If Jesus and Mary were fortunate, there was a midwife around at the time of Jesus' birth. Or maybe there wasn't. Certainly there was little or no paperwork done--Jesus' birth, like that of most of the people on the earth (poor people, that is), would have been an event of little note (save for the extreme interest of God and Mary his mother). In the Rio Grande Valley, the same lack of concern about poor people lives on. For instance, a person born to a midwife (a common practice for poor families) is immediately put into a category of doubt. While the State of Texas will recognize the newborn as a citizen, the State Department imposes an extreme set of criteria, making it practically impossible to obtain a passport, and thus travel to the home of the his or her ancestors.
In the end, 2000 years ago, Jesus had it a little better. All the Holy Family needed when they headed off as refugees to Egypt was a sturdy donkey, a wise Joseph, and a strong Mary. 2,000 years later, a person born to a midwife and seeking his or her right to travel, needs a slew of attorneys (which we have, thanks to Lisa Brodyaga and the ACLU) and some good guardian angels.
The lawsuit launched against the State Department in favor of people born in the Valley to midwives continues forward. What a grand Christmas gift it would be to have that settled, once and for all.
(Christmas card, by Fr. John Giuliani and available from Bridge Building Images, Inc; PO Box 1048; Burlington VT 05402)
