We have a duty to affirm the dignity of every person

We all know that we have a new president and with that comes an entirely new approach to many issues. I would like to discuss one of the hot-button issues our nation is experiencing—immigration. I encourage everyone to read Archbishop Rodi’s column in this issue of The Catholic Week. I find it exceptional.
My primary motive is to encourage all of us to judge right and wrong by looking at issues through the lens of our faith. We should not use a political lens to evaluate right and wrong. We are Catholic. We believe that Jesus is the Lord of the Universe. We believe that Jesus is God and He took on our humanity so that He could redeem us by His suffering and death. Our God, in the person of Jesus, died on the cross. I know that Jesus died for everyone, but the thought that often causes me to tremble is the fact that Jesus died for me. If I was the only person who needed salvation from our God, Jesus would have died for me. The same can be said for every human being. Jesus would have died for any one of us, such is His love.
He would die for us even though we often neglect Him.  He would die for us even though we are sinners.  He would die for each of us, regardless of the fact that we do not deserve it.  God loves us because He made us. He made us in His image. 
We must strive to be like Jesus. We must see Christ in every person, even if it is difficult. This does not relieve us of the duty to affirm the dignity and value of every person.  Yes, we have a right as a nation to secure borders, but we don’t have the right to deny the dignity of any person.  When we begin to ignore the dignity of others, we place ourselves on the path to dehumanizing behavior.
Again, I encourage you to read Archbishop Rodi’s column.
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected]. For more information concerning the events of this office, visit us at mobilefaithformation.org