Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles told an audience of 500 people in El Paso that they must take up the fight for a just and comprehensive immigration bill.

The cardinal was in town to accept an award for his immigration advocacy during the fourth annual Voice of the Voiceless celebration that included an outdoor Mass and a recognition dinner April 14.

"This is the moment of the immigrant and we must seize this moment," he told his listeners at what was billed as a "solidarity meal" of rice and beans in Amistad Hall of Santa Lucia Church.

He told those present to do their part, whether it was to pray, talk to neighbors, or call their elected congressional leaders to make them understand the importance of the issue.

The Voice of the Voiceless Award was presented by El Paso's Annunciation House, a haven for refugees and migrants. The organization is made up of several centers in El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from the Texas city. Annunciation has provided temporary shelter and basic services to almost 90,000 undocumented immigrants from 40 countries --- mostly from Central and South America --- since it opened in 1978.

Cardinal Mahony was humble in accepting the award, saying he is one among a growing number of immigration advocates across the country who are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

"This is our voice," he told the crowd that included religious leaders, elected officials, doctors, and educators. "We do it together as one body of Christ."

The cardinal has been an advocate for immigrant rights for more than 40 years, but it was his stand last year against an immigration bill that generated national headlines. A bill passed by the House of Representatives in late 2005 would have criminalized the 11 million to 12 million people in the country illegally, as well as make it a crime to provide assistance to them.

On Ash Wednesday in 2006, Cardinal Mahony told his congregation that he would instruct the leaders and parishioners of the 288 parishes of the Los Angeles Archdiocese to disobey the measure if it became law because it violated the law of God.

Before the dinner at Amistad Hall, the cardinal was the main celebrant of a Mass outside Annunciation House, a rustic two-story, red-brick structure and the organization's first building.

In his homily, the cardinal said that by virtue of their baptism Catholics are called to help people in need, and suggested that people consider the immigration situation in a practical way. He wondered how America would function without the undocumented immigrants who work in the fields, factories and such hospitality jobs as restaurants and hotels.

"Without immigrants, the state of California would shut down," he said.

Cardinal Mahony said he hoped that a just immigration law could be passed by Congress before the fall recess. Otherwise, he said, legislators will focus more on the 2008 elections and not take a serious look at the subject again until early 2009.

---CNS