Immigration, religion and city politics

Cincinnati religious leaders raise their arms in solidarity during a gathering of the Cincinnati Coalition For Comprehensive Immigration Reform at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains downtown Friday. (Photo by Gary Landers/The Cincinnati Enquirer)

Councilman David C. Crowley's domain is more in the secular realm, but he was nonetheless the lead speaker at today's gathering of Cincinnati religious leaders on immigration reform.

Crowley, a self-proclaimed liberal Catholic, told a dozen religious leaders -- including Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk -- that he had pushed through a council resolution supporting the more liberal immigration bill in the Senate sponsored by senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. It passed, 7-2.

"I just wanted to express a question that floated into my mind as Councilman Crowley talked about his resolution. Who were the other two?" Pilarczyk said in mock consternation as he stepped to the podium. "But we won't go there."

Turns out, one of the two was a member of Pilarczyk's flock: Republican Chris Monzel. (Republican Leslie E. Ghiz, who is Greek Orthodox, was the other.)

Monzel is a Moeller High School graduate and member of St. Bernard Catholic Church in Winton Place. And he once taught Sunday school at Holy Cross-Immaculata Church in Mount Adams.

With all due respect to the archbishop, he said, his vote had nothing to do with the merits of immigration reform.

"It harkens back to the days when then-Councilman Todd Portune put in a resolution about ending the boycott in Cuba. We need to get to the business of Cincinnati and not putting these issues before council," Monzel said. "What's on this city's plate right now is to make it safe and clean and reduce the violent crime that's occurring."

Pressed for a position, Monzel demurred. "It's certainly an important issue, and I've been reading a lot about it," he said. "But honestly, if I were Steve Chabot or Jean Schmidt, I don't know how I'd vote."