The political, pro-illegal clergy

We're here from God, to stop
immigration law enforcement.

I was dumbfounded to read this in an article from the Birmingham News, linked by Lucianne.com:

Leaders of the Episcopal, Methodist and Roman Catholic churches in Alabama filed a federal lawsuit this morning to stop enforcement of the state's new immigration law, which they say could strike at the core of their ability to worship.

Say again?

A law against illegal immigration could cripple the ability of Episcopalians, Methodists, and Catholics to worship? 

I thought that worship was something you could do any time and anywhere, but particularly in church.

Reading further clarified matters, sort of. First, the so-called journalist who wrote the story is sub-literate. The antecedent of "their" is not the church leaders; the pronoun has no antecedent in the paragraph. What it's trying to say is that these divines "have reason to fear that administering of religious sacraments, which are central to the Christian faith, to known undocumented persons may be criminalized under this law." So they're suing to stop enforcement of the will of the electorate.

Needless to say, there's nothing in the law to stop clergymen giving sacraments to illegals or forcing them to demand an ID before performing religious functions.

According to the linked story, "On June 9, Gov. Robert Bentley signed into law the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act. That collection of new laws includes allowing local police to detain people suspected of being in the United States illegally, requiring public schools to inquire into immigration status of students, making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to seek work, and making it a crime to knowingly transport or harbor an illegal immigrant." 

Their Holinesses' claim is an absurd "slippery slope" argument. If words mean nothing, as Their Holinesses seem to believe, then anything can lead to anything. 

So the Right Reverends Larry, Moe, and Curly believe that national borders are un-Christian; that Alabama has no right to prevent colonies of lawbreakers on permanent holiday in the state, supported by taxpayers; that in order to "welcome all people to the altar" the welcomed must be allowed to stay in the country illegally. (I attended a mass at a cathedral in France; what an opportunity I missed! I should have gone to the authorities and argued that that entitled me to settle in Paris permanently should I wish to.)

The odds are that the ordinary people who make up the congregations of these churches are overwhelmingly in favor of the Alabama law. Do Larry, Moe, and Curly care? Of course not. Their alleged compassion is all for the illegals their church members are expected to support and compete with in the job market.

If fake spiritual leaders are going to indulge in political posturing, we can't start taxing church property fast enough.