Pope Francis criticised Trump's deportation efforts days before death, ‘Damages the dignity of many…’ | Read open letter
In an open letter, Pope Francis urged Catholics to reject anti-immigrant narratives.
Pope Francis reportedly criticised Donald Trump’s mass deportations days before his death. The Trump critic, who died at 88, urged Catholics to reject anti-immigrant narratives.
Francis wrote in an open letter to American bishops in February that deporting people who come from difficult situations violates the “dignity of many men and women, and of entire families.” The pope added that he had “followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations,” and added that any policy built on force “begins badly and will end badly.” Francis, who had been an advocate for migrants, called the issue a “shipwreck of civilization.”
“At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival. That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,” the pope wrote.
Read the open letter:
‘It turns up the heat of the conflict’
While Francis slammed Trump for his anti-immigration plans when he was a presidential candidate, this letter was one of the most explicit criticisms shared publicly. At the time, experts said that this would escalate the temper of the relationship between the Vatican and the American administration.
“It turns up the heat of the conflict,” said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology at Villanova University, according to The New York Times.
Experts also said the open letter meant the pope addressed members of the new American administration, many of whom are Catholic, specifically Vice President JD Vance. In his statement, the pope appeared to give a riposte to Vance, who had recently spoken about the “ordo amoris,” translated as “order of love” or “order of charity.” It is a concept discussed by ancient theologian St. Augustine, who said everything and everyone should be loved in its own proper way.
Francis wrote that “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups.” “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted,” he wrote, is “love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”
Experts also said Francis’ open letter was also aimed at some bishops and Catholics who had begun to adopt a benevolent stance toward Trump. “He wants to avoid that the Church is divided into a Church of the Pope and a Church of Trump,” said Alberto Melloni, a church historian and the director of the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Sciences in Bologna.
Francis criticised Trump’s anti-immigration policies in the past too, saying in 2016 that the then presidential candidate “is not Christian” because of his campaign plan to build a wall along the Mexico border and deport more immigrants. Last year, the pope said both Trump and Kamala Harris were “against life” – Harris for supporting abortion rights, and Trump for his conduct toward immigrants. At the time, Francis encouraged voters to choose the “lesser of two evils.”
