Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
At the heart of Catholic social teaching lie two principles: concern for the common good and respect for the individual human being. An example: Catholic prison ministry doesn’t dispute the need for punishment under the law to secure the safety of the public. But it also refuses to abandon the prisoner, affirms his continuing dignity and seeks his rehabilitation.
Another example: the annual March for Life. Hundreds of thousands of good people have marched on behalf of unborn children every January for more than four decades for two reasons: Permissive abortion poisons society as whole, and it does so by killing one developing child at a time.
To put it another way, individuals have obligations to the common good, and governments have a particular duty to provide for public security; otherwise they lose their legitimacy. But we can’t serve the common good by exploiting or callously mistreating individuals, especially the weak.
Being “prolife” involves a great deal more than a defense of unborn life, though it should naturally start there. We also have grave responsibilities to the poor, the infirm, the elderly and the immigrant — responsibilities that will shape our encounter with the God of justice when we meet him face to face.
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There are few embodiments of the weak more needy or compelling than refugees. This is why the Church in the United States has reacted so strongly, so negatively — and so properly — to President Trump’s executive orders of January 28. Writing on January 31, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez (himself an immigrant from Mexico and a naturalized citizen) put it this way:
“It is true that [President Trump’s] refugee orders are not a ‘Muslim ban,’ as some protesters and media are claiming. In fact, the vast majority of Muslim-majority countries are not affected by the orders, including some that have real problems with terrorism, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“That does not make these orders less troubling. Halting admissions of refugees for 90 or 120 days may not seem like a long time. But for a family fleeing a war-torn nation, or the violence of drug cartels, or warlords who force even children into armies — this could mean the difference between life and death …
“And it is a simple fact that not all refugees are terrorists, and refugees are not even the main source of terrorist threats to our country. The terror attack here in San Bernardino was ‘home grown,’ carried out by a man born in Chicago.
“As a pastor, what troubles me is that all the anger, confusion and fear that resulted from last week’s orders was entirely predictable. Yet that does not seem to have mattered to the people in charge.”
Read Archbishop Gomez’s entire, excellent commentary (“On the Executive Orders”) here.
The Wall Street Journal captured the seemingly slipshod and bumbling nature of the executive orders in its lead January 30 editorial, “Trump’s refugee bonfire.”: For the Journal, the “refugee ban is so blunderbuss and broad, and so poorly explained and prepared for, that it has produced confusion and fear at airports, an immediate legal defeat, and political fury at home and abroad.”
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Worse, the human damage has been painfully bitter: dislocated families, refugees and legal immigrants sent home or turned back, and intense fear in urban immigrant communities like Philadelphia’s.
None of this is overstatement. A friend of mine tells the story of her Colombian daughter-in-law — a young woman with two master’s degrees, a recently acquired green card, legally employed, with two children by her U.S. citizen husband — who’s now convinced that she might be deported. It doesn’t matter how implausible that sounds or is; what matters is the general atmosphere of uncertainty and fear these poorly thought through, abruptly deployed executive orders have created.
This in turn fuels opponents of the new administration who will use any available material to paralyze and undermine the legitimacy of a Trump presidency. Mr. Trump has now provided them with free and invaluable help.
We’re living through an irrational and dangerous time in the life of the nation, and the blame rests on both sides of the political spectrum. But if our differences are intractable, the very last people who should bear the cost of the current civil war are refugees.
Dear Archbishop,
Your heartfelt concern for refugees is admirable and as a Catholic raised and educated I feel compelled to disagree with you. President Trump must try to make some sense out of the laws for immigration that are in place in our country. You can’t make something that is broken work well until you stop what you are doing and take a good look at it and fix it. Why is it that the Catholic Church is all over him about the refugee’s when two days before was applauding his efforts in the Right to Life issues? We have laws in this country and we have to live by those laws. People must come into the country legally and that is what needs to be fixed. We have to know who is coming and where they will live and how the state that takes them will fund them and educate their children. The Catholic Church certainly won’t educate them. I’ve found that out the hard way. I have six sons and each one went to Catholic school until our 5th son was found to have a learning disability. He was asked to leave the school and we were told to send him to the local public school where they had better funds to meet his educational needs. He was asked to leave the Catholic elementary school and also after two weeks to leave the private Catholic High School for boys that our sons attended. So why then does the Catholic Church have such disdain for President Trump stopping the flow of refugees for a period of time until things are worked out, when the church won’t offer to educate their own children in our country??? Will the Catholic Church take these refugee children into their schools and give them the education they need?? I was told there wasn’t money for that in the Archdiocese. Why not?? So I think until the Catholic Church can fund and educate these refugees, they should stay out of the critics corner. I am respectfully disagreeing with you. Give President Trump a chance to make things work better, then maybe you can help our Catholic schools open their doors to all children who desire a Catholic education.
