The Bishops Stance on Immigration shows they are Material Cooperators
On February 11, 2025, Pope Francis sent a letter to American bishops about Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. In line with the leftist social justice narrative, the Pontiff used the example of the Holy Family fleeing from Herod’s wrath as immigrants themselves. By using this reference, the Pope tries to set a precedent that somehow illegal immigration is divinely ordered.
The reasoning, which goes back to Pope Pius XII, is disingenuous regarding the historical fact that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus did leave their current location and move to a safer location. But there is more to the story. The Holy Family broke no existing laws when they moved.
The pesky historical fact is that they moved to a different part of the Roman Empire, not another country. The Holy Family’s move is equivalent to moving from the eastern part of the same country to the west. Moving inside the same country or empire cannot be considered immigration.
Francis then challenges the criminality of illegal immigration as something that is against the dignity of the person, a phrase he uses often in his letter. Yet, as reported frequently, the Vatican State in which he resides has zero tolerance for those non-criminal immigrants and threatens them with prison and fines. The dignity issue seems to only apply to countries outside of the Vatican.
With his stance on the legitimacy of illegal immigration, the Pope tries to delegitimize sovereign countries’ right to regulate who and when foreigners can enter and become citizens. Perhaps the letter from the Vatican is the impetus for the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration. Again, there is always more to the story than just the point of human dignity.
On the USCCB website, they outline why the suit is necessary. First, they admit they have been federal government agents for decades with what they call “refuge” assistance. Their less-than-candid press release suggests these refugees have been screened but never mentions how the screening occurs. According to the Heritage Institute, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) can only check whether the illegal immigrant shows up on its databases. It can’t show the criminal activity of the illegal in their homeland unless the country gives them access to the data. Most often they don’t. That is why the notorious South American gangs found it so easy to enter the U.S.
The USCCB goes on to say, “The unilateral and unexplained decision of the government to suspend this program will have devastating impacts on refugees, making it harder for them to establish themselves in their new home.” According to the immigration laws of the United States, illegal immigrants do not have a new home unless they follow the law, get in line, and are genuinely vetted. The Bishops do not believe in the sovereignty of a nation, which is one of their first moral mistakes.
The other moral mistake the Bishops make is that they are willful material cooperators in the evil that occurs with illegal immigration. By being moral cooperators of evil, the Bishops and the Church do not participate directly in the evil but turn a blind eye to it without any resistance.
Their material cooperation can be identified with these examples. They never mention the extortion of coyotes charging the migrants money to get them across the border. Neither do they say a word about the unimaginable horror of the 300K unaccompanied minors, some of who have been sold into slavery already. This is not hyperbole; the number comes directly from the Federal government in an August 2024 report. Who knows, the number might have increased by now. Where is the talk about human dignity when a good portion of these innocent children will be forced into the sex industry and work in sweatshops?
If that were not enough, the Bishops continuously ignore the fact that death-causing drugs are flooding cities and towns from illegal immigration, causing 43% of deaths of young adults from 20-24. Nor do they seem to care about the legal laws of this country, which are not immoral. With a wink and a nod, they completely disregard the legitimacy of the law meant to stabilize the country.
And here is the kicker: never once did the Bishops or their successors in the United States ever offer a fraternal correction to other nations, encouraging them to better their countries by calling out Marxism and corruption so their citizens wouldn’t seek to immigrate. Quite the contrary, the only country that needs to change in their minds is the United States.
The posturing of the Bishops to attack the crackdown on illegal immigration is without a doubt linked to the billions of dollars they have received from the government to administer services to the illicit immigrants. The threat the money will run dry has to be one of the reasons the lawsuit was filed.
It is disappointing that the leaders of the Church in America seem to care more about where the next dollar comes from than about being moral leaders of their people. 2.4 billion dollars tends to do that.