The Catholic Bishops of the United States issued a rare statement Thursday rejecting the harsh immigration policies occurring throughout the nation at President Donald Trump’s direction.
For the first time in 12 years, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops invoked a “special message” to express distress about the mistreatment of immigrants in the country that has been on full display through videos taken of raids, photos of detention centers and anecdotes from those with firsthand experience.
“We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” the statement from the Catholic Bishops read. “We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.”
Although the bishops did not name Trump or members of his administration directly, the message was clearly directed at them, as they have embarked on a campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants using aggressive and sometimes violent tactics to do so.
“We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement. We pray that the Lord may guide the leaders of our nation, and we are grateful for past and present opportunities to dialogue with public and elected officials,” the Catholic Bishops said.
“We as Catholic bishops love our country and pray for its peace and prosperity. For this very reason, we feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.”
The statement reinforces comments made by Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, who called on countries to be more open-minded about accepting immigrants and denounced aggressive actions against them.
Not only is the type of “special message” rarely issued, but it also unifies the Catholic Bishops of the U.S. with the Pope – a break from a recent friction between the conference and the Vatican over American politics.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops serves as a hierarchy to lead, unify, and promote Catholic activities in the U.S., by advocating for social welfare, education aid, care for immigrants, and more. But at times, the group has opposed the progressive positions taken by former Pope Francis.
The tension is expected to continue under Pope Leo, who is also believed to hold some progressive views – especially since the bishops elected the conservative Archbishop Paul Coakley, of Oklahoma City, to serve as the new president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops.
But it seems on the issue of immigration, both sides are currently aligned in rebuking the Trump administration’s aggressive push to profile, arrest, detain and deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
“We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care. We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status. We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools. We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones,” the Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in their statement.
The bishops acknowledged that nations have a right to regulate their borders to protect immigrants from trafficking or other forms of exploitation, but said “safe and legal pathways” also serve “as an antidote to such risks.”
