U.S. bishops conference president calls Trump orders on migration, death penalty ‘deeply troubling’

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on issues including migration, the environment and the death penalty are “deeply troubling,” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said in a Jan. 22 statement, while praising another on gender policy.

Among the first acts of his second term beginning Jan. 20, Trump signed a slew of executive orders. Some implement his hardline policies on immigration, including seeking to change the interpretation of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, an order that prompted a legal challenge.

Others include withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate and another seeking to expand the use of the federal death penalty. Trump also signed an order directing the U.S. government to only recognize two sexes, male and female.

Archbishop Broglio, who heads the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, said many of the topics that the first batch of executive orders concern “are matters on which the Church has much to offer.”
“Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us,” he said. “Other provisions in the Executive Orders can be seen in a more positive light, such as recognizing the truth about each human person as male or female.”

Archbishop Broglio stressed that neither the Catholic Church nor the USCCB is “aligned with any political party.”

“No matter who occupies the White House or holds the majority on Capitol Hill, the Church’s teachings remain unchanged,” he said. “It is our hope that the leadership of our country will reconsider those actions which disregard not only the human dignity of a few, but of us all.”

Executive orders are legally binding directives from the president and are published in the Federal Register. At the same time, the term “executive actions” is broader and may include informal proposals for policy the president would like to see enacted. While it is typical for new presidents to issue some executive orders on their first day in office to signal certain priorities, Trump signed a larger number of orders than usual.

Citing the current Jubilee Year of Hope declared by Pope Francis, Archbishop Broglio said, “As Christians, our hope is always in Jesus Christ, who guides us through storm and calm weather.
“He is the source of all truth,” Archbishop Broglio said. “Our prayer is one of hope that, as a nation blessed with many gifts, our actions demonstrate a genuine care for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers, including the unborn, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and migrants and refugees. The just Judge expects nothing less.”

The Trump administration said Jan. 21 it would rescind a long-standing policy preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals, as well as other sensitive events like weddings and funerals without approval from supervisors.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, said in a Jan. 21 statement the policy change is one of “many drastic actions from the federal government related to immigration that deeply affect our local community and raise urgent moral and human concerns.”

“We stand with you in this moment of family and personal crisis and pledge to you our solidarity, trusting that the Lord, Jesus Christ, will bring about good even from this moment of pain and that this time of trial will be just a prelude to real reform, a reconciled society and justice for all those who are forced to migrate,” he said. Migrants continued arriving in Mexico, hoping to enter the U.S. ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Most were contained in southern Chiapas state, trying to nab one of 1,450 daily CBP One appointments for entering the U.S. legally when the app was operable.

With the CBP One app, appointments were given three weeks into the future, meaning more than 30,000 migrants likely have dates for presenting themselves at authorized ports of entry, according to Jesuit Father Brian Strassburger, who ministers to migrants in the Mexican border cities of Matamoros and Reynosa, opposite the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Right after President Trump’s swearing-in on Jan. 20, his administration ended use of CBP One.

Father Strassburger celebrated Mass for migrants Jan. 19 in Matamoros, where he heard concerns from people with appointments after Trump’s inauguration.

But he predicted many arriving at the border were “likely going to be stuck in these shelters” in border cities.

The State Department has also canceled all refugee travel to the U.S., following a Jan. 20 executive order by newly inaugurated President Trump. In addition, a Biden administration program that enabled private U.S. citizens to sponsor refugees has also been halted.

Pope calls Trump’s threat of mass deportation a ‘disgrace’

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — On the eve of U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Pope Francis said the new president’s threat to begin a massive deportation of immigrants would be a “disgrace.”

In an interview on Italian television Jan. 19, the pope said that if Trump carries out his threat, “it will be a disgrace because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill” for problems in the U.S.
“This won’t do! You don’t resolve things this way,” the pope said. When speaking about immigration, Pope Francis did not focus on the U.S. alone.

“Italy now has a median age of 46 years. Think about that. They don’t have children,” the pope said. The population is declining, and there are fewer workers paying the taxes needed to cover health care and pensions for the elderly. †