The three Catholic Bishops of Nebraska have decided to come together and make a decision about the pressing issues of immigration. The Bishops have decided to hold "listening sessions" to ask their congregations what they feel about the topic. Followers that are not able to attend these sessions are being asked to mail in their views.
The Church has decided to write a pastoral paper about how this issue needs to be handled in their congregation. Some past pastoral papers have included a 2005 paper on mental health and a 1999 paper on rural life. The Bishops hope that this paper will help with the treatment off the immigrants in Nebraska. "The bishops felt it was just very important socially, politically, economically and spiritually, It's an issue on the minds of a lot of people. They felt this was something they should do."
A background of the bishops' pastoral statements have included a background on Catholic social teachings and have explained how they can be applied to the topic They have also been known to included recommendations and suggestions for actions of the Catholics. It has been said that these papers can sometimes cause conflicts, so the church decided to say that this is an "opportunity for conversation and reasoned dialogue, not a political debate."
From my own point of view I support the bishops papers. If they feel that these papers are going to make a huge difference in their congregations then they should go for it. I do not understand how these papers can not turn political though. I know that the bishops do not want that but I don not see how political issues can not come up in any point in the discussion. It has been know to be the American way to argue about politics and try to put in as much of our point as we can.