Dangerous Catholic actions

I recently read this in the LA Times, June 22, 2006 edition: (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-fingerprint22jun22,1,2162976.story?coll=la-editions-orange):

Not wanting to lose illegal immigrant volunteers, the Los Angeles and Orange Roman Catholic dioceses have quietly backed away from a pledge to root out pedophiles by running fingerprint background checks on anyone who works with children.

Are you kidding me?! This could be one of the most closed-minded, self-serving decisions in recent memory. In effect the Catholic leadership is placing the safety of children BELOW the risk of alienating potentially illegal immigrants. I don't understand this at all.

A few years ago, the Roman Catholic Church was rocked by scandal. Priests were not only engaging in sex with minors, there was a tremendous coverup as well. As a result, the Church promised unprecedented transparency in its operations.

One by-product of the scandal was the continuing erosion of attendance at Catholic masses in the United States. And obviously, a shrinking congregation means shrinking donations. But one demographic that has not been shrinking is the Hispanic population. So, at least to me, this decision smells of money, and the leaders ought to be ashamed.

I have a tremendous internal conflict over this entire immigrant issue. On one hand, I can completely empathize with those crossing our borders. The vast majority are doing so in pursuit of a better life, and most are not criminals. On the other hand, we are a nation of laws, and rewarding people who are here as a result of breaking one of our laws...that doesn't make sense to me either.

But setting that aside, I can not get over the myopic thinking of the LA/OC diocese. Do they realize they are potentially placing children at risk? Do they not realize how this looks on top of their recent child-sex scandal?

What is their reason for doing this? It seems to be a matter of not alienating the fastest growing segment of their congregation, which directly impacts the money they raise. A dollars and cents decision? Sadly, it seems as though the dollar has become the object of their affection... (see Luke 16:13)