Pope Francis slams Trump deportations in clergy letter

The pontiff took issue with the Trump administration’s mass deportations in a Monday letter to the church’s U.S. bishops. The rightly formed conscience will disagree with the automatic labeling of migrants as criminals for illegally entering a country, Pope Francis wrote. He admitted that nations have the right to protect their citizens, but argued that deporting migrants trying to escape poverty or exploitation would only compound their vulnerability.

The true common good is promoted when society and governments respect the rights of all and welcome and protect the most vulnerable, he wrote. Christians know that affirming the infinite dignity of all is the only way one’s own identity reaches its maturity, according to the Pope. The human person is a subject with dignity who will gradually reach maturity and identity through relationships with all, specifically with the poorest, he said.

Francis urged leaders and members to resist discriminatory narratives against migrants and noted Biblical characters like the Israelites who experienced migration and exile. He encouraged Christians to look to the parable of the good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke for an example of how to enact fraternal love that is open to all.

How have leaders responded? Trump administration Border Czar Tom Homan described himself as a lifelong Catholic with harsh words for the pontiff. The Pope needs to focus on fixing problems in the Catholic Church and leave border enforcement to U.S. officials, he told reporters outside the White House. Homan rhetorically asked whether the Vatican was protected by a wall and argued that the United States should be allowed to have the same.

Vice President J.D. Vance, another confirmed Catholic, previously defended the administration’s sweeping deportations online by citing the concept of “ordo amoris” which translates to “order of love” or “order of charity.” St. Augustine explained the concept that demonstrates how people prioritize care towards their own families and communities over others. Vance described it as a commonsense hierarchy of obligations, arguing that the moral duty to protect one's own children far outweighs any duty to protect a stranger.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on more than two dozen religious groups suing to block immigration raids.