The Vice- President of the USA, J.D. Vance said on a CBS interview with Margaret Brennan that he was ‘heart-broken’ because of the Statement from the US Catholic bishops condemning Trump’s plan to deport immigrants. In an interview on CBS, Vance was asked about the Bishops statement in which they condemned Trump’s orders on immigration. The bishops called these plans “deeply troubling.”
Vance criticized the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops suggesting that their concerns were motivated by financial interests. He claims that the Catholic Church was making a lot of money out of Federal government aid for immigrants. In the course of the interview on CBS, Vance stated that he was saddened because he was ‘a devout Catholic.’
So what is a devout Catholic? In my book ‘a devout Catholic’ is a person who is devoted, as Jesus was, to caring for and supporting the poor, the weak and the marginalised. A devout or devoted Catholic is someone who is always working to end oppression, poverty and injustice. The devout Catholic is someone committed to supporting immigrants and refugees -people fleeing poverty and oppression. After all, Jesus identified with these people.
J.D. Vance seems to think that ‘a devout Catholic’ is someone who goes to Church on a Sunday and ignores the teaching of Christ about standing with the poor during the rest of the week.
Vance replied, “Because as a practicing Catholic, I was actually heartbroken by that statement. I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”
When he was asked about the potential chilling effect of these enforcement actions, particularly on parents who may avoid sending their children to school out of fear of immigration raids, Vance responded, “I desperately hope it has a chilling effect on illegal immigrants coming into our country.”
The federal government heavily relies on tax-exempt charitable organizations, many with religious affiliations, to process and support refugees entering the United States, with the bishops’ conference playing a prominent role since 1975.
The bishops’ conference on its website describes its migration and refugee services as “the largest refugee resettlement agency in the world.” Over the past five decades, the conference has assisted millions of refugees and asylum seekers relocate in the U.S., finding them homes and jobs in American communities with the support of federal funding, the website says.
Catholic commentators in the US say they are grateful to JD Vance for making it known that the US Catholic bishops care for migrants and refugees as well as the unborn. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
a great article. Its great to know that the US Catholic Bishops are witness to the justice and peace of the Gospel of Jesus by recognising the worlds poor in immigrants and refugees. I doubt if Vance would recognise the Gospel .