In the past few months, immigration has become a very talked – about issue in the United States. This is because of Donald Trump’s recent strict actions against illegal immigration. His actions have led to many deportations and the suspension of refugee settlements.
Immigration has always been a big topic of debate in the U.S. People around the world have their own thoughts on it. One of them is Pope Francis.
On February 10, 2025, Pope Francis wrote a letter about immigration. It was called “Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America.”
The letter starts with the story of the Jews escaping slavery in Egypt. It asks the reader to think about how this story relates to today. The letter “reaffirms not only our faith in a God, who is always near, like an incarnate, migrant, and refugee, but also the great and unending dignity of every person.”
After making this connection, Pope Francis quotes Pope Pius XII. Pope Pius, in his “Apostolic Constitution on the Care of Migrants,” described the Holy Family as refugees. They had to leave their homeland because of a bad king.
Pope Francis says that while a country has the right to protect itself from foreign threats, deporting immigrants who came as refugees or to seek a better life ignores the dignity of all people. He explains that the real good of a government is to be welcoming and protect everyone, especially the poor and vulnerable. These mass deportations not only damage people’s dignity but are a force that will lead to bad results.
After giving his opinion on immigration policy, Pope Francis talks about “Christian Love.” He says it should be shown to all people, not just those we want to love. He adds that being worried about immigration spoiling national or personal identity would harm social life.
Pope Francis then recognizes the American bishops and those who have stayed true to the Catholic Church. He ends the letter by asking Our Lady of Guadalupe to protect migrants who are afraid about their future, whether it’s because of deportation or other immigration – related fears.
It’s interesting to talk about Pope Francis seemingly correcting JD Vance. On January 30, 2025, Vance spoke with Sean Hannity on Fox News. He said that Christian Love has a kind of priority list. He said you must first love your family, community, and country before you can love the rest of the world.
Vance later emphasized this idea of a hierarchical Christian Love in a post on X. He used the “ordo amoris” to back up his argument about what Christian Love is. He said having a love hierarchy is “basic common sense.” But Pope Francis’ letter seems to correct this view.
In his letter, Pope Francis gives a different meaning of the “ordo amoris.” He says it can be understood by “constantly thinking about the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ (Luke 10:25 – 27).” The parable teaches that we should be kind to everyone. This is different from JD Vance’s idea of loving based on priority.
JD Vance’s view on the “ordo amoris” might be his own way of understanding Aquinas’s definition in Summa Theologiae II, Question 26. Aquinas said that love should be different depending on who the person is. For example, you love a sibling differently than a friend, and you should care more about family and friends. But Aquinas’s definition seems to be more about personal relationships, not about politics. We don’t know if Aquinas would apply the “ordo amoris” to immigration policies.
No matter what you think about U.S. immigration, Pope Francis makes a good point. Our country should be safe from danger. But we also need to be compassionate to everyone, just like the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ story.
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