Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

A file photo shows an American flag flying outside Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Centerport, N.Y. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic)

Is our nation losing its soul?


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OSV News Filed Under: Bishops, Commentary, Immigration and Migration

U.S. bishops are speaking up about the treatment of immigrants and the deportation strategy and tactics of the current administration, and their messaging has grown increasingly urgent and concerned.

What they are seeing is not just a political clash that has pitted American against American. They are seeing something much more profound and troubling.

“The political crisis of our time is, at its root, a spiritual crisis,” said Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore in his Feb. 9 pastoral letter “In Charity and Truth: Toward a Renewed Political Culture.” “While the symptoms appear in our discourse, our institutions, and our communities, the deeper fracture lies within the human heart.”

“As a proud American, I have always lived by the belief that we are a nation of guiding values, a nation of noble virtues, a nation established on the rule of law and respectful of human rights,” said Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger in a Feb. 1 column. Increasingly, he said, “I find myself asking if our nation is losing its very soul.”

“We’re in a moment when it seems like many have lost faith in America’s promise and her founders’ vision,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in a Feb. 4 homily. “And it is sad that this is happening this year, when we are celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary. This should be a time for renewal, not a time of retreat.”

The immediate crisis has been the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, as well as the assault on Americans who are demonstrating their opposition to these deportation policies. Two American citizens have been killed and many more have been injured or arrested.

The U.S. bishops have been remarkably consistent for years on the immigration crisis. They do not deny that a country has a right to protect its borders. At the same time, the Gospel imperative is to help the refugee and to extend aid to those in need.

In Pope Leo XIV’s recent apostolic exhortation “Dilexi Te,” he sums up this imperative by quoting Pope Francis: “Our (Catholic) response to the challenges posed by contemporary migration can be summed up in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote and integrate.”

For the bishops, our nation’s enforcement of immigration laws can start with limiting deportations to those guilty of serious offenses. That was the stated goal of the deportation campaign, but it has clearly extended far beyond that to include those who are not criminals, who have raised families and contributed to local communities for decades. Those threatened include the people who care for our children and our elderly. They work our fields and labor in construction, all the while dreaming of a better life for themselves and their children.

As Archbishop Gomez put it, “It serves no national interest to deport undocumented men and women who are contributing to the good of our society, it only leaves children without their parents. Surely, we can find another way to hold these men and women accountable for breaking our laws.”

The real challenge, one that the bishops have consistently warned about for decades, is to address immigration reform, Archbishop Gomez wrote. “The root cause of the current crisis is the country’s broken immigration system,” he said. “Our leaders have done little in nearly 40 years to try to reform our immigration laws. Even today, with our cities in turmoil, no one in Washington is talking seriously about this.”

The bishops have shown great courage in challenging this status quo of mass deportations. Recognizing the values of this country as a beacon of liberty, and recognizing the teachings of the Gospel regarding the human dignity of each person and our responsibility toward those in need, the bishops have seized a teaching moment.

The pushback they have received in some quarters suggests that those who most need to hear their message are members of their own flock.

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