Here are two articles for your Saturday morning reading. Both note how America and Americans address problems. The first from Ann McFeatters – a columnist who has covered the White House for years – speaks in more general terms  – “Americans sure have odd ways of dealing with their problems“ and the second comes from Bill Moyers blog page and was written by Tasneem Raja. Ms Raja gives us a brief history lesson in “Child Migrants Have Been Coming to America Alone Since Ellis Island.”

Immigrant children at Ellis Island, New York, circa 1908 (National Archives)

The issue of how to handling the child migrants coming to this country is complicated but  both governor Patrick and Cardinal O’Malley said it well yesterday. First the Governor “Every major faith tradition on the planet charges its followers to treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated…. I don’t know what good there is in faith if we can’t, and won’t, turn to it in moments of human need.” and then Cardinal Sean “I ask my faith community and the wider public to understand compassionately the extreme circumstances these children are facing. As a country and a church, we are capable of providing crucial assistance.”

Let’s examine our conscience.