“I’m heartbroken.”
I think JD Vance spoke for a lot of Catholics this past weekend.
In case you missed the hour-long interview, CBS’s Margaret Brennan pressed Vance on the United States bishops’ reaction to the Trump administration’s first week in power – specifically the round-up of violent criminals here illegally.
She (gleefully) put her finger on what can only be described as a difficult moment for Catholics in America.
Here we have a Catholic vice president put in the hot seat by a hostile journalist, who pit him against the shepherds of his own Church:
“Vance vs. the bishops.”
She got it wrong. When it comes to this national emergency, the whole situation is heartbreaking.
First, if our second “Catholic” president (Joe Biden, remember?) had done his job and enforced our laws, then Trump wouldn’t have inherited a humanitarian crisis on our southern border. Second, too many Catholics are simply talking past each other. At the end of the day, all Catholics of good will – bishops, laity, priests, and religious – share the same goals.
We want the 300,000 missing children found.
We want all people to be safe in their homeland.
We want violent criminals captured and detained – and deported.
We want borders administered with justice and genuine refugees welcomed with mercy.
And we are free to disagree – passionately – on how those goals can be achieved.
As we’ve said before: Catholics in America are clearly conflicted over this. As a body, we share the same goals for the border crisis. We want peace. We want to welcome legal migrants to this great nation. We want to offer help to legitimate refugees.
But the Catholic Church does not offer a specific policy solution – nor does it forbid particular policies like deportation, provided they are carried out in a just way. No one has a monopoly on the “right answer” to the chaos and suffering the Biden-Harris open border has unleashed on our country.
What’s heartbreaking is that too many voices are talking past the real issues facing Americans today, choosing rhetoric that paints Americans in the most uncharitable light.
We’ve seen a lot of talking points in the last week about family separation, children ripped out of classrooms, and ICE agents being told to go into churches – all of which are theoretical.
What we haven’t heard is much talk from Catholic leaders on what is actually happening right now under Border Czar Tom Homan’s direction.
As of today, ICE has arrested 956 illegal aliens. Those arrested include child rapists, pedophiles, men with multiple DUI convictions, and dozens of violent gang members (including nearly 50 Tren de Aragua gang members who terrorized the city of Aurora, CO).
Tom Homan’s “the worst first” plan is working – and everyone should be applauding!
We are also seeing reports from FOX News that tens of thousands of the children “lost” under Biden’s open border policy have been located already. If those numbers are even 10% accurate, we should be hearing massive congratulations and celebrations from everyone.
We need more than simple bumper sticker rhetoric and media “gotcha” questions to solve the humanitarian crisis we’re facing.
This is not “CatholicVote vs. the bishops” any more than it’s “Vance vs. the bishops.”
We are all Catholic first.
The Catholic bishops of Colorado issued a good statement that reflects the realities of our situation. They wrote:
An open border is not a just system and does great damage to the dignity of the human person, and most especially to the children and women who are trafficked. It is critical to ensure that the U.S. immigration system justly protects migrants’ rights to sustain their lives and the lives of their families and that the nation protects the safety and well-being of all.
This sounds like a path that we can all agree with.