We didn’t hear about open borders in Sunday school

Why are so many Catholic organizations promoting illegal immigration? They claim humanitarian motives but what they are doing is not rooted in Catholic teachings.

Our family came to the U.S. in 1964 from Cuba. We were assisted by a church to settle down and my parents were grateful. The church staff helped us collect furniture and help my father find a job. They were great and everybody was super nice. But we were legally in the country. Our sponsor church was simply helping a family not engaging in immigration activism.

So I was pleased to find this article from fellow Catholic Hugh Hewitt:

This column is addressed specifically to Roman Catholics and their families and friends who may often hear “Catholic social teaching requires ‘sanctuary cities'” or even an “open border.”

I have had it with these left-wing activists spouting this argument. They are dressed up as pseudo-theologians and don’t deserve any deference on this issue as they are simply and completely wrong.

And Hugh goes on:

Father Belz takes the space he needs to explicate fully the Catholic Church’s core teachings on migrants and how nations ought to receive them, a set of teachings that rest on three “core principles,” which Belz reproduces with the necessary specificity:

First Principle: People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families.

Second Principle: A country has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration.

Third Principle: A country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy.

And that’s been my understanding all of these years. In other words, Catholics are in the business of helping people. For example, my wife and I are involved in a Catholic charity that helps people pay rent and provides food via a pantry. At the same time, Catholics are not in the business of promoting illegal behavior and especially encouraging people to buy their way to the U.S. by paying criminal organizations.

So let’s set the record straight. The Catholic church is in the people business, but not in “open borders.”

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Image: CBP Office of Public Affairs