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https://www.complicitclergy.com/2025/02/01/catholic-charities-has-lost-control-of-the-narrative/

People are mad and finally addressing the Catholic Church's abusive facilitation of illegal immigration. But this is not a recent phenomenon, it has been going on for decades now, if not over a century. The snowball has just become too large to hide anymore. Our second Catholic President dove all in revealing the true intent of the Vatican all along. The redistribution of wealth and power by the redistribution of peoples unto overloading and collapsing political entities and nations it wishes to be rid of. That such may be prevented from interfering with their globalist agenda.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/us-bishops-are-complicit-in-perpetuating-americas-illegal-immigration-problem/

Quoted article below from link above.

QuoteUS bishops are complicit in perpetuating America's illegal immigration problem

While true shepherds are called to lead with wisdom and integrity, many of our bishops in America have chosen the path of silence, profit, and complicity. The question remains: when will they be held accountable?

(Complicit Clergy) — This past Thursday evening, Raymond Arroyo interviewed Archbishop Thomas Wenski, a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Migration, on the topic of illegal immigration. Reacting to Vice President JD Vance's comments about the U.S. bishops from earlier in the week, Wenski stated:

I think the vice president was a bit off the mark with alleging that we've gotten $100 million to resettle illegal aliens. First of all, we've participated, since the end of World War II, with the U.S. government and helping to resettle refugees. And refugees, by definition, are not illegal aliens. They're people that have been admitted to this country by the United States under the Refugee Act and the U.S. government has contracted with Catholics and also with Jewish organizations and other Protestant organizations to help resettle these people, because the government knows that when faith-based organizations do this work, they do it much more efficiently and much more economically than the government.

Notice Wenski's slight-of-hand: he claims that the millions of migrants who illegally crossed our borders were not, in fact, "illegal aliens" but, instead, were "refugees," simply because the Biden administration handed these people a piece of paper at the border. Wenski, along with most of the U.S. bishops, were willing accomplices in this ruse because they received billions of taxpayer dollars in exchange for trafficking these illegal aliens throughout our nation.

Rather than standing-up for the rule of law or the well-being of American citizens, the bishops buried their heads in the sand while cashing the checks – reaping financial benefits from a crisis they claim to merely "respond" to, rather than help perpetuate.

But money may not have been the only factor at play. Near the end of the first Trump administration, the U.S. bishops lambasted Trump for not including illegal aliens in the apportionment of U.S. congressional seats. It turns-out Blue states are at risk of losing a number of congressional seats because their tyrannically policies have driven too many citizens out of their boundaries for these states to survive politically without back-filling with "unauthorized migrants."

As public backlash now mounts and the American people grow weary of a never-ending surge of illegal immigration, it is clear what strategy the bishops will adopt: deflect the blame. Their talking point is predictable – "It's not our fault. These individuals were granted legal status at the border, and we were simply offering them humanitarian aid."

But this excuse is nothing more than a moral and intellectual evasion. Anyone with a shred of political awareness can see that these so-called "legal" admissions are the result of an administration intentionally bypassing the law. The Biden administration has used parole authority in ways it was never intended – to flood the country with hundreds of thousands of migrants who, under normal legal standards, would not qualify for asylum. This is not lawful immigration. It is an orchestrated policy of mass entry with no regard for the integrity of the system or the impact on communities across the nation.

Did the bishops not notice this? Did they miss the evidence of an administration deliberately undermining immigration laws? Of course not. They simply chose not to care.

Not a single U.S. bishop has stood-up to demand that this invasion be stopped. Not one has had the courage to declare that an open border is a violation of national sovereignty and a moral hazard. Instead, they issue carefully worded statements about the need to "welcome the stranger," completely ignoring the reality that a lawless border endangers both migrants and Americans alike.

The truth is, the bishops' priorities are clear. The Catholic Church in the United States, through organizations like Catholic Charities, has become financially dependent on government contracts to house, transport, and resettle illegal immigrants. The USCCB receives tens of millions of dollars annually from the federal government to facilitate migrant aid. This is no secret – it is public record. And yet, they expect the faithful to believe they are neutral actors in this crisis.

The American people are not fools. They see what is happening. They recognize that the bishops are not innocent bystanders but active participants in an agenda that is eroding the rule of law and devastating communities. Their silence is not a sign of ignorance – it is the calculated decision of men who prefer government funding to moral courage.

History will judge this moment. While true shepherds are called to lead with wisdom and integrity, many of our bishops have chosen the path of silence, profit, and complicity. The question remains: when will they be held accountable?

https://rairfoundation.com/americas-taxpayer-funded-invasion-rairs-investigation-catholic-charities/

Quotes below from link above, where the videos being addressed may be viewed as well.

QuoteAmerica's Taxpayer-Funded Invasion: RAIR's Investigation into Catholic Charities Sparks Global Outrage Over Refugee Resettlement Racket (Video)

After RAIR's groundbreaking investigation and social media exposé on Catholic Charities and other refugee resettlement groups, we sparked international attention and ignited a national conversation about their controversial role in aiding illegal migrants, undermining ICE, and exploiting taxpayer dollars to fuel the refugee resettlement racket.