With all due respect, Archbishop Chaput, I heartily disagree with you. I think President Trump’s decision was a good one, the best for our country and the safety of our citizens. Yes, we do owe people charity, but not to the extent of allowing just anyone into our country. That’s how we got 9/11 and all the other Islamic murderous attacks. And the attacks will continue if we continue to allow people in nilly willy. We need to have a way to tell if those who try to come into our country have our country’s interests at heart, if they are coming to become Americans or if they are coming to destroy us.
For the most part, I think you have good ideas, but this one is just wrong.
I have often said that tolerance without reciprocity is suicide. Christians are persecuted in so many countries while Islam is for the most part tolerated. How will this affect the future of Christianity? It certainly is not a good situation.
I agree with above. But. We must be sure who we let in. What have they done in their country ? Are they our enemies, waiting to attack from within ? Then, I think of my family coming from Ireland 1840’s. Hard working, believing in education for their kids. My generation, all college plus graduates, professionals. Good thing America took our ancestors in. Expensive for the first years, payback second plus generations.
Dear Archbishop Chaput, I am a 55 year old practicing Catholic and I applaud your courage in writing such a heartfelt article standing up to the plight of the refugees and immigrants. My prayers are with all who have been severely impacted by this unjust policy.
Thank you, Archbishop Chaput!
Dear Archbishop Charles,
My thanks for a concise and clear response to President Trump’s ill-conceived executive order on immigration. Once again the least among us are asked to suffer even more and all of us will have to face Jesus our Judge who proudly stood beside them when He visited our world in person. The enemies of the new administration have been handed a powerful armament.
The recent election and polls show support for the President. The common good is the right to feel free from terrorists using our liberal immigration policies to attack us from within. Church leaders continue to push democrat talking points on this issue as well as with Mexico but the majority of Catholics who voted for Trump are just not listening. 90 to 120 wait is hardly a cruel act. Sadly just like mainstream media this faithful Catholic is tuning out the US Bishops who sound like nothing more than mouthpieces for the Democratic Party. Try listening to the “deplorables” who fill the pews each Sunday and try to understand our concerns. God bless the President who already has done more for the Church in two weeks than Obama did in eight years.
Too late your Eminence. You should have posted this before the election . Not to mention the 30 million Americans that will be affected by the reversal of the Affordable Care Act. Damage is done. Populorum Progresio? Silence.
I understand the need to care for refugees is important, but is not a right to just let any refugee into the US it is a privilege. A new President came to power and he wanted to review the background check process as he was not privileged to how the previous administration conducted reviews.
Does the Catholic Church automatically baptised anyone? Though I would say it was a lifesaving thing? Does the the Catholic Church allow anyone to part take in the eucharist? No. Do we just marry anyone that asks, No.
They have to want it and adapt to our practices and church. Why can’t immigration be like that. The Church is made of people of different makes and models but we all desire the same practice and outcome. Why can’t the US ask the same of its immigrants?
But now back to the vetting procedures, the Archdiocese now requires all volunteers to go through a back ground check that reaches back until 1975. It requests everything. Job history, education, where you lived with and who lived with you. So why can’t the US ask the same for immigrants requesting to come into this country? The Archdiocese is asking the same if not more from people that want to volunteer to help.
The Catholic Church has installed it’s own vetting process to try and minimize the possibilities of more harm, so why can’t the President of the United States? It happens from time to time because like any organization anywhere, sometimes an audit of the process is needed to ensure that the process is being followed or needs adjustment.
Thank you for your Catholic guidance as our nation negotiates these tumultuous times. I am supportive of our president’s initiatives to secure our collective and individual security. However, I am very distressed by the helter-skelter fashion in which this recent immigration pause was rolled out. I am retired now but my two oldest sons are Vice Presidents of Human Resources.
Just today, they each relayed to me how disruptive the immigration ban has been to the routine conduct of business travel outside The United States for their employees. That’s a simple example of the human impact of the administration’s latest attempt to keep us secure.
Can you imagine the extreme grief suffered daily by the people of Syria forced to flee their homes? Children injured physically and emotionally by war? How can we Americans, blessed as we are with abundance at every turn, coldly close our gates on the poor and downtrodden? How will we respond to Christ when He asks us about our compassion in 2017 as the world turned its back on Aleppo, Damascus, et.al. ?
Please continue to hold our feet to the fire regarding the least among us.
The temporary ban should be of no surprise to anyone. President Trump campaigned on this issue specifically. Entering the U.S. as an immigrant is a priveledge not a right. The President has a duty, an obligation to protect American citizens first. We’re people inconvenienced? Yes and that is all. This is a temporary ban to allow the required time to instill an enhanced vetting system! I don’t believe this is about immigration at all but just another reason for Trump haters to try and undermine the legitimacy of President Trump’s candidacy. Throwing adult tantrums in the form of protests about everything he does. I generally agree with you Bishop Chaput but this time I think you got it wrong. President Trump’s order was reasonable and necessary and the backlash was inevitable!! I believe they are already protesting his Supreme Court nominee?!
