Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo may have accepted money from controversial immigration figures all around the country, but last July he made some controversial statements of his own. The subject? Catholics-and of course, their ties to illegal immigrants. Max Blumenthal reports on his blog about a media appearance Tancredo made on American Family Radio, where he responded to a caller that suggested Catholics were connected politically with immigration:
CALLER, “LORETTA FROM TENNESSEE”: First off, there’s a church that says to its judges, if you have to choose between the church and the Constitution, choose the church. Secondly, there is a document, it must be available because I got it. I think was written by Pope Leo the Twelfth, the Fifteenth. I can never get those roman numerals right. And the document is entitled ‘Making America Catholic.’ There is another thing, this is the first time in US history that we have had a majority of Catholics on the Supreme Court. And I think the immigration issue may be more of getting immigrants into this country to present a bloc of voters that are voting one way from that standpoint. It’s just a thought.
(…)
TANCREDO: The caller does bring up an interesting point in terms of the enormous power and prestige of the Catholic Church in this debate. They are very, very heavily involved in the open borders movement.
FEMALE CO-HOST: Really?
TANCREDO: Oh, yes m’am. The National Council of Bishops have written extensively on this. They have certainly attacked me and a lot of others who want to secure the borders. A lot of motives have been ascribed to them. I can’t speak to it. I was raised a Catholic, spent 12 years in Catholic schools. I’m an evangelical Presbyterian today. So i can’t really speak to the motivation of the church. But the lady does have a point about the church’s involvement. Also, the Mormon Church is heavily involved in the issue. Heavily, heavily supportive of open borders.
