The Pope’s disastrous letter on immigration

[Michie]

In a letter ostensibly written to support the bishops of the US, Pope Francis has actually made life considerably more difficult for them. In his letter on the Trump administration’s immigration policies the Pontiff makes an argument that is poorly informed, easily rebutted, and likely to divide the American Catholic faithful. This is an argument that the American hierarchy cannot win. And, not coincidentally, the argument presented by the Pope differs notably from the most recent statements by more prudent American prelates.

Has any modern Pontiff ever written a statement so harshly critical of the policies of a sovereign nation? If so, it has escaped my notice. Mit Brennender Sorge unequivocally denounced Nazi racial ideology, but Pope Pius XI focused that encyclical on principles, not specific public policies. There is precedent for a papal letter cautioning the American hierarchy, of course, but in Testem Benevolentiae Pope Leo XIII too spoke in general terms—indeed, so general that the “Americanists” he set out to rebuke could and did reply that the Pope’s admonitions did not apply to them.

Continued below.

The Pope’s disastrous letter on immigration

Since it is an unabashedly political document, the Pope’s letter should be judged by its likely political impact— which will be negative.

www.catholicculture.org

 

[Michie]

Pope Francis’s immigration letter was seriously imprudent

I don’t recall the Pope writing a letter to the US bishops decrying Biden’s aggressive pushing of abortion and trans issues

thespectator.com

 

[Michie]

On Trump and the Border, the Pope’s Hypocrisy Is Showing - The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator | USA News and Politics

Pope Francis on Tuesday slammed President Donald J. Trump’s policy of arresting and deporting illegal aliens en masse, starting with criminals and terrorists

spectator.org

 

[chevyontheriver]

On Trump and the Border, the Pope’s Hypocrisy Is Showing - The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator | USA News and Politics

Pope Francis on Tuesday slammed President Donald J. Trump’s policy of arresting and deporting illegal aliens en masse, starting with criminals and terrorists

spectator.org

Pope Francis is a political guy, not a theologian. So he sends us politics. This is way outside of the purview of popes. He's making a political mess far messier, and instead of prudence and principals Catholics should follow we get politics.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Pope Francis’s immigration letter was seriously imprudent

I don’t recall the Pope writing a letter to the US bishops decrying Biden’s aggressive pushing of abortion and trans issues

thespectator.com

There is a US bishop, I forget which one, saying that those who agree with Trump on immigration should be denied communion. Where was this bishop the last four years while Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi pushed abortion?

 

[Maria Billingsley]

In a letter ostensibly written to support the bishops of the US, Pope Francis has actually made life considerably more difficult for them. In his letter on the Trump administration’s immigration policies the Pontiff makes an argument that is poorly informed, easily rebutted, and likely to divide the American Catholic faithful. This is an argument that the American hierarchy cannot win. And, not coincidentally, the argument presented by the Pope differs notably from the most recent statements by more prudent American prelates.

Has any modern Pontiff ever written a statement so harshly critical of the policies of a sovereign nation? If so, it has escaped my notice. Mit Brennender Sorge unequivocally denounced Nazi racial ideology, but Pope Pius XI focused that encyclical on principles, not specific public policies. There is precedent for a papal letter cautioning the American hierarchy, of course, but in Testem Benevolentiae Pope Leo XIII too spoke in general terms—indeed, so general that the “Americanists” he set out to rebuke could and did reply that the Pope’s admonitions did not apply to them.

Continued below.

The Pope’s disastrous letter on immigration

Since it is an unabashedly political document, the Pope’s letter should be judged by its likely political impact— which will be negative.

www.catholicculture.org

I do not understand what the issue is. His letter was wonderful! This writer is twisting his letter to sound political when in fact it is a proclamation to the world that the Catholic Church stands by the poor , marginalized and disenfranchised.
Blessings

 

[Michie]

As I read this, with great respect to the sentiment and to Pius XII, it occurs to me that there are differences between what we see in the Holy Family and what we see today in the movement of peoples, especially at the US southern border.

• St. Joseph obeyed the civil law by responding to the census.
• The Holy Family did not leave the jurisdiction of the Romans. Egypt was a province of the Empire.
• In travelling to Egypt the road was a trade route secured by Legio II “Cyrenaica”, not by human trafficking cartels. They didn’t have to sneak into Egypt.
• St. Joseph worked for a living and did not receive government hand outs, hotels and free cellphones.
• St. Joseph, so far as we know, didn’t have a criminal record, wasn’t a fugitive from justice or a violent gang member with multiple convictions.
• Nor was Mary.
• “Jesus lived the drama of immigration” – really “emigration”, no?
• Jesus also lived the drama of going home.

Also, correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t what the Trump administration doing, even by the Church’s own teaching, “repatriation” and not “deportation”? If I remember correctly, when the Church (Gaudium et spes?) speaks of causing people to move from one place to another, it’s about the ejection of people from their proper, chosen place. That’s “deportation”. Sending people out of a country they do not belong to back to where they came from is not “deportation”, it is “repatriation”. Am I wrong?

Continued below.

Some observations about Francis’ Letter to US Bishops | Fr. Z's Blog

wdtprs.com

 

[Wolseley]

It's not surprising that Francis espouses these views; he is, after all, a South American Jesuit, sauteed in the "liberation theology" that was trendy back in the '60s and '70s, championed by guys like Leonardo Boff, Gustavo Gutierrez, and Juan Luis Segundo.

As a result, he also reflects the viewpoints of liberation theology, which can be described as simple Marxist class conflict with a Christian veneer: that the poor are victims of class, exploited and downtrodden by the rich; an embracement of the socialist ideas of wealth redistribution; and a hostile resentment focused on governmental authority, especially in the case of nations like the United States, who tend to be labelled as oppressive and exploitative.

These views in Francis' case are reflected in his criticism of the United States and American Catholics, whom he sees as backwards and insular. He seems to be unable to get past that prejudice and actually clearly view the wider and more complex picture of what's going on in American and Catholic culture. His comments and opinions tend to paint us as caricatures, straw men easily set up to be blamed for this or that, and knocked down.

 

[Michie]

‘Fraternally Francis’: Does a papal ‘hot take’ on immigration help?

Has the pope penned a letter to make American Catholics rethink or simply harden their political priors?

www.pillarcatholic.com

 

[Michie]

21:28

Pope Francis' immigration letter received backlash from Catholic laity and Bishops around the USA. Fr. Charles Murr discusses why Pope Francis is wrong on trying to influence immigration policy in the United States and, why Catholic Bishops are starting to speak out against the Pope's policies. Is the Papacy of Francis coming to an end? Also, Fr. Charles Murr weights in on the Pope's dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox on a common date for Easter. Papal Hot Takes today on A Catholic Take with Joe McClane.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

I do not understand what the issue is. His letter was wonderful! This writer is twisting his letter to sound political when in fact it is a proclamation to the world that the Catholic Church stands by the poor , marginalized and disenfranchised.
Blessings

It is a pastoral message that naturally ruffles feathers. Prophetic voices always do.

"The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival. That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.

"The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the “Good Samaritan” (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.

"7. But worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations, easily introduces an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the strongest as the criterion of truth.

"I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters. With charity and clarity we are all called to live in solidarity and fraternity, to build bridges that bring us ever closer together, to avoid walls of ignominy and to learn to give our lives as Jesus Christ gave his for the salvation of all."