ARTICLES
May 2006 ARTICLES
Contents © 2006
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
Was It the Cardinal or the DJs?
Archdiocese Shows Political Clout in Immigration Rallies
BY JOSÉ MADERO
They said it was Spanish-language DJs.
With their big audiences and large followings, DJs like El Piolin and El Cucuy are believed to have been responsible for mobilizing perhaps the biggest march in the history of the United States, when more than 500,000 protestors filled the streets of downtown Los Angeles for a rally against a bill that would criminalize undocumented workers.
Yet others claim it was the powerful unions -- which boast thousands of Latino members and the ability to make them hit the street with a vengeance -- as the ones who put so many hundreds of thousands people on the street in March to protest against anti-immigration measures in the House and in the Senate.
Then there are the community and political organizers, who for decades have tapped into the burgeoning Latino numbers and capitalized on immigrant angst that grew from an anti-immigrant wave after Proposition 187. Urged by Governor Pete Wilson, voters in 1994 passed the proposition, which was struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.
But what most in the media seemed to have missed is the archdiocese of Los Angeles' role in mobilizing scores of parishes and their faithful to flock to the pro-immigration rally. And though Cardinal Roger Mahony has been vocal about his views on immigration -- going so far as to ask for a day of fasting during Lent and holding an interfaith service for marchers -- the media has mostly given credit to other factors instead of Mahony.
According to community observers, immigration experts, and the media critics I interviewed, the media underplayed the cardinal's and the archdiocese's role in the marches. In fact, they said that more than the famous DJs, union bosses, or political activists, the archdiocese might have been the main reason behind what many have called the biggest march in the city's history, that is known as La Gran Marcha (The Great March).
Many priests heeded the cardinal's call and told their flocks during Mass to attend the march. Entire parishes took the bus or the train to the downtown area, dressed in white, peacefully demonstrating in what is believed to have been the biggest civil rights demonstration ever. Two weeks later, the cardinal blessed an interfaith service at La Placita Church. More than 7,000 people crowded the downtown area and marched to the federal building.
Though admiring the archdiocese for its ability to mobilize the faithful to defend immigrants -- clergy like Bishop Leonardo Marin Saveedra said that Mahony's undeniable influence among Latinos left him with more questions than answers.
"Questions like, why doesn't the archdiocese call upon Latinos for big marches against things like abortion?" said Saavedra, an Anglican bishop who works both in Los Angeles and Canada with Latinos. "Why doesn't the archdiocese call for a march or a walkout against pornography in Spanish television or against the fact that there is an inordinate amount of abortion clinics in Latino areas?"
Saavedra said that with the archdiocese's power and with millions of its Latino faithful willing to hit the streets, many things could change for the better. Especially for Latinos, he said. "With its numbers, the Church could dictate policy to local politicians," he said. "Things like abortion and gay issues could be defeated at the ballot box with ease if the archdiocese really wanted to do something about it."
George Neumayr said in a National Review column last month that Cardinal Mahony's stance on immigration is hypocritical. He added that the cardinal's support of immigration rights and for civil disobedience is flawed. "Anybody who thinks Mahony is a sincere advocate for civil disobedience should talk to protesting pro-lifers: Squeamish about getting too close to them, Mahony won't even let them collect signatures for ballot propositions on his parishes' property," wrote Neumayr.
The archdiocese's press office did not return my calls for this story.
But to the surprise of many, a week after the candlelight vigil, Mahony said that he did not back the national Latino boycott of businesses, employers, and schools scheduled for May 1, instead calling for "positive action" to drive the reform campaign forward, such as classroom and workplace discussions. In a statement, the Cardinal added: "personally, I believe we can make May 1st a 'win-win' day here in Southern California: Go to work, go to school and then join thousands of us at a major rally afterward."
Still, the fact that Cardinal Mahony took a strong stand on a controversial issue is a good thing, said Felipe Agredano, an ex-professor of the history of world religion at East Los Angeles College and who holds a master's in theological studies from Harvard University. He added that the archdiocese's involvement, coupled with the participation of other faiths and churches to the immigrant marches, infuses the movement with a deeper, spiritual tone.
"This is a new movement and we are not going to take this any more. In the '60s we were sitting in the back of the bus, now we are not sitting in the shadows," Agredano said. "We are sitting in the table because we put the food in the table, and then we clean the table and wash the dishes."
Agredano agreed that to some extent an issue like immigration, like in some cases abortion or gay rights, has united two groups among Latinos who are bitter rivals: Catholics and Evangelical Pentecostals. These groups may still trade barbs, but more and more lay Catholic groups and Pentecostals have been seen joining forces in street demonstrations.
Rubén Bermejo, a Los Angeles pro-immigrant rights activist who works in radio and every year heads to the California and Arizona desert to put out water jugs for undocumented immigrants who cross the American border illegally, said that though he believes that it was really Spanish-language radio that managed to put nearly a million people on the streets for the big march, Mahony and his archdiocese clearly played a big role.
Bermejo, who is a devout Catholic, said that he sees the Church's defense of immigrants as a way of self-protection. He said: "if the undocumented left -- which isn't going to happen -- and Latinos didn't fill up Catholic schools like they do, who would fill up the churches?"