Catholic Charities USA, a long-standing organization with deep ties to the federal government, has come under fire for its shocking role in undermining U.S. immigration law. At the heart of the controversy is a video produced by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's Refugee & Immigration Services Program that was exposed on X yesterday by RAIR Foundation's founder Amy Mek, openly coaching illegal migrants on how to dodge Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Video: Teaching Evasion Tactics

In the now-infamous video, attorney Barbara Graham outlines detailed instructions for illegal migrants to avoid cooperation with ICE agents. Her advice includes:

Remaining Silent: Migrants are told they can refuse to answer questions about their origin or how they entered the U.S.

Refusing Identification: The video advises migrants to decline showing identity documents.

Stonewalling Authorities: Migrants are coached to avoid signing paperwork unless accompanied by a pro-bono attorney.

"Do not panic, and do not run away," Graham calmly advises before explaining how to "calmly walk toward the exit" if approached by officers. She even encourages migrants to carry "Know Your Rights" cards to further resist cooperation.

This blatant defiance of lawful immigration enforcement isn't merely advocacy; it's a roadmap for undermining the rule of law.

Taxpayer Dollars Funding Subversion

What makes this even more egregious is that Catholic Charities USA receives millions in taxpayer funding every year. According to a ProPublica audit, the organization received nearly $2 million in federal grants in 2021 alone. Historically, its local affiliates have taken in billions annually—with government funds comprising a significant portion of their revenue.

Despite these public funds, Catholic Charities is using its resources to aid those who have violated U.S. immigration laws, all while claiming to support "bipartisan, effective, and humane reforms" on its website. This raises critical questions about the role of so-called "humanitarian" organizations in fostering lawlessness. It also appears to put this charity, which must have no political stance to preserve its tax-free status, into conflict.

Catholic Charities USA is a 501(c)(3) registered charity and, as such, must adhere to the following conditions to maintain its tax-exempt status:

Prohibition on Political Campaigning: Religious charities cannot participate in or intervene in political campaigns for or against candidates for public office. This includes endorsing candidates, making financial contributions to campaigns, or distributing materials that favor or oppose a candidate. Violating this rule can result in the loss of tax-exempt status.

Limited Lobbying: Religious charities can engage in some lobbying activities (attempting to influence legislation) as long as it is not a "substantial" part of their overall activities. The IRS uses both a subjective test and an "expenditure test" (under Section 501(h)) to determine whether lobbying activities are excessive.

Issue Advocacy: Religious charities can address social, moral, and public issues that align with their mission, but they must avoid tying these issues directly to political candidates or elections.

Given its heavy involvement in lobbying for increased refugee ceilings and looser asylum policies, Catholic Charities USA skirts dangerously close to the limits of its tax-exempt status. The question must be asked: Are taxpayers funding not just illegal immigration but also a potential abuse of tax exemption rules?

The Refugee Resettlement Scam

Catholic Charities isn't just involved in aiding illegal migrants; it's a central player in the refugee resettlement industry, which has grown into a massive, taxpayer-funded enterprise. Highlights include:

Billions in Revenue: In 2010, Catholic Charities' affiliates took in nearly $2.9 billion annually, representing 62% of their total revenue. By 2021, Catholic Charities USA continued to receive substantial taxpayer funding, including over $2 million in federal grants from agencies such as the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, the Catholic Charities network served more than 15 million people across over 3,900 sites nationwide in 2022, underscoring its massive operational scale.

Profiting from Open Borders: By acting as a conduit for mass migration, Catholic Charities and similar organizations have turned humanitarian aid into big business, with billions in government funds fueling their activities. This incentivized resettlement strategy prioritizes refugee intake over the sustainability and well-being of local communities.

Immigration expert Ann Corcoran, a relentless advocate for transparency in the refugee resettlement program, spent 17 years exposing the corruption and dangers of this system. Her research uncovers an elaborate operation that prioritizes global agendas over American sovereignty.

United Nations Control: Most refugees resettled in the U.S. are chosen by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), heavily influenced by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This means a significant portion of refugees come from countries hostile to the U.S., such as Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Islamic Hijra: Corcoran warns of the Islamic practice of "Hijra," or migration for the purpose of spreading Islam and Sharia law. Refugees are not just individuals seeking safety but are part of a broader strategy to establish Islamic strongholds in the West.

Taxpayer Exploitation: Refugee resettlement is a billion-dollar industry funded by American taxpayers. Contractors and subcontractors bill the U.S. government for every refugee resettled, with no accountability for the long-term impact on communities.

Corcoran's findings reveal that nine major federal contractors dominate the resettlement process, raking in billions of taxpayer dollars:

1 Church World Service (CWS)
2 Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)
3 Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
4 Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
5 US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)
6 World Relief Corporation
7 International Rescue Committee (IRC)
8 US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
9 Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC)

These organizations operate under the guise of charity but are heavily incentivized to resettle as many refugees as possible, regardless of the strain placed on local resources. Each contractor uses a network of hundreds of subcontractors, which enables them to operate in over 190 cities and towns across the U.S. This multi-layered structure creates layers of bureaucracy and obscures accountability, making it nearly impossible to track how taxpayer dollars are being spent.

