Pope Benedict On Immigration

From an address on the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (I didn't even know such a thing existed):

Venerable John Paul II, on the occasion of this same Day celebrated in 2001, emphasized that "[the universal common good] includes the whole family of peoples, beyond every nationalistic egoism. The right to emigrate must be considered in this context. The Church recognizes this right in every human person, in its dual aspect of the possibility to leave one’s country and the possibility to enter another country to look for better conditions of life" (Message for World Day of Migration 2001, 3; cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Mater et Magistra, 30; Paul VI, Encyclical Octogesima adveniens, 17). At the same time, States have the right to regulate migration flows and to defend their own frontiers, always guaranteeing the respect due to the dignity of each and every human person. Immigrants, moreover, have the duty to integrate into the host Country, respecting its laws and its national identity. "The challenge is to combine the welcome due to every human being, especially when in need, with a reckoning of what is necessary for both the local inhabitants and the new arrivals to live a dignified and peaceful life" (World Day of Peace 2001, 13).

I'm throwing this out there so that anyone who runs into a +Mahonyite will have something a bit more authoritative (and sane) to counter with. Cardinal Mahony's comparison of folks seeking immigration reform with the Nazis is actually taken seriously by some.

No, really. It is. Usually, I admit, by whackjobs who want to assert "Church teaching" in the name of His Eminence of LA.