Last week, Pope Francis wrote a letter to the U.S. bishops in response to President Trump's

orders of mass deportation and Vice President J.D. Vance's comments about the ordering of Christian love.

It sparked a lot of debate online, and so in today's episode, I want to generate more light and less

heat in order to present a better witness on this controversial issue. But before we focus on what Pope Francis said,

let's zoom out a little and look at the Catholic Church's teaching on immigration. Basically,

the church says there is a natural right to migrate, but governments have a right to defend their

borders. So these two rights have to be balanced against each other. What governments cannot do is adopt one of

two extreme positions. The first extreme would be open borders, or prohibiting all deportation.

In a previous episode of the Council of Trent, and in my book Confusion in the Kingdom,

I engage liberal Catholics who claim deportation is intrinsically evil, where deportation can never be done.

So I won't repeat my arguments against that false view here.

The Vatican itself will deport you if you illegally enter and remain in its territory.

Cardinal Fernandez, the head of the DDF, released a decree back in January requiring fines

up to 25,000 euros and prison time up to four years for illegal entry. And anyone convicted

of this is forbidden from entering the Vatican for 15 years. None of this would make sense if

the church taught that people who choose to live in a country illegally must be allowed

to remain there. The church doesn't teach that. Pope Francis himself even said that some people

who seek asylum in countries need to be sent back to their home country.

The migrant has to be received. Thereafter you see how you're going to deal with them.

Maybe you have to send them back.

I don't know.

But each case ought to be considered humanely, right?

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