Loud applause is the norm of sports events, not church sanctuaries, but Seattle’s St. James Cathedral rises to the occasion. Its pastor-emeritus Fr. Michael Ryan was on fire at the pulpit a few Sundays ago, addressing immigration as “an issue that involves fundamental Judeo-Christian beliefs.”
The Catholic Church refuses to look the other way in the face of Trump’s roundups of emigrees and refugees, despite justifications from Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic convert. Said Ryan: “I simply cannot be silent when wholesale sweeps and dragnets are currently taking place across the country.”
Pope Leo XIV has taken up the cause. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, abandoning its customary timidity, has decried roundups. Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne, in a pastoral letter, said recently: “When charity is absent, the law becomes cold. Harsh enforcement of law, in ruthless and intimidating fashion, lacks the basic demand of human dignity, respect, and compassion.”
In explaining why Peter is confronting Caesar, Ryan spoke bluntly: “The indiscriminate deportation of people is being carried out by masked agents of the federal government who employ brutal and even deadly tactics, targeting not only migrants, but people who are trying nothing more than exercising their First Amendment right to engage in peaceful protest.”
It marks the third time in recent years that the “One True Church” in Western Washington has confronted a thorny issue. In the 1960’s, Archbishop Thomas A. Connelly, a stern disciplinarian, spoke strongly for civil rights when he championed the Catholic Interracial Council.
Twenty years later, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen, an avowed pacifist, paddled a canoe in protest at the Trident nuclear submarine base at Bangor. The archbishop’s words, calling the base “the Auschwitz of Puget Sound,” infuriated Navy Secretary (and Catholic) John Lehmann.
The right wing of American Catholicism has taken liberties with the Gospels. Then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, a strong death-penalty and abortion foe, presided over restoration of the federal death penalty.
St. James is not turning back. It’s new pastor, Fr. Gary Lazzeroni, wrote: “The conviction that we are all responsible for the well-being of each other is not only the bedrock of a well-ordered society, but the heart of biblical morality itself.”
Donald Trump has proclaimed himself “proud to be a Christian,” but he sure doesn’t act like one, forever bearing false witness. He insulted Pope Francis and posted an AI-generated photo of himself in papal robes. Trump enjoys speaking power to Truth.
To deal with “the Donald,” Pope Leo has made Cardinal Robert McElroy, a prominent Church liberal, the new Archbishop of Washington, D.C. And a key ally of Leo, Cardinal Blaise Cupich of Chicago (and formerly Spokane) has strongly criticized deployment of troops to the Windy City.
Never again silence in the face of tyranny — as was seen in Pope Pius XII in the face of the Holocaust, as Jews of Rome were picked up at steps of the Vatican. Peter is standing up to Caesar.
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To describe Bangor as the ‘Auschwitz of Puget Sound’ is not only historically-inaccurate but politically-clumsy. Hunthausen fails to grasp the fundamental difference in intent between the two sites.
And you, Joel, have repeated Hunthausen’s error by praising a statement which does nothing but divert & confuse.
While it’s disheartening for me to learn that Hunthausen made such a remark, it serves as a reminder that all of us is capable of foolishness.
I think the phrase “Trump enjoys speaking power to Truth” is brilliant.
Other than repeating the stupid “Auschwitz” quote, this is an important and insightful article. However, you could have referenced the centuries of immorality, murder and even torture implemented by the Catholic Church in its promotion of its own conception of truth and morality.
“Pope Leo XIV has taken up the cause.”
The mild-mannered pope from Chicago is a much bigger deal than many people realize. He is humane. And he understands the dynamics of American politics — at a time when America is humbly threatening to destroy the entire world. In God’s name, of course.
The timing of Leo’s ascension to the papacy could hardly be more propitious. For years the political right had effectively claimed the allegiance of American Catholics as partners in the anti-abortion cause. Fundamentalists and Catholics had become political allies, if not exactly bosom buddies. But, now, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade the necessity for this alliance has become far less urgently relevant.
Or, at least it has for Catholics. The masses of immigrants huddled at the southern US border of course have mostly been Catholics. And when some manage to make it across the border — legally or illegally — many end up in the pews of American Catholic churches. The Church is not likely to abandon them in their hour of need.
Does Donald Trump actually understand this? Maybe someone should tell him. Hey, JD, we’ve got a little job for you.
To be fair, Catholics have a lot to make up for here, as they helped elect him. 55 to 43% in 2024, 62 to 37% for white Catholics.
Black Protestants and atheists were of like mind here, 15 to 83%. Isn’t that interesting? On one hand, this looks like a pretty significant race divide, but one that for some reason doesn’t apply if the church didn’t get to you. “Net unaffiliated” – all the people who either aren’t believers or who are embarrassed to say they are, were still collectively 28-70%. This category wasn’t further divided by race in the Pew totals, likely in my opinion because there wasn’t anything to see. Jews were 35 tp 63% – still with Harris, but not as much as the plain unreligious.
It’s the white Christian churches. Why do they do it?
What nonsense. I am a Catholic and disagree with your interpretation of Catholic teaching on immigration. Catholic teaching on immigration balances the right of individuals to migrate for a better life with a nation’s sovereign right to control its borders for the common good. While supporting secure borders, the Church emphasizes human dignity, charity toward newcomers, and the obligation to welcome refugees, opposing “open borders” while urging just, humane immigration policies. Trump did not create the immigration crisis that overwhelmed our country during Biden’s administration and is still swamping us. It was that administration which turned a blind negligient eye , which some believe was on purpose and part of a larger strategy, to the millions of undocumented migrants who illegally crossed our borders. Our social, healthcare and housing services are at the breaking point and in some cases have broken. So now the current administration is taking action. I am old enough to have lived through the Clinton and Obama administrations where Democrat policy on illegal immigration was in favor, deportations occurred without media scrutiny, and sadly children and families were separated without public complaint. Local law enforcement cooperated with federal immigration officers to remove and deport criminal elements without the social-virtue-signal rioting we are witnessing today. It was humane. And now it is only made inhumane by social justice politics which are not about human dignity but about resisting an administration the current progressive democrats do not like. Please do not confuse Catholic teaching with political bias. This is not about immigration – it is all about resisting anything Trump – even if it is good for our country.