On Feb. 10, the Vatican published a letter from Pope Francis to all bishops in the United States in which he addressed recent changes in U.S. immigration policy as a result of President Donald Trump’s return to office. He called on the bishops to stand in solidarity with immigrants at risk of deportation and to affirm the human dignity of all persons.
President Trump cracked down on illegal immigration in the U.S almost immediately following his inauguration. In his first week alone, he signed 10 executive orders, directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain everyone they arrest pending their deportation. Moreover, on orders from DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is now permitted to make arrests in “sensitive” areas such as schools and churches.
Pope Francis made it clear in his letter that he is concerned with the current situation in America.
“I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality,” he wrote.
While he did not mention the Vice President by name, Francis also seemed to address JD Vance’s recent comments on “ordo amoris,” an ancient Christian concept meaning “rightly-ordered love.”
Fr. Paul Kollman, an associate professor of theology at Notre Dame, described “ordo amoris” as “a way to talk about how to prioritize the ways you exercise your love in your life so that there is a proper ordering of your love.” The idea appeared frequently in the writings of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.
In a January interview with Fox News, Vance said, “[T]here’s this old-school — and I think it’s a very Christian concept, by the way — that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.”
When Vance’s interview received backlash on X, he clarified, “Just google ‘ordo amoris.’”
In what seemed to be a response to Vance’s remarks, Francis wrote, “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.”
Antônio Lemos, a Ph.D. candidate in Notre Dame’s theology department whose research focuses on migration ethics in Catholic social teaching, thought both Vance and Francis had valuable insights. He recognized Vance was arguing to put struggling American families first before helping immigrants but also that the Church emphasizes welcoming migrants.
“There is a middle ground where we can try to take care of both [blue-collar families] and immigrants. You could make that case especially in situations where people are fleeing from violent countries, et cetera,” he said.
However, Lemos also considered the idea that the Pope might have misinterpreted Vance’s argument.
“I think Pope Francis [is] missing the point that JD Vance is trying to make that there are already poor people in the U.S. who need special attention, and the U.S. should concentrate on them,” he said.
Kollman had a different view.
“JD Vance is not someone who speaks for the Church. Pope Francis speaks for the Church,” he said. “I think it really annoys the pope when people cherry-pick these concepts to buttress their political opinions.”
In an email with The Observer, Geoffrey Layman, the chair of the department of political science at Notre Dame, emphasized that most American Catholics may not even have this letter on their radar.
“For one thing, most Americans pay rather little attention to politics and most American Catholics attend Mass only a few times a year or less often. In other words, neither politics nor faith appears to be hugely salient in the lives of most American Catholics,” Layman wrote.
He also noted that Catholic voters in the U.S. may not always consider the Church’s views when making their own political choices.
“If they did, most American Catholics would be pro-life on abortion (most are pro-choice), and there would be a lot more support than there is among Catholic voters for social welfare programs to help disadvantaged people, for government efforts to fight climate change, and for the rights of immigrants and refugees,” he wrote.
Kollman echoed this sentiment, saying, “People are more inclined these days to let their political opinions determine their religious affiliation and loyalties rather than vice versa.”
In the long-term, both Layman and Notre Dame political science professor David Campbell do suspect the Catholic Church could once again clash with the Trump administration regarding immigration. This has the potential to change the minds of Catholic voters.
“[I]t is possible that this message — combined with others from the Pope, bishops, and local priests — could begin to shift Catholics’ opinions on this issue. For that to happen, however, it would take sustained attention to the issue from Catholic leaders, and a united front within the Church hierarchy,” Campbell wrote in an email.
Over time, Layman suspects the conflict could impact Latino Catholics, a demographic that increased its support for Trump in the 2024 election.
“Aggressive deportation of undocumented immigrants from Latin America, combined with open conflict between the Trump administration and the Catholic Church on both immigration and government support for religious charities, may significantly reduce Trump’s new-found support among Latino Catholic voters,” he wrote.
