Papal Aide Denies Speech Endorsed Sanctuary Group

A spokesman for Pope John Paul II has denied that the Pope meant to endorse the sanctuary movement in a speech this week to Latino Roman Catholics here.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service said Monday that it wanted the Vatican to clarify the Pope’s remarks of the previous day.

The Pope praised the “courage and generosity” of those who aid refugees “arriving from the south.” These helpers “have sought to show compassion in the face of complex human, social and political realities,” the Pope said.

Joaquin Navarro Valls, the Vatican’s top press officer, denied that the Pope had endorsed the sanctuary movement in his address.

“In his homily in San Antonio on Sunday, the Holy Father addressed the phenomenon of undocumented immigration on the moral, not legal, level,” Navarro said in a written statement.

‘Expressing Compassion’

“While expressing compassion for undocumented aliens and admiration for those who seek to aid them, he did not endorse any specific movement or group nor did he encourage violation of the civil laws as a solution to this problem,” the statement added.

Although the Pope did not specifically mention the sanctuary movement, which assists illegal aliens that the group believes is fleeing political and social turbulence in Latin America, some interpreted his remarks as being supportive of it.

Immigration officials disagreed.

“I don’t see anything in his statement that would encourage anyone to violate the federal statutes of the United States,” said Duke Austin, spokesman for the agency in Washington.

But he said the INS had asked U.S. diplomats at the Vatican to request a clarification.

Austin said even a blanket papal endorsement of the movement would not cause many problems for immigration officials. He said only 300 churches are openly involved in the movement, and many of them are not Catholic.

‘Get a Further Reading’

“What we will probably do is get a further reading from his party, the people he is traveling with, to find out more about the things he said,” said Silvestre Reyes, chief agent for the INS Border Patrol’s McAllen Sector, which includes Brownsville, Tex.

“In our opinion, he’s talking about doing things within the framework of the law,” Reyes said. “I don’t think he would advocate any violation of the law.”

San Antonio Archbishop Patrick Flores, who has not vocally supported the sanctuary workers, said he interpreted the Pope’s remarks as an endorsement of humanitarian aid for all refugees.