Corcoran explains how this system overwhelms small towns ill-equipped to handle the influx:

Overburdened Services: Schools, healthcare systems, and housing markets are stretched thin, leaving American citizens to shoulder the consequences.

Unvetted Populations: Many refugees come from regions where proper background checks are impossible, increasing security risks.

Cultural Transformation: Mosques are built, Sharia law is promoted, and communities are fundamentally changed, often against the wishes of the existing residents.

She warns: "This migration will be more devastating to your children and grandchildren than any terrorist attack could ever be. If Americans don't act, the U.S. will follow Europe's disastrous p...

National Uproar: From Media to Capitol Hill

The revelations uncovered by RAIR Foundation USA have ignited a firestorm of national debate. From features in the New York Post to discussions on Fox News, AOL, and the White House, the issue has gained traction among lawmakers and media outlets. Prominent figures have weighed in:

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.): "These NGOs and Catholic charities have pushed a mind-blowing number of illegals into our country. They're using your tax dollars and not doing anyone any favors." He also highlighted the staggering failure to track over 300,000 migrant children released during the Biden administration.

Sen. JD Vance: On CBS's "Face the Nation," Vance called out the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, questioning whether their refugee resettlement efforts were motivated by "humanitarian concerns or their bottom line."

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.): Cotton lambasted these organizations, asserting they are "aiding and abetting illegal activity at the expense of American sovereignty."

A Pattern of Undermining Immigration Enforcement

What makes this even more egregious is that Catholic Charities USA receives millions in taxpayer funding every year. According to a ProPublica audit, the organization received nearly $2 million in federal grants in 2021 alone. Historically, its local affiliates have taken in billions annually—with government funds comprising a significant portion of their revenue.

Despite these public funds, Catholic Charities is using its resources to aid those who have violated U.S. immigration laws, all while claiming to support "bipartisan, effective, and humane reforms" on its website. This raises critical questions about the role of so-called "humanitarian" organizations in fostering lawlessness.

Videos That Reveal the Truth

RAIR Foundation USA has released multiple videos exposing the refugee resettlement scam, including key insights from immigration experts like John Zadronzy. In one video, Zadronzy describes how Catholic Charities and similar organizations are deeply entrenched in human trafficking operations disguised as charity. Here's what you need to know:

Profiting from Chaos: These groups earn per-capita government funding for every refugee or migrant they resettle.

Lobbying for Open Borders: Instead of securing America's borders, they advocate for higher refugee ceilings and looser asylum policies.

Collusion with Cartels: Their actions enable a human trafficking pipeline that devastates American communities.

Zadronzy points out that these organizations are not the churches themselves but loosely affiliated entities profiting from mass migration. They masquerade as compassionate charities while fueling illegal immigration and undermining U.S. sovereignty.

"These groups are not saving lives—they're selling out America's safety and sovereignty for profit."

Houston, Texas – Ground Zero for the Pro-Illegal Agenda

Houston has become a battleground for the fight over U.S. sovereignty, with taxpayer-funded organizations like Catholic Charities, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, and The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) at the center of a campaign to undermine immigration enforcement.

This shocking video, featuring Rev. Darrell Lewis and former Catholic Charities VP Wafa Abdin, serves as a step-by-step guide for illegal migrants to defy ICE agents. From refusing to answer questions and withholding documents to invoking so-called "rights," the video actively teaches obstruction of lawful deportation processes.

👉 Key Players Behind the Infiltration:

Wafa Abdin: As a former VP of Catholic Charities and a key member of Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez's Transition Team, her actions raise serious concerns. With her insider connections, is she leveraging local law enforcement ties to protect illegals?

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez: A vocal opponent of deportation policies and Donald Trump, Gonzalez has transformed Harris County into a sanctuary for illegal migrants. His nomination by Biden to lead ICE underscores his alignment with the open-border agenda.

Catholic Charities and the Episcopal Diocese of Texas: These organizations, funded by your tax dollars, are complicit in resettling unvetted migrants and teaching them how to exploit loopholes in our laws.

Catholic Charities Milwaukee

Another damning video reveals Catholic Charities blatantly coaching illegal migrants on how to evade ICE and exploit the system. Under the guise of faith and compassion, they provide a step-by-step guide for:

Refusing cooperation with ICE agents by demanding warrants.

Avoiding answering questions or providing immigration documents.

Exploiting legal loopholes to delay or block deportation....

In the following video, Catholic Charities Senior Director Sarah Merwin proudly explains how taxpayer dollars are being used to resettle refugees into already underfunded Kansas communities struggling to support their own citizens. While veterans sleep on the streets and hardworking Americans lack access to critical resources, refugees are handed housing, jobs, healthcare, education, and citizenship applications—all funded for up to five years by taxpayers.

