Mahony Clarifies His Remarks on Immigration : Religion: Cardinal says he is not encouraging the illegal entry of more people. But he reiterates his call for humane treatment of everyone.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony said Saturday he did not intend to encourage more immigration with his call for social services and humane treatment of illegal immigrants.

“I’m obviously not inviting everyone in the world to come here. I’m talking about the people who are here,” Mahony said after an annual multiethnic Mass at St. Vincent’s Church near Downtown Los Angeles.

The cardinal’s remarks to reporters expanded on criticism he leveled against politicians in his homily during the Mass.

Mahony accused politicians, segments of the media and members of the public of exploiting anti-immigrant feelings.

He said that once immigrants arrive in the United States, whether legally or illegally, they should not be denied basic social services, public health care and public education.

And Mahony singled out for criticism a proposal by Gov. Pete Wilson that would deny citizenship and public education to children born in the United States of illegal immigrants.

Mahony told reporters that he hopes to speak with Wilson and other politicians about the issues.

However, the cardinal did express support for some efforts to stem the tide of rising immigration. He noted that Catholic bishops in the United States and other countries, such as Mexico, are working to mitigate the influx of illegal immigration to this country by stressing the difficulty of the U.S. job market.

The cardinal also backed the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement, in part because he said it would make new jobs available to Mexicans in Mexico.

Mahony said foolproof Social Security cards might be one way of preserving jobs for citizens and legal immigrants, although he stopped short of endorsing them. Phony cards are sometimes used by undocumented workers to get jobs.

Mahony noted that the Catholic Church does not fully support U.S. immigration policy.

“We’re concerned about people,” he said of the church. “We reach out to people.

“The Pope’s statements are 10 times stronger than mine,” he continued. “He said, in the church, there are no illegal aliens.”