(RNS) — The man who left a recording on Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor’s voicemail earlier this month spoke with an even keel, but his message was anything but calm. Over the course of roughly 40 seconds, the caller accused Pajanor, the head of Catholic Charities San Diego, of “facilitating illegal immigration,” “breaking the law” and being “not really Christian.”The man saved his most volatile remarks for last, calling Pajanor, an immigrant and U.S. citizen, “scum” and much worse before ending with “Go back to India, you piece of garbage,” according to a recording provided to Religion News Service.
Over the past few months, Pajanor and staffers at Catholic Charities across the country, a decentralized, 113-year-old faith-based non-profit, have become the targets of right-leaning media personalities, conspiracy theorists and even members of Congress. The smear campaign is rooted in opposition to offering aid to immigrants, which critics frame as incentivizing illegal immigration, while sometimes accusing faith groups of breaking the law or working with drug cartels.
The result has been a series of unsettling incidents that have transpired near or even inside Catholic Charities facilities in what officials say is a rapidly growing threat to their safety.
“We have never seen this level,” Pajanor said, referring to the avalanche of v …
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Over the past few months, Pajanor and staffers at Catholic Charities across the country, a decentralized, 113-year-old faith-based non-profit, have become the targets of right-leaning media personalities, conspiracy theorists and even members of Congress. The smear campaign is rooted in opposition to offering aid to immigrants, which critics frame as incentivizing illegal immigration, while sometimes accusing faith groups of breaking the law or working with drug cartels.
The result has been a series of unsettling incidents that have transpired near or even inside Catholic Charities facilities in what officials say is a rapidly growing threat to their safety.
“We have never seen this level,” Pajanor said, referring to the avalanche of v …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]