Catholic Charities profits from every refugee they resettle, ignoring the strain on these local communities, while strategically placing refugees in red states like Kansas to reshape communities and influence elections under the guise of humanitarian aid.

The Fallout: Calls for Accountability

Public outrage is growing as Americans question why their tax dollars are funding organizations actively working against immigration enforcement. Many are calling for:

Defunding NGOs: Lawmakers and citizens alike are demanding an end to federal grants for organizations like Catholic Charities that prioritize illegal migrants over law-abiding Americans.

Stricter Oversight: Advocacy groups are pushing for increased scrutiny of the refugee resettlement industry to ensure taxpayer dollars are not funding lawlessness.

Transparency: Citizens are urging the government to release comprehensive audits of how these organizations spend federal funds.
Conclusion: A Betrayal of Trust

This isn't about compassion; it's about undermining the sovereignty and security of the United States. Catholic Charities and similar organizations have turned humanitarian aid into a lucrative industry, profiting from policies that destabilize American communities and flout the rule of law.

It's time to demand answers and accountability. The American people deserve to know why their hard-earned tax dollars are funding a system that prioritizes illegal migrants over their own security and well-being. Join the fight to end the refugee resettlement scam and restore integrity to our immigration system.

While many do profit from all of the above shenanigans, it is the political goal of destabilization that is the real planned effect which the Vatican seeks. The Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States, and our sovereignty as a nation and people, is a major obstacle for the globalist agenda of the Vatican to surmount. The individual rights and liberties our nation guarantees, do not fit well into the globalist elitists vision. Therefore must we be destabilized unto chaos and confusion, and the loss of our national and individual sovereignty.

https://newsbeyonddetroit.net/2025/02/12/hypocrite-pope-francis-living-behind-a-39-ft-wall-sends-letter-to-u-s-bishops-blasting-trumps-immigration-crackdown-yet-imposes-harsh-penalties-of-1-4-years-in-jail-and-fines-up/

Quotes below from link above.

QuoteHypocrite Pope Francis, Living Behind a 39-Ft Wall, Sends Letter to U.S. Bishops Blasting Trump's Immigration Crackdown — Yet Imposes Harsh Penalties of 1-4 Years in Jail and Fines Up to $25,700 for Illegal Entry into Vatican

Pope Francis, who resides in the Vatican, a city-state surrounded by a formidable 39-foot wall, has penned a letter to U.S. bishops, decrying what he describes as harsh immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

In his sanctimonious letter, Pope Francis calls on the bishops to defend the "infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person" amidst what he terms a "major crisis" with "mass deportations."

Yet, the pontiff's selective outrage is glaring when one considers his silence during the Biden administration's push for radical abortion policies, which directly contradicted Catholic teachings on the sanctity of life.

Border czar Tom Homan Tom Homan responded sharply to the Pope's criticisms.

"I got harsh words for the Pope. Pope ought to fix the Catholic Church. I'm saying this as a lifelong Catholic. I was baptized Catholic. I was at first Communion as a Catholic, confirmation as a Catholic. He ought to fix the Catholic Church and concentrate on his work and leave border enforcement to us."

Homan's point about the Vatican's own protective walls is telling: "He wants to attack us for securing our border. He's got a wall around the Vatican, does he not? So he's got a wall to protect his people and himself, but we can't have a wall around the United States? So I wish he stick to the Catholic Church and fix that and leave border enforcement to us."

While Pope Francis advocates for open borders in the U.S., he seems content with the security provided by the Vatican's own historical wall.

This barrier was built not out of xenophobia but for the protection of the sacred and the safety of its inhabitants. Why then, does the Pope not extend the same understanding to nations like the United States, which face their own security challenges?

The Vatican Wall, also known as the Leonine Wall, was built in the 9th century under the direction of Pope Leo IV. Its primary purpose was to protect the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica from invasion, particularly from Muslim Saracen pirates who had previously attacked and sacked parts of Rome.

Also, just last December, the Vatican itself introduced draconian measures against those who enter Vatican City State illegally, imposing penalties that include 1 to 4 years in jail and fines ranging from $10,200 to $25,700.

The following is a quote from the comments section at the link provided which I thought worthy of repeating.

QuoteHauviette

Pope Francis issued an official statement today demanding that God remove the walls and gates that surround the Kingdom of Heaven.

From deep inside the forty-foot walls of Vatican City, Pope Francis strongly condemned the God of the Universe for having gates at the entrance of His Kingdom and not simply allowing anyone inside.

"God is once again in the wrong," explained Pope Francis. "How can anyone claim to be loving and kind, yet not have an open border? I am hereby calling on the Lord Almighty to remove these terrible walls, fire Saint Peter, and allow everyone to roam in and out of Heaven as they please. Oh, and also provide free healthcare."

The Pope was further disturbed to learn that God has a long-standing vetting process that souls must go through before being allowed inside His Kingdom. "I am disgusted to learn that Heaven screens people before allowing them in, checking if people's names are on some list called the 'Book of Life'," said the Pope. "It seems there are several things about being loving that God needs me, Pope Francis, to set Him straight on."