The archbishop did not say anything when President Obama issued several orders. Neither do we hear a positive comment on the President’s recent pro life ctions. How about statements supporting other groups suffering? So sad to see our church leaders seemingly taking sides and criticizing our president.
Your Excellency
You say “. It doesn’t matter how implausible that sounds or is; what matters is the general atmosphere of uncertainty and fear these poorly thought through, abruptly deployed executive orders have created.”
Over the last several months, indeed over the course of the entire campaign, certain bishops in the United States seem to some of us to have gone out of their way to stoke the uncertainty and fear about which you speak.
Most of the chaos over the last weekend is chaos created by leftist and professional demonstrators who’s job it is to stoke fear and confusion. Are you adding to that? Are the bishops in the United States adding to the problem or helping to solve them?
The press has gone out of its way to find the hard and terrible cases and in presenting them to the public have made each one sound even more hard and more terrible. Are you and your brother bishops adding to this problem or helping to solve it?
Whatever the problems with the new restrictions the hysterics of those on the left (and some of our bishops) over this weekend is far worse and far more dangerous. The confusion and hysteria in part created by our own Catholic Bishops only further endangers the refugees about which write. Trumps actions may have been “slipshod and bumbling ” but the actions of the professional troublemaking class were well orchestrated intentional and terrible!
Very well stated, Archbishop.
Well said. Ghandi once said, It is not our differences that really matter. It is the meanness that is behind them that is ugly. If we hold the dignity of every person as fundamental much of our human acts would be substantially different. Peace
Thank you Archbishop for your work and your leadership, by both word and example.
Good, but I would have liked to see more hard facts. Looking at terrorist attacks worldwide , how many have been perpetrated by refugees or immigrants? At what point does prudence dictate more caution?
Your Eminence, unfortunately there are a couple of problems with the American bishops’ response, first and foremost being that the sight of so many of you putting so much effort into this one issue is a kind of “scandal in reverse” — most of these same bishops (yourself and a few others excluded) don’t put anywhere near this effort into, for example, countering contraception, speaking out against abortion, decrying gay marriage, or supporting the indissolubility of Christian marriage. I know there’s a lot out there to deal with, and I know this issue has a sense of immediacy, but you all don’t do Catholics in America any favors when you jump on the bandwagon, instead of putting the same work into spreading *all* the Church’s teachings.
Second is the apparent ignorance of safety issues on the part of the bishops. You mention that the State’s job is to provide public security, but appear unwilling to accept what that means in the case of refugees. I don’t know how many of those refugees are dangerous, violent, and will ultimately push for Sharia law, but *you* don’t know how many are perfectly safe and desperately in need. You don’t have the numbers, and neither do I. Your lack of caution is closer to thoughtless presumption than Christian courage.
Finally, I know this is a United States issue right now because of the executive order, and so it’s fitting for the United States bishops to speak on it. But you do realize the US is not the only country capable of taking in refugees, right? What if we spent our aid money sending them to Canada? or Mexico? Or Saudi Arabia? Or Norway? Or some other country that isn’t doing its part on the world stage? How will we ever pull together as a global society, if America keeps doing everyone’s work for them? We can’t fix the world, and we are a hated target of the very people whom at least some of these refugees may represent. Is it so much to ask that we slow down and take time to figure things out?
There’s more to this issue than “America is anti-refugee”, and though I don’t doubt your love and concern for all who are suffering, still you must know that compassion does not equal carelessness.
I have great respect for you and I may be completely wrong on this but I really think as we do not have all the details that the government has. I am not sure it is fair to say we should not have a halt for a little while on refugees until we can make sure that those coming in are not a threat. Hence if I lived where there was a threat of people I would lock my doors at night, to keep my family a little safer. Is that a for sure thing to lock the doors, no, but it can help keep someone out of my house that could hurt my family. Or at least give me a little time to call for help. I understand we need to be there to help as many people as we can. But as I see it that is the Churches job (and us as individuals).
The job of the government is to protect and make sure that dangerous people (wishing to hurt our great America) are not coming in looking as sheep when they are really wolves. What good is it to save 100 sheep if you have a wolf in amongst them that will turn around and kill some of the 100 sheep plus the other 100 sheep that were already in the pen. Just a thought. I may be completely wrong but I feel that sometimes it is better to be cautious and safe.
Is our government’s main purpose to take care of their people and after taking care of the American people they can spread to other countries. Just like as a mother my main job it to teach and care for my own children and after they are looked after and taken care of then I can care for others. But I must not neglect my children. (I know there is a fine line of spoiling and neglecting in the USA we lean toward spoiling and I am guilty of this). So I am talking about food, (not over amount), clothing (small amount), a roof over their heads, education (Catholic, hence we homeschool), my time with them and that is about all that is needed.
I agree the cost should not be born by the refugees and that is why as a responsible Christian you should be outraged at Trumps Muslim ban. Shame on you for trying to “appear” as supporting both sides of political spectrum. There is only one side, living the words of Christ telling us to support the refugees.