Bishop Murphy of Rockville Center, in Newsday

One of the great losses in our country has been the diminishing number of "intermediate institutions," including church agencies and others in our communities. The government, especially the federal government, has tended to become the all-powerful determinant of all aspects of social life, thus marginalizing legitimate intermediate institutions. This is especially disturbing when public officials respond to legitimate criticism by casting unworthy and demeaning remarks about leaders in communities of faith and communities of service.

Care for the stranger and the alien is an imperative of the law of Moses and the law of Christ. Internationally and nationally, the church devotes a substantial part of her pastoral ministry to migrants and refugees. It can be truthfully said that this is a field in which the state has often found itself following the church in meeting people’s needs. Limiting the church’s ability, along with that of other intermediate institutions, to continue this ministry will not improve a complex situation.