During its recent Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) overwhelming voted to issue a "Special Message" against the president's mass deportation policy and "advocate for a meaningful reform of our nation's immigration laws and procedures."
In their view, deporting illegal immigrants is uncompassionate and ignores human value and dignity. This message marks the first time in 12 years the USCCB invoked this particularly urgent way of speaking as a body.
"The bishops' letter doesn't necessarily represent the opinions of the Roman Curia or of the pope himself," comments Art Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). " It is more of an advisory opinion, basically a group opinion about how they believe that the immigration laws of the United States should be enforced."
The Roman Curia is the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church that assists the pope.
Arthur, an active member of the Roman Catholic Church, says one thing is clear from the bishops' document: they would prefer to have amnesty.
"But they don't even explain how broad that amnesty should be," he tells AFN. "Should it be for only people who have been here for a decade or more, or for somebody who crossed the Rio Grande yesterday and is now on American soil?"
Arthur also questions the timing, saying, "It would have been helpful … if the bishops had spoken up when hundreds of thousands of aliens were pouring over the southwest border every month under the Biden administration."
Many Catholics look to the bishops for moral and ethical guidance, but Arthur does not think this statement will have a major effect on how individual Catholics view the border enforcement issue.
