In this piece, we will challenge the USCCB’s vision on immigration with reference to the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, the ‘social encyclicals’ of the nineteenth and twentieth century popes and the nature of civil society itself.
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(LifeSiteNews) — Is the State morally obligated to welcome all foreigners without condition? Does Catholic teaching require open borders? And, if so, at what cost—to the nation, its people, and even to the migrants themselves?
These questions have resurfaced following the USCCB’s recent statement suggesting criticism of immigration policies and deportation orders. Such criticism risks presenting a vision of Catholic social teaching that is simplistic, ideological and divorced from the perennial wisdom of the Church.