The Pope had also been heard angrily accosting one of his guards for allowing a visitor inside the Vatican who was not on the pre-approved list of guests.

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/biden-immigration-policies-were-boon-catholic-charities-which-raked

Quoted article below from link above.

QuoteBiden immigration crisis was a boon for Catholic Charities, which raked in billions in grant money

President Joe Biden's border policies were a boon for private religious charities associated with the Catholic Church, which collectively received billions in grant money while helping house and resettle migrants, while a federal watchdog warned about mismanaged funds and a potential for fraud.

The funding for these humanitarian programs that came through the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency has come under renewed scrutiny by President Trump and his administration, who seek to reverse years of financial incentives for the crisis of border crossings under their predecessor.

Catholic Charities USA, comprised of 168 local member agencies across the United States, is one of the largest private recipients of government funding under several immigration-related programs that critics have said allowed the Biden administration to relocate and shelter migrants in the United States.

According to data from USAspending.gov, Catholic Charities branches across the United States collected over $2 billion in federal grants over the last four years of the Biden administration, primarily through the Department of Health and Human Services which granted about $1.93 billion for programs. Other agencies, like the Department of Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development also doled out significant—if smaller—sums, about $156 million and $138 million, respectively.

Catholic Charities USA did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News.

Grants to Catholic Charities across the U.S.
 
Many of Catholic Charities' local subsidiary offices received a game-changing influx of cash during the Biden administration. The money was allocated for migrant settlement and other services. For many local chapters, these new funds dwarfed the previous grants they had been awarded in previous years.

For example, the endowment associated with Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas experienced a more than 34 fold increase in funding from government grants from FY 2021 to FY 2023. In FY 2021, at the beginning of the Biden administration, the group had only received $11.7 million in grant money. By FY 2023, that amount had ballooned to $401.7 million. A majority of that funding was earmarked for a "Refugee and Entrant Assistance" program, according to the financial records.

Catholic Charities Fort Worth offers comprehensive immigration services, including legal support for defending an immigrant against removal proceedings from the United States, according to the group's Immigration Services website.

"Having legal representation is the single most important factor in successfully winning a removal case," the website reads. "Catholic Charities provides quality, affordable and effective representation with the goal of keeping families safe and keeping them together."

Other local offices experienced a comparable influx of cash geared to refugee and migrant assistance.

For example, Catholic Charities of Louisville, Kentucky also experienced a similar growth in funding over the same period. In FY 2021, the group took in roughly $10 million in federal grants, but by FY 2023, that number had exploded to about $122 million. That chapter also offers similar immigration services, including legal support against deportation.

FEMA enters the immigration business

Under the Biden administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency became one of the conduits for providing taxpayer funding to local organizations for immigration services. The agency faced scrutiny from Republicans who say providing services to migrants falls outside the scope of the disaster management agency.

The criticism of the agency's Shelter and Services program reached a zenith last year after Biden Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress that FEMA did not have extra funds to help Southern states like Florida and North Carolina recover from dual hurricanes last year after it had dispersed funds for immigration services.

In the midst of the last major budget crisis in Washington, Democrats diverted money and the legal authority to put the nation's disaster relief agency into the business of caring for the millions of illegal immigrants who crossed the border on the Biden-Harris administration's watch, Just the News reported last year. At that time, the White House laughed off the claims as another "right-wing conspiracy theory."

The new Shelter and Services program first established by a Democratic Congress in 2022 would "support sheltering and related activities provided by non-Federal entities, including facility improvements and construction, in support of relieving overcrowding in short-term holding facilities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection," according to the Congressional Research Service.

Inspector General raises potential for fraud and misuse of funds

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General raised concerns that funding being diverted from FEMA to local nonprofit organizations for immigration-related services was ripe for misuse or potential fraud.

The OIG found "local recipient organizations" did not always use funding in line with federal guidance and in some cases did not "provide the required receipts or documentation for claimed reimbursements." The watchdog's probe also found that some local organizations "were unable to provide supporting documentation for families and individuals to whom they provided services" and some families or individuals served "did not have a DHS encounter record."

"These issues occurred because FEMA did not provide sufficient oversight of the funds and instead relied on local boards and fiscal agents to enforce the funding and application guidance," the inspector general concluded. "As a result, FEMA, as the National Board Chair, cannot ensure the humanitarian relief funds were used as intended by the funding and application guidance."

"When you look at the way some of these charities have applied for money, through the FEMA emergency disaster program, through the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and then realizing that it is HHS and DHS and the Office of Refugee Resettlement that have lost track of 300,000 children and they're still getting money," Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told the "John Solomon Reports" podcast.

"Totally rewarding failure and incompetence and what we have to do is realize that, especially when it comes to FEMA, we've got people in Tennessee and North Carolina that never expected a hurricane to end up in the Great Smoky Mountains, which it did with Hurricane Helene, and that they would be pushed out of their mountain homes because of a flood, and FEMA has been slow to respond, and these are individuals that are desperate to get some help and support," she continued.

