center will anchor its orientation in the Catholic Church, which includes the Jesuit tradition. A central component of that Jesuit tradition is a deep respect for the diversity of faiths around the world, and the awareness that God is already present and acting within them.

"Across the globe," Fr. Ryscavage says, "the role of religion in politics has seized the attention of decision-makers." On the one hand, he explains, the role religion is playing as an "inspiration" for political violence and terrorism has created a climate of fear - and not for the first time in history. On the other hand, the rise of secularism as almost a religion of its own, particularly in the United States, has frustrated citizens whose values are rooted in faith and who want those values to help shape the policies of the society in which they live.

No wonder, then, "that leaders and analysts are often ill prepared intellectually and experientially to deal with these complex issues. Too many people consider faith divisive, and try to steer clear of it at all costs," says Fr. Ryscavage who, prior to joining the University, served as the director of Jesuit Refugee Service USA. "What we have is a multitude of voices too strident to be of real use in dialogue and understanding."

It is Fairfield University's hope, through the Center for Faith and Public Life, to be part of the solution. To that end, the Center cosponsored a three-day symposium last June, Migration Studies and Jesuit Identity: Forging a Path Forward. Representatives from 20 Jesuit colleges and universities were among the 100 attendees who together explored ways to strengthen the academic underpinnings of migration studies and advocacy work. "With this conference, Fairfield established a network of Jesuit schools that will contribute, from an academic perspective, to the Jesuit apostolic priority to give aid to migrants around the world," says the Rev. James Bowler, S.J., facilitator for Jesuit and Catholic Mission and Identity.

A steering committee is already operational, with Fairfield University's Dr. Mark LeClair, associate professor of economics in the College of Arts and Sciences, taking one of the lead coordinating roles. The consortium includes Georgetown, Boston College, Fordham, Loyola Marymount, and Loyola Chicago. Currently, the group is planning a faculty development workshop at Georgetown for professors wanting to learn how to translate their research into policy and practical law, and how to influence politicians so they will listen. As a consortium, the schools will be seeking grant funding for some of this work, which is also expected to include a separate professional development workshop for junior faculty. "We hope also to involve scholars in specific research projects," says Fr. Ryscavage, "on things like the deportation of people who return to their home country only to be killed. We need to document this in different areas of the world."

Meanwhile, in the United States, the debate rages on. The House version of a proposed immigration reform law would build a 700-mile wall at the U.S.-Mexican border and penalize anyone who offers aid to an undocumented immigrant. The Senate version, which will be debated and voted on in February, excludes the wall but ensures security in other ways and introduces a guest worker program to work legally for a prescribed period.

"The U.S. immigration system is broken," says Fr. Ryscavage, noting that an estimated 25 percent of our nation's construction and hotel service workers are undocumented (not to mention the countless landscapers, cleaning ladies, and nannies). They slip into the country illegally because they can earn far more money doing day labor here (a median $10 per hour according to a study cited in The New York Times versus $4 per day at home). The backlog of immigrants waiting for family visas to enter the U.S. is huge, according to Fr. Ryscavage, and the number of legal work visas issued annually to individuals is minimal. Because these legal avenues are blocked, crossing the border illegally becomes a risk worth the gamble for so many.

"The irony is," says Fr. Ryscavage, "that our economy needs these people. Most Americans don't want the kind of jobs they do, so industries and individuals hire undocumented immigrants to keep costs down." Yet the cost grows higher and higher for the illegals, as they are called, who face confinement and deportation if picked up for one of an ever-growing list of minor transgressions. Consider, for example, the Guatemalan man now facing deportation for criminal trespass because he was kicking around a soccer ball with some friends on a schoolyard in Brewster, N.Y. (NYT, Jan. 22, 2006, p. 27)

"Yes, we need to enforce our borders," says Fr. Ryscavage, "and yes, we need to protect ourselves. But let's create a system where such people can enter the country legally. I support President Bush's guest worker program, where immigrants can stay for perhaps five years. As it stands, we don't want to be denied cheap fruit yet we don't want to let them in. We can't have it both ways!"

What the U.S. bishops are calling for is the defeat of a bill that would penalize a person for assisting an undocumented person in any way. "Is a nun supposed to ask for proof of citizenship before she serves someone a cup of soup? What do we do when someone shows up on a rectory doorstep?" asks Fr. Ryscavage. "This is not how we carry out our pastoral mission as a Church."

Backtrack for a moment to the aforementioned talk show.

MR. DOBBS: ... "This country was established to provide freedom of religion and ... provides clearly for a tax-exempt status but not political interference on the part of a church.

FR. RYSCAVAGE: Well, I wouldn't call what's going on now political interference.

MR. DOBBS: "You're calling upon your worshipers to defeat legislation, you're supporting illegal immigration, Father. (...)

FR. RYSCAVAGE: I think, Mr. Dobbs, what the Church is trying to do is to ensure that whatever legislation passes in the United States, it has protective pieces in it that allow people to have their human dignity, their human rights, and protection of their life.

MR. DOBBS: In what country, Father, do you think that more attention and support and protection for human dignity is practiced than the one in which you and I are talking?

FR. RYSCAVAGE: And that's exactly what the Church wants to protect, to keep. To keep, not to see it criminalized and become more restrictive.

MR. DOBBS: Excuse me, Father, isn't it illegal to cross our borders illegally?

FR. RYSCAVAGE: of course.

MR. DOBBS: Then why does the Catholic Church support illegal immigration?

FR. RYSCAVAGE: It doesn't.

MR. DOBBS: Why do you (the Church) oppose border security?

And on it went ... .