Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
The world has heard from Pope Francis on the issue of the Trump administration’s immigration policy. While he asks U.S. Catholic Bishops to consider the human dignity of illegal immigrants, he seems to have forgotten that American citizens deserve the same.
In case you missed it, Vice President J.D. Vance referenced St. Augustine’s Christian concept of ordo amoris, or “order of love,” during an interview on Fox News about illegal immigration in the U.S.
Just google “ordo amoris.” Aside from that, the idea that there isn’t a hierarchy of obligations violates basic common sense. Does Rory think his moral duties to his own children are the same as his duties to a stranger who lives thousands of miles away? Does anyone? https://t.co/otvv5g1wFN
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 30, 2025
“[A]s an American leader, but also just as an American citizen, your compassion belongs first to your fellow citizens. It doesn’t mean you hate people from outside of your own borders,” Vance told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Jan. 30.
“But there’s this old-school [concept] — and I think a very Christian concept, by the way — that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world,” he said. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
“A lot of the far left has completely inverted that. They seem to hate the citizens of their own country and care more about people outside their own borders. That is no way to run a society,” Vance added.
Not long after this interview, the left immediately began attacking Vance over his correct understanding and use of the concept, including Jesuit Father James Martin, who claimed, “Jesus’ fundamental message is that everyone is your neighbor, and that it is not about helping just your family or those closest to you. It’s specifically about helping those who seem different, foreign, other. They are all our ‘neighbors.’”
Pope Francis’ letter to U.S. Bishops, while not explicitly naming Vance, was also a veiled attempt at pushing back on Vance’s invocation of ordo amoris by similarly claiming that we must be “meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.” (ROOKE: Media And Experts Told You To Not Trust Your Lying Eyes. Now They’re Admitting They Were Wrong)
“[W]orrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations, easily introduces an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the strongest as the criterion of truth,” Pope Francis said.
“Thus, all the Christian faithful and people of good will are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa,” he wrote.
Pope Francis sends a letter to the Bishops of the United States, expressing his support for their efforts to protect the rights and dignity of migrants.https://t.co/14HZtdam0r
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) February 11, 2025
Pope Francis is correct in saying that all people are owed “human dignity” and that our public policies should reflect this right. However, in his statements supporting the criminal act of illegal immigration, he loses compassion for American citizens hurt by the illegal immigration crisis in the U.S.
St. Augustine’s concept of ordo amoris is directly descendent from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy: “But if any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than a non-believer.” (1 Timothy 5:8)
As a Christian nation, we have a responsibility to care for all people, but St. Paul clearly states we deny our faith if we don’t protect our “house” first, meaning the people closest to us. In the context of U.S. immigration policy, this clearly requires us to protect our citizens above all. (Former Obama Staffers Just Neutralized Democrats’ Only Narrative Against Trump)
While Pope Francis admits that “one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival.” He goes on to say that the act of mass deportations “damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.”
Again, we have to ask ourselves, what about the “vulnerability and defenselessness” of American citizens who are directly negatively affected by illegal immigration through job loss, skyrocketing prices, and actual safety concerns?
The left hailed former President Joe Biden as a “faithful Catholic” despite his clear corruption, belief in abortion, and promotion of transgender ideology, which are all antithetical to the Catholic Church’s teaching. As a practicing Catholic, it was scandalous to witness the deafening silence from the Vatican over Biden’s failures to adhere to the basic tenets of our faith. Not one time did Pope Francis write a letter to U.S. Bishops exclaiming the right for unborn children to live or be given human dignity or the disorder of transgender ideology.
Where is the Pope’s letter to Canadian Catholic Bishops over the state’s push for euthanasia in their national healthcare system? What about Latin American countries, where human dignity is the last thought when making policy decisions that end up exacerbating the illegal immigration crisis in the U.S.?
Even more shocking is the reality that just this year, Vatican City has increased its strict security regulations for those who try to illegally enter its territory in areas where free access is not allowed. Did Pope Francis write a letter to his guard exclaiming the rights of all people to enter without repercussions? We know the answer is no because it does not require an open-border utopia in Catholic teaching.
“The document, signed by [the] president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, provides for monetary fines…and prison sentences…. These fines will apply especially to those who enter by…bypassing border controls or security systems.”https://t.co/mk65K6tzHD
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) February 2, 2025
Having secure borders is an act of properly ordered love. America is more than an idea. We have a heritage and fabric that binds us as a nation, creating a massive household that must be protected and allowed to flourish first before we set about extending our love to others.
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