Some Catholic Charities accused of misusing FEMA funds

Catholic Charities San Antonio, which received more than $27 million in total from FEMA, was accused by a Democratic congressman of misusing funds it received for the program by purchasing airplane tickets for migrants in its care.

Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, the then-ranking member of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and member who helped create the program, and Rep. Monica de la Cruz, a Republican, told the Border Report that the program was never intended to support long distance travel but rather things like food and shelter.

"When I first started this program, I said it would only be used for food and shelter, maybe transportation inside a city, but not to be sending them up there. The family or somebody should pay for that, not the taxpayer dollars," Cuellar told the outlet last April.

However, Catholic Charities San Antonio said that nothing in FEMA rules prevented them from purchasing plane tickets for migrants in their care and confirmed that his organization did help migrants travel outside the city, but had not purchased any plane tickets since the end of 2023.

"The funds were given to us to provide food, clothing, all these activities, including transportation," Jose Antonio Fernandez, CEO of the chapter, told the National Catholic Register.

"It's not my interpretation, it is a fact; many companies in the U.S. provide transportation because it is allowed," he said. "If you contact FEMA, they will tell you that, yes, you are actually allowed to provide transportation."

Pope Francis criticizes Trump administration policy

Pope Francis on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Catholic Bishops in America that called the Trump administration's "mass deportation" policy a "major crisis."

"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," the Pope asserted. "At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival.

"That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness," the Pope continued, and urged the bishops to continue their work with "migrants and refugees."

The Pope's position on mass deportations has rankled Catholics in the Trump administration. Tom Homan, the administration's border czar, is a Catholic and has argued that facilitating illegal immigration does more harm than good, citing incidents of sexual assault, human trafficking, and even death on the journey to America through Mexico.

When asked about Pope Francis' prior criticism of the administration's policies, Homan fired back, saying he "ought to stick to the Catholic Church and fix that. That's a mess," in an interview with Newsmax.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/remember-how-pope-francis-is-pro-illegal-immigrant-turns-out-catholic-charities-have-taken-billions-in-shelter-grants/ar-AA1z9hYZ

Quoted article below from link above.

QuoteRemember How Pope Francis Is Pro-Illegal Immigrant? Turns Out Catholic Charities Have Taken Billions in Shelter Grants

Catholic Charities USA raked in billions of taxpayer dollars to shelter illegal immigrants during the Biden administration, according to a Just the News report published Tuesday.

Over the last four years, the organization collected more than $2 billion in federal grants intended for immigration-related programs, Just the News reported, citing data from USASpending.gov.

The exorbitant sum makes Catholic Charities, with its 168 U.S. branches, one of the largest private recipients of such funding, which helped shelter and relocate illegals.

Catholic Charities' main donor was the Department of Health and Human Services, which granted the organization roughly $1.93 billion, according to the report.

Other donors included the Department of Homeland Security, which forked over more than $156 million, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development: $138 million.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also donated to the Catholic volunteer organization, though the report didn't cite how much.

However, FEMA has faced scrutiny from Republicans in recent months regarding its misallocation of taxpayer dollars toward immigration.

In October 2024, following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the House Committee on Homeland Security sent a letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding his comments a week prior that FEMA did "not have the funds, to make it through the [hurricane] season."

The letter went on to say that the reason FEMA didn't have the funds was that it had depleted them on illegal immigration programs.

Just the News cited other instances in which Catholic Charities' subsidiary offices received mountainous sums of cash for immigration programs during the Biden administration.

"For many local chapters, these new funds dwarfed the previous grants they had been awarded in previous years," the news outlet wrote.

In fiscal year 2021, for example, the Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas received $11.7 million in grants.

But by FY 2023, that sum exploded to $401.7 million -- most of it reserved for the "Refugee and Entrant Assistance" program.

Just the News reached out to Catholic Charities USA, but had not received a comment at the time of publication.

The report comes in the wake of recent remarks by Pope Francis condemning President Donald Trump's mass deportation of illegals.

In a Monday letter addressed to U.S. Bishops, Pope Francis laid out the Catholic Church's stance on the immigration issue.

"One must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival," Francis wrote.

"That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness," he wrote.

U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan gave reporters his response to the pope's letter.

"He wants to attack us for securing our border? He's got a wall around the Vatican, does he not?" Homan said.

"So he's got a wall around that protects his people and himself, but we can't have a wall around the United States?"

https://catholiconline.news/u-s-news/why-2-9-billion-explains-the-us-bishops-support-for-biden-and-opposition-to-trump/

Quoted article below from link above.

