I honestly didn’t think the US Catholics could scandalize me any more than they already had.
My entire life, I’d been taught by Catholics that the teachings of our faith are more important than political trends or popular culture. I’ve been told by many Catholics that when their faith and their politics contradict, that they always go with Church teaching. I honestly thought most of them were sincere. I have been proven wrong over and over again since January 20. In the United States, many Catholics have pushed aside our social doctrine on immigrants or twisted it. The way they dismiss the rights and dignity of our fellow humans is heartbreaking.
I’ve spent the past week trying to find the words to express my shock and extreme sorrow at the callous and cavalier attitudes of my fellow Catholics who have expressed support for mass deportation — especially those who have tried to twist Catholic teaching to promote this brutally evil agenda against our brothers and sisters in need.
The truth is that we are all foreigners because none of us has arrived at our true home. When we reject other people who are simply looking for work and an opportunity for a dignified life, we reject Christ.
Since I can’t find the words I want to share the words of two other Catholics. The first is Cardinal Victor Fernandez, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who wrote on the plight of migrants in the declaration Dignitas Infinita (Infinite Dignity):
40. Migrants are among the first victims of multiple forms of poverty. Not only is their dignity denied in their home countries, but also their lives are put at risk because they no longer have the means to start a family, to work, or to feed themselves. Once they have arrived in countries that should be able to accept them, “migrants are not seen as entitled like others to participate in the life of society, and it is forgotten that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any person. […] No one will ever openly deny that they are human beings; yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human.” Therefore, it is urgent to remember that “every migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance.” Receiving migrants is an important and meaningful way of defending “the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race or religion.”
The second is Pope Francis, who concluded his Message for the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2024 with the following prayer:
God, Almighty Father,
we are your pilgrim Church
journeying towards the Kingdom of heaven.
We live in our homeland,
but as if we were foreigners.
Every foreign place is our home,
yet every native land is foreign to us.
Though we live on earth,
our true citizenship is in heaven.
Do not let us become possessive
of the portion of the world
you have given us as a temporary home.
Help us to keep walking,
together with our migrant brothers and sisters,
toward the eternal dwelling you have prepared for us.
Open our eyes and our hearts
so that every encounter with those in need
becomes an encounter with Jesus, your Son and our Lord.
Amen.Rome, Saint John Lateran, 24 May 2024, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians
If we are truly disciples of Christ, we will welcome the stranger.
Image: Adobe Stock. By Sebastian94/Wirestock Creators.
Mike Lewis is the founding managing editor of Where Peter Is. He and Jeannie Gaffigan co-host Field Hospital, a U.S. Catholic podcast.
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