When we demonize immigrants who contribute to our culture and economy, we diminish them and ourselves. Creating a society that serves the common good means expanding our vision of community and embracing immigrants as our neighbors.

A punitive approach of detentions and deportations does not address the economic, cultural or political factors that contribute to global migration. Comprehensive immigration reform that includes a guest worker program, an earned path to citizenship, strong worker protections and that addresses family reunification backlogs is the moral and pragmatic alternative.

This is an immoral and unjust war. Pope Benedict XVI, the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops and religious leaders from diverse faith traditions all have called for a responsible end to the Iraq war. Our soldiers are fighting with honor, but they are being let down by elected officials in Washington whose policy of endless war without an exit strategy has been a moral and humanitarian disaster.

The president and Congress should turn away from a failed policy of war and begin rallying the world community to address our most profound moral challenges: global poverty, preventable diseases in developing countries, and the threat of terrorism that can only be defeated with a sustained international effort.

At a time when the gap between rich and poor has reached Depression-era standards and the average CEO earns more than 200 times the pay of the average worker, a modest wage increase for poor and working-class people is the least we can do for the least among us.

Justice for workers is a central moral issue at the heart of Catholic social teaching and reflects our nation’s ideal of opportunity for all. The common good requires that we ensure working people can provide for their families. All of us who seek dignity for workers and their families must continue to push our leaders to put the common good ahead of private interest and partisan gain.