QuoteWhy $2.9 Billion Explains the US Bishops' Support for Biden and Opposition to Trump

Recent revelations about the federal funding awarded to Catholic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) over the past four years have raised significant questions regarding the motivations behind the U.S. Catholic bishops' public stances on political issues. An in-depth analysis of federal spending has revealed that the Biden administration granted Catholic NGOs nearly $2.9 billion in immigration-related funding, a figure more than three times higher than the funding awarded under the Trump administration's first term.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and affiliated Catholic NGOs have long been active participants in resettling immigrants and refugees, advocating for policies aligned with Catholic social teaching. However, the sheer scale of financial support during the Biden administration has sparked concerns about potential conflicts of interest, especially as these same bishops have largely refrained from addressing Biden's anti-Catholic policies. Furthermore, despite Canon 915 of Catholic Church law—which states that Catholics "obstinately persisting in manifest grave sin" should not receive Holy Communion—many bishops have continued to welcome Biden to the Eucharist.

The analysis, conducted using data from USAspending.gov, reviewed immigration-related federal funding awarded to Catholic NGOs between 2009 and 2024. Researchers flagged organizations affiliated with the Catholic Church, analyzed the geographical distribution of funds across dioceses, and used data visualization tools like Tableau to present the findings. The results revealed striking disparities: Catholic NGOs received $2.9 billion in the past four years, compared to $5.2 billion over the previous 16 years combined. More than half of the funding awarded since 2009 occurred under the Biden administration, raising questions about the intersection of financial incentives and ecclesiastical advocacy.

The two largest recipients of these funds were Catholic Charities, which secured $2.6 billion, and the USCCB itself, which received nearly $1.6 billion. Geographically, the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., led the way with $1.6 billion, followed by the Diocese of Fort Worth with nearly $1 billion. Federal funding was primarily allocated through three key programs: Refugee and Entrant Assistance State/Replacement Designee Administered Programs (41%), Refugee and Entrant Assistance Voluntary Agency Programs (18%), and the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (12%).

Critics of this funding suggest it may explain the bishops' public silence regarding President Biden's policies and their criticism of former President Trump. Trump's immigration policies, including reduced refugee admissions and stricter enforcement of immigration laws, jeopardized the federal funding streams that Catholic NGOs heavily rely upon. Meanwhile, Biden's more lenient approach to immigration not only aligns with the USCCB's advocacy but also ensures the continued flow of federal dollars to Catholic organizations.

Beyond the financial data, the study highlights the broader context of financial challenges facing the Church. Catholic dioceses have paid over $5 billion to settle sex-abuse scandal lawsuits, with additional millions spent on legal fees. This financial strain may contribute to the Church's reliance on federal funding to sustain its operations and social programs, including those related to immigration.

The findings also spotlight inconsistencies in leadership messaging. For instance, Pope Francis has criticized strict immigration policies, such as Trump's deportation plans, while simultaneously implementing measures to limit illegal entrants into Vatican City.

This financial and political entanglement raises critical questions about the motivations behind the bishops' policy positions and public statements. While Catholic NGOs provide essential services to vulnerable populations, the Church's reliance on government funding risks creating the appearance of compromised integrity. As the faithful consider these findings, it is essential to prioritize transparency, accountability, and adherence to core Catholic principles to navigate the challenges of serving both God and neighbor.

https://www.city-journal.org/article/catholic-church-immigration-government-funding-jd-vance

Quoted article below from link  above.

QuoteHow the Catholic Church Became a Champion of Biden's Open Borders

Church groups grew massively with government funding for the controversial immigrant and refugee programs that Trump is now cutting.

Vice President J. D. Vance has emerged as one of the Trump administration's unwavering defenders on many issues. One of his most widely quoted retorts to critics occurred on the January 26 edition of CBS's Face the Nation. Vance was responding to statements by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemning as "deeply troubling" the administration's enforcement actions against illegal aliens and its pause of government-funded refugee-resettlement programs. As a Catholic, Vance said, the criticism left him "heartbroken." Then he hit out at the church for its role in garnering hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts to serve immigrants over the last several years. "I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?"

The Catholic Church has indeed emerged as one of the largest government contractors of immigration services. In the process, it has not only rapidly expanded its role as a taxpayer-supported nonprofit but also became one of the chief facilitators of the Biden administration's loose borders policy. That relationship has troubled many politicians and other critics, who fear that reduced border enforcement has worsened numerous social problems, including human trafficking. "I believe the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, if they're worried about the humanitarian costs of immigration enforcement, let them talk about the children who have been sex trafficked because of the wide open border of Joe Biden," Vance said in the Face the Nation interview.  He went on to slam church leaders for not being good partners in "common sense immigration enforcement."

The Catholic Church has long positioned itself as an advocate for poor immigrants and provided them with services in the United States. But for decades, including during the great migration waves of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, much of the church's work was charitable in nature, funded by contributions from parishioners. Over the past 50 years or so, however, Catholic Church-affiliated organizations, especially Catholic Charities, have become government contractors with a stake in a growing welfare state. Even before the last four years of explosive immigration, Catholic Charities nationwide derived more than six of every ten dollars of revenues from government contracts. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities have been among the biggest beneficiaries.

Now, with Trump changing the immigration focus to border enforcement and deportation, most of the Biden programs that aided in resettling immigrants are being curtailed, along with their funding. That policy change may represent an existential crisis for nonprofits dependent on government contracts, including dozens of Catholic Charities branches around the country. This conflict of interest makes it harder for Catholic leaders to claim the moral high ground on immigration.

