QUESTION : Is Pope Francis’ recent letter addressing the US Bishops Conference, not an interference on the policies of an elected government? Has it any significance to the global community? – Jottin Jose

ANSWER : Saji Mathew Kanayankal CST

The letter of Pope Francis to the US Bishops published on 10 February 2025, condemning the “mass deportations” of the Trump administration, generated global attraction, mainly because of its style and content. While reporting this news, the two adjectives, ‘unusual and open’, used by Reuters exposes its importance and speciality. Pope himself has written and signed this letter, not by any spoke person or dicastery, and it was drafted in a form customary for more solemn documents. Austen Ivereigh, the biographer of Pope Francis opined that it was very unusual for a Roman pontiff to do this. “Magisterial in tone and form (numbered paragraphs, quoting papal teachings) and targeted (referring to Trump policies and Vance’s justifications), this letter is meant to leave no doubt about where the Church stands,” he wrote on X.

For Pope Francis, the program of mass deportation by President Trump is a “major crisis” in the United States. It is a “decisive moment in history” that requires us to reaffirm our faith “not only in a God who is always close, incarnate, migrant and refugee, but also the infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person.” At the same time, it is an open letter demanding the answer of the conscience of all Christians and people of goodwill. While rebuking the policy of Trump, the letter also urges the Christian responsibility to safeguard human dignity, that “surpasses and sustains every other juridical consideration that can be made to regulate life in society.” Amid hatred, atrocities and divisions he urges for compassion, solidarity and the protection of human dignity.

A Clear Guidelines to the Fellow Shepherds

It would be too naïve that we limit the context of the letter just to the policy of Trump, rather it is also a clear guidance and strong message to the leaders of the Church who hesitate to respond properly at the time of a crisis. Some of the analysts point out that the tone and the wordings of the letter are not merely that of encouragement or support, but rather that of scolding and correction. Michael Sean Winters, a news analyst in National Catholic Reporter says that “the pope spoke because the U.S. bishops’ conference and too many of its members have been appallingly silent and unprepared to take protective action as the Trump administration begins implementing its policy of mass deportations.” Though Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, the chairman of the Committee on Migration issued rather a strong statement against the orders of President Trump, most of the bishops were silent on this matter.

Pope Francis strongly warns that any concern for personal, community, or national identity separated from a sense of fraternity toward everyone without distinction may lead to social distortion. The most important message of this letter is much sharper and prophetic; “What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”

Moreover, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, in his column in the archdiocesan newspaper applauded Trump and his policy, saying that the migrants are serious threat to the country. It may be true that there are criminals among the migrants, but labelling all of them as criminals is against reality, for the studies indicate that undocumented migrants commit far less crime than citizens in the US.  According to Winters, “the Pope issued his letter to give the bishops the language they have been unable or unwilling to articulate.”

Forget not the Paths Trodden!

The letter begins with a reference to two important episodes of migration in the Scripture, the slavery of Egypt, and the exile of Joseph and Mary to Egypt with the Child Jesus. For Pope Francis, the biblical journey of Israel is a hermeneutical key to understand the reality of our time. He invites us to reflect on the story of our great ancestors who were refugees and slaves in another country. The story of their exile stands beyond its political and social frame, and the phenomenon of migration should be analysed and evaluated in the light of faith. They are the model and example for “all refugees of every condition who, beset by persecution or necessity, are forced to leave their homeland, beloved family and dear friends for foreign lands.” We Christians should not forget that Jesus “the Son of God, in becoming man, also chose to live the drama of immigration.” The call of Jesus to universal love prompts us to recognise the “infinite and transcendent dignity,” of every human being, that “surpasses and sustains every other juridical consideration that can be made to regulate life in society”.

To deepen the theological insight, Francis uses Exul Familia Nazarethana, the apostolic constitution of Pope Pius XII from 1952, where the story of the exiled Holy Family is used to interpret the trajectory of migration. In his letter, Pius XII explains the long tradition of Christianity that cares for the migrants and refugees, by using the insights of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine and referring to Pope Leo XIII, and explicitly speaks on “the right of people to migrate, which right is founded in the very nature of land.” Since this right is grounded in the natural law, it morally binds all. Thus, Pope Francis asserts that “the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.”

A Clarity on Ordo Amoris

In the letter Pope Francis directly addresses, though he does not name any, the recent comments by the US Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, that the Trump administration’s policies reflect Thomistic teaching on the ordo amoris – order of charity. To defend the policies of Trump, in an interview on January 29, Vance deviously used the concept of ordo amoris – and claimed that one has the responsibility to love his family or neighbour first and then to the country and fellow citizens. Ordo amoris, an idea most famously articulated by St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas, is used to emphasise the need to love those who are closely connected with one. Both of them used this idea to denote the concrete act of love to those who are in the immediate vicinity as a way to express God’s love and a much easier task than loving something as abstract as humanity as a whole.

It would be too naïve that we limit the context of the letter just to the policy of Trump, rather it is also a clear guidance and strong message to the leaders of the Church who hesitate to respond properly at the time of a crisis.

Vance took the idea from the tradition and interpreted it in a totally different context and sense. The fundamental message of Jesus, that everyone is a neighbour and just as one does something to one of the least of the brothers and sisters of his, is done to him is in a way dismantled here. Christian love is not a mere philanthropic act like helping or supporting one’s family or kinship. Jesus invites to have a broader view on the other, especially to the stranger and the vulnerable. Pope Francis writes; “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

An Open Heart; Not an Open Border

Though Pope Francis criticises the inhuman deportation policy of Trump, he also defends the right of every nation to defend itself from violence and crimes. It can also be an answer to his critics who accuse him for the pro-migrant approach and growing distress in Europe. Accepting the rights of the migrants is not accepting the criminal and divisive acts done by some of them. Similarly, bringing all migrants under one segment is also not a just approach. The deportation of people who have fled their homelands due to poverty, insecurity, and other factors is unethical and unchristian. The purpose of the government is to promote the common good by welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable. The governments “must be very open to receiving refugees, but they also have to calculate how best to settle them, because refugees must not only be accepted but also integrated.” Pope Francis insists that the countries should welcome refugees according to their capacities and strength and it should be done with an open heart. “It is not human to close the door, it is not human to close the heart, and in the long run, a price is paid for this.” He strongly warns that any concern for personal, community, or national identity separated from a sense of fraternity toward everyone without distinction may lead to social distortion. The most important message of this letter is much sharper and prophetic; “What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”