WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Donald Trump’s executive memorandum intended to restrict the entry of terrorists coming to the United States brought an outcry from Catholic leaders across the U.S.
Church leaders used phrases such as “devastating,” “chaotic” and “cruel” to describe the Jan. 27 action that left already-approved refugees and immigrants stranded at U.S. airports and led the Department of Homeland Security to rule that green card holders — lawful permanent U.S. residents — be allowed into the country.
In a statement Jan. 30, Bishop Donald Kettler of St. Cloud raised concerns about both the refugee restrictions as well as Trump’s recent executive order to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Our nation needs safe and secure borders and a reliable vetting process, but we cannot achieve them by sacrificing human rights and basic principles we hold dear as Americans, including justice, fairness and religious freedom,” he said. “Refugee policies should serve all people fleeing religious persecution, no matter whether they are Christians, Muslims or members of another faith. All have equal dignity that should be respected.
“I want immigrants and refugees in our diocese — wherever they are from — to know that I stand with them and support them in their efforts to rebuild their lives, keep their families together, and make positive contributions to their communities,” he said. “Walls — whether written into policy or built into the ground — divide rather than bring people together. Rather than building walls, as Pope Francis has said, we need to build bridges between people in order to dispel fears and foster relationships that will ultimately strengthen our communities.”
The leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops late Jan. 30 praised fellow prelates for “their witness” in speaking out against Trump’s actions and “in defense of God’s people,” and called on “all the Catholic faithful to join us as we unite our voices with all who speak in defense of human dignity.
“The bond between Christians and Muslims is founded on the unbreakable strength of charity and justice,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, USCCB president, and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, USCCB vice president, in a joint statement.
“The church will not waiver in her defense of our sisters and brothers of all faiths who suffer at the hands of merciless persecutors,” they said.
“The refugees fleeing from ISIS [Islamic State] and other extremists are sacrificing all they have in the name of peace and freedom,” they said. “Often, they could be spared if only they surrendered to the violent vision of their tormentors. They stand firm in their faith.”
Like all families, refugees “are seeking safety and security for their children,” they said. The U.S. “should welcome them as allies in a common fight against evil” and also “must screen vigilantly for infiltrators who would do us harm.” But the country “must always be equally vigilant in our welcome of friends,” the prelates said.
“Our desire is not to enter the political arena, but rather to proclaim Christ alive in the world today. In the very moment a family abandons their home under threat of death, Jesus is present,” Cardinal DiNardo and Archbishop Gomez said.
In Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich said in a Jan. 29 statement that the past weekend “proved to be a dark moment in U.S. history.”
“The executive order to turn away refugees and to close our nation to those, particularly Muslims, fleeing violence, oppression and persecution is contrary to both Catholic and American values,” he said. “Have we not repeated the disastrous decisions of those in the past who turned away other people fleeing violence, leaving certain ethnicities and religions marginalized and excluded? We Catholics know that history well, for, like others, we have been on the other side of such decisions.
“Their design and implementation have been rushed, chaotic, cruel and oblivious to the realities that will produce enduring security for the United States,” Cardinal Cupich said. “They have left people holding valid visas and other proper documents detained in our airports, sent back to the places some were fleeing or not allowed to board planes headed here. Only at the 11th hour did a federal judge intervene to suspend this unjust action.”
“The Protection of the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” which suspends the entire U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days, bans entry from all citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries — Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia — for 90 days. It also establishes a religious criteria for refugees, proposing to give priority to religious minorities over others who may have equally compelling refugee claims.
“We are told this is not the ‘Muslim ban’ that had been proposed during the presidential campaign, but these actions focus on Muslim-majority countries,” said Cardinal Cupich. “Ironically, this ban does not include the home country of 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers. Yet, people from Iraq, even those who assisted our military in a destructive war, are excluded.”
The cardinal quoted Pope Francis’ remarks to Congress in 2015: “If we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities.”
He said Pope Francis “followed with a warning that should haunt us as we come to terms with the events of the weekend: ‘The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.'”
Shortly after Trump signed the document at the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes, Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said the bishops “strongly disagree” with the action to halt refugee resettlement.
“We believe that now more than ever, welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope,” Bishop Vasquez said.
The USCCB runs the largest refugee resettlement program in the United States, and Bishop Vasquez said the church would continue to engage the administration, as it had with administrations for 40 years.
“We will work vigorously to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed in collaboration with Catholic Charities without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans, and to ensure that families may be reunified with their loved ones,” he said.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington called attention to the USCCB statement and the executive action and noted that “the legal situation is still fluid and news reports are sometimes confusing.”
“The political debate, which is complex and emotionally highly charged, will continue, but we must do our best to remain focused on the pastoral and very real work we undertake every day for the vulnerable and most in need … for the strangers at our doors,” he said.
Around the country, people gathered at airports to express solidarity with immigrants and green card holders denied admission, including an Iraqi who had helped the 101st Airborne during the Iraqi war. More than 550 people gathered at Lafayette Park across from the White House Jan. 29 to celebrate Mass in solidarity with refugees.
The Visitor contributed to this story.
The USCCB uses embarrassing rhetoric over a temporary ban. Our nation does not want to see the spike of crime that Europe has seen from dangerous men hiding among the refugees. We need to figure out how to identify these criminals before they come to our soil. This is not unreasonable expectation for Catholics to accept.