The Biden administration used radical changes in immigration policies, especially through its so-called parole program, to justify a vast expansion of federal spending on migrant services. Under Biden's plan, those seeking entry into America received dates to appear in immigration court, often months in the future, and then were released into the country, usually without any means to support themselves. To service the swelling numbers of unsettled immigrants, including a sharp uptick in those applying for refugee status, the Biden administration and Congress dramatically expanded spending on immigration services. Funding for refugees and other "entrants" soared fourfold annually, from $2.2 billion in 2021 to $8.9 billion in 2022 and then to $10 billion in 2023. The biggest increases were in annual funding for unaccompanied minors, from $1.7 billion to $5.5 billion—suggesting the magnitude of the problem that Biden's open-borders policy facilitated. Medical services for refugees and others grew fourfold, from $225 million to $1 billion. Large chunks of this money made its way to nonprofits as discretionary grants from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which rose from $33 million in 2021 to $400 million in 2022 and then $616 million in 2023, according to Open the Books.

Catholic groups were among the leading recipients of this money. Total federal grants and contributions made to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its affiliate organizations for refugee-assistance programs rose from $14.6 million under the first Trump administration in 2019 to $122.6 million in 2022, according to audited financial statements. In just three years under Biden, those grants totaled more than $200 million. One signature federal program, Preferred Communities, tries to integrate immigrants into local communities. In 2023, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was the top recipient of these grants, garnering $66.5 million, reports Open the Books. Over three years, Catholic groups received some $110 million from this program alone.

This federal money, often heavily supplemented by local government contracts, has led to a startling growth in groups like Catholic Charities across the country in just four years. The ProPublica database of the financial filings of nonprofits lists 234 Catholic Charities entities around the U.S. The top 25 had revenues of slightly more than $2 billion in 2023, the last year filings are available for all groups. That's an almost 50 percent increase, a gain of about $660 million, in four years. Some of these groups have been utterly transformed. Catholic Charities Fort Worth has become one of the nation's largest local Catholic groups, with revenues of $289 million in 2023, compared with just $32 million in 2020. And like so many religious social services groups today, the charity exists almost entirely on government funds. Catholic Charities Fort Worth's 2023 federal 990 form, which nonprofits must file, lists $270 million in total government grants. Much of that money appears in the form of pass-through grants to local organizations for "refugee case management assistance," such as a $29.7 million grant awarded to a local YMCA.

The growth has been especially noticeable in border states, where the Biden administration released many of its parolees to local groups. Catholic Charities Dallas recorded $188 million in revenues from 2021 to 2024, compared with just $64 million over the previous four years. Similarly, Catholic Charities San Diego saw its local revenues rocket to $70 million in 2023, up from $12 million in 2020, with $64.9 million of that money in the form of government grants. In Phoenix, meantime, Catholic Charities recorded nearly $47 million in revenues in 2023, up from $33 million in 2019. Nearly 80 percent was in government money.

Because taxpayers increasingly support these swelling budgets, the organizations have attracted more criticism. Just a few days after Vance replied to the bishops on television, reports emerged of a Catholic Charities in Milwaukee releasing on its website a video from an immigration lawyer coaching illegals on how to deal with workplace raids by immigration authorities and recommending not cooperating with authorities, among other strategies. Other such incidents have occurred in recent years. In late December 2022, Texas governor Greg Abbott called for investigations into reports that a Catholic group was using taxpayer funds to help illegal aliens.

Government-backed Catholic groups have also taken heat for lobbying for benefits for illegals. For example, Catholic Charities of Trenton, New Jersey, one of the 20 largest taxpayer-funded Catholic groups, has promoted a campaign to award drivers' licenses to illegals, including organizing protest marches in the Garden State. Catholic officials have sought to justify their work as a "safety issue" for state drivers—but that's disingenuous, because local governments that provide illegals with access to such government programs as drivers' licenses or unemployment insurance (as New Jersey did during Covid) encourage illegals to come to their area, adding to the burden on public services and raising calls for greater government funding.

Though some Democrats and liberal commentators have criticized Republican scrutiny of church immigration contracts, Democratic administrations have also found fault with Catholic Charities and other church-affiliated organizations in the past. Catholic adoption agencies, for instance, saw contracts yanked by Democratic-controlled state governments for refusing to facilitate adoptions by gay couples. The Obama administration's Department of Health and Human Services withdrew a contract for helping victims of sex trafficking from a Catholic group because it wouldn't provide the victims with condoms.

As Vance's remarks suggest, the Church's role in helping to carry out the undeniably controversial immigration resettlement policies of the Biden administration is potentially divisive within Catholicism itself, because it appears to be at odds with what the American Catholic congregation broadly supports. Within the pews, there's growing discontent, reflected in Vance's criticism, of what some regular churchgoers call "professional Catholics"—that is, the administrative class that organizes and carries out the social-welfare mission of groups like Catholic Charities and lobbies for liberal