A major driver behind President Trump’s re-election was the support he received from religious voters. However, the largest Christian denomination in the world has become one of the most consistent critics of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Despite Mr. Trump’s efforts to promote religious themes and maintain support among religious voters, one of his sharpest critics has been the Catholic Church. Harsh criticism has come not just from individual leaders or organizations but from the Vatican itself. Several religious organizations and churches have spoken out to condemn the policies. Still, the Catholic Church stands out given its size and consistent criticism, with directives to speak out coming from the top down rather than from individual congregations.
In September, Pope Leo XIV spoke out against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in response to a question about the controversy surrounding the archbishop of Chicago, Blase Cupich, and his decision to award Senator Dick Durbin a lifetime achievement award despite Durbin’s support of abortion access, which the Catholic Church opposes.
The pope said, “Someone who says I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life.” He added, “And someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”
Meanwhile, the archbishop of Chicago criticized the immigration crackdown this week, stating, “[Immigrants’] dignity as parents must be taken into account before they are ripped away in full sight from their children, who are now citizens, and hauled away as criminals.”
He continued, “Our pastors are telling us attendance at Mass, particularly in Latino communities, is down because people are afraid to come out. That is very sad.”
The bishop of El Paso, Mark Seitz, told Reuters earlier this month that the pope is “very personally concerned about these matters” and urged bishops to “speak strongly on this issue.”
The archbishop of Washington, Robert McElroy, told CNN in July that the policy of mass deportations is “not only incompatible with Catholic teaching,” but is also “morally repugnant.”
Several Catholic advocacy organizations have also spoken out against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. In January, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement criticizing Mr. Trump’s immigration policies, describing them as “deeply troubling” and warning of “negative consequences.”
In response to sweeping immigration raids, some dioceses have told members of their congregations they have an exemption from attending Mass if they are afraid because of the raids.
Earlier this year, several denominations, such as the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, released statements criticizing Mr. Trump’s immigration policy and urging their congregations to treat migrants with dignity and in accordance with Biblical values.
In February, a group of 27 Christian and Jewish organizations sued the Trump administration over its policy that allowed immigration agents to make arrests at places of worship.
While individual pastors and churches have spoken out to criticize the administration’s immigration policies, mainline Protestant denominations have not publicly urged clergy members to speak out as forcefully as the Vatican has.
In one notable case, a ministry affiliated with the conservative Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), called Mission to North America and focused on outreach and disaster response, came under fire after posting resources to help undocumented immigrants avoid deportation. The ministry leaders later deleted the information and issued a statement saying they “repent and apologize.”
Trump administration officials have largely brushed off the Catholic Church’s criticism. In February, Tom Homan, the administration’s border tsar, responded to the pope’s remarks by saying, “I’ve got harsh words for the pope: I say this as a lifelong Catholic. He ought to focus on his work and leave enforcement to us. He’s got a wall around the Vatican, does he not?”
https://www.nysun.com/article/catholic-churches-following-vatican-as-the-harshest-and-most-consistent-critics-of-trumps-immigration-policies
