text: "Throughout your history, the Church in your country has welcomed and integrated new waves of immigrants," the pope said. "In their rich variety of their languages and cultural traditions, they have shaped the changing face of the American Church."
  
  This country has always had a love/hate relationship with immigrants.  Even Ben Franklin made unfortunate remarks about Germans in 18th century Pennsylvania.  One of the most notorious anti-immigrant moments came in the middle of the 19th century when a political party, The Know-Nothings, was founded to fend off the "threat" of immigrants, especially Irish-Catholics who brought, "rum, Romanism, and rebellion."  Fortunately, the Know-Nothings never came close to electing a president, not even when former president Millard Fillmore was their standard bearer.  The Know-Nothings of our day have taken over the Republican Party, nominated one of their own, and won the White House!  How did our country become so hateful?