Father Chris Alar, discussing the division between Pope Francis' stance on deportation and the position held by members of the Trump administration including Vice President JD Vance and border czar Tom Homan, said Sunday on Newsmax that the church's bishops have outlined their position on the contentious issue.
"The one surprising thing in that letter from Pope Francis to the Catholic bishops of the United States is their own documents that you can find on the USCCB website that stress the importance of how to handle the situation of immigration," Alar, the provincial superior of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy province of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception in the United States and Argentina, told Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda."
The document, "Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration," outlines three main principles, Alar said.
The document first says that "all people have the right to migrate," Alar said.
However, he added it is important to remember that migrants are different from immigrants, which is a "misnomer that the Vatican has been using."
"Immigrants intend to locate permanently into a new nation," he said. "Migrants are there, sometimes on a temporary basis for work or economic gain."
The document also says that nations have the right to regulate their border, but they must do so "with justice and mercy," said Alar.
"Everybody has the right to migrate, but the nation has the right to manage its borders, and then if they manage it, they have to do it with mercy and justice," he said. "I think that the answer is right there."
Homan has called on the Pope to leave the border situation to the United States and argued that there is a border wall around Vatican City.
"The Vatican has approved fines up to $25,000 and four years of imprisonment for people who try to enter and reside in Vatican City without proper permission and documentation," said Alar. "We're not talking about visiting the Vatican. We're talking about residing in Vatican City, which is a nation-state."
President Donald Trump, he added, has been attacked for using the word deportation.
"Technically, it's not deportation" said Alar. "So, this is a very interesting question. And also, the president has been attacked, if you will, for the word deportation, which our own church is using. But technically, it's not deportation. Deportation is where you are removed from your home country, the country you belong. This is really repatriation, which is where you're being sent back."
Alar also addressed the topic of violence being committed against the Catholic Church and said that he believes the words of the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
"He said millions and millions of people hate what they think is the Catholic Church, but very few, if any, hate what is actually the Catholic Church," said Alar. "A lot of this is from misconceptions, misunderstandings, and not knowing what the true church teaches."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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