By Sean P. Dolan
Director of Communications
Diocese of Rockville Centre

On Thursday, October 11, News 12 Long Island aired a special two-hour live “Town Hall Meeting” titled, “Illegal on Long Island.” The program would be broadcast from three venues: a tent in the rear of the Cablevision studios in Woodbury; a hiring hall in Glen Cove; and a site in Farmingville. News 12 would switch between venues to interview people on different sides of the issue. Questions would be taken from a live audience in Woodbury as well as from calls and e-mails during the program.

Earlier that week, the diocesan Office of Public Information was grateful to receive a call from News12 informing it of its Town Hall meeting concept and requesting permission to broadcast live from the basement of Church of the Resurrection in Farmingville. When I was contacted by News12 earlier that week, the program sounded like a good way to inform viewers of this complex issue that we all live with here on Long Island.

After considering News12’s offer, the diocese and pastor agreed to permit the broadcast. It would be a great way to help spotlight how the Church has brought about healing in the Farmingville community. The diocese had prepared a team of representatives to go on air to present the Church’s role and responsibility on immigration and the undocumented.

After the diocese had agreed to allow Resurrection Church to be a broadcast venue, News12 changed its Farmingville broadcast location to the home of an anti-immigration activist. This is their right. However, to broadcast from a partisan venue on an issue as sensitive and charged as immigration indicated that the desire to present good theater trumped informed dialogue.

News12 had an opportunity to use its resources to enlighten viewers by having an informed discussion — one which the diocese was anxious to be a part of. However, for such rational discourse to take place careful attention needed to be made to try to ensure a fair hearing of differing views. It is our belief the chosen venue precluded the possibility for a fair and reasoned exchange.

The fact of the matter is that the Catholic Church has been and continues to be a source of healing in Farmingville and in many communities across Long Island. The pastor, parish staff and volunteers along with Catholic Charities work with immigrants every day to carry out what Catholics are called to do. That is, to gladly assist people in need and offer her care for one and all, consistent with Jesus’ example. As Bishop Murphy has said, “It is the witness of God’s love shaped by our Catholic social teaching that compels us always forward to be of service to others.” It is my view that the exclusion of this work from the Town Hall meeting compromised the quality of the program.

On October 22, Bishop Murphy will be one of the key speakers at a Latino Summit at Adelphi University beginning at 10 a.m. This event will focus on the contributions of immigrants as identified in the recent Hagedorn study, “The Economic Impact of the Hispanic Population on Long Island.” I urge News 12 and other media outlets serving Long Island to cover this address in a way that informs the citizenry rather than further stirs the pot of divisiveness on such an important but often misunderstood issue.

To obtain accurate information about the Church’s position on immigration, read Bishop Murphy’s recent columns in The Long Island Catholic newspaper at www.licatholic.org, and visit the Web site of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: www.usccb.org.

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Last modified: 11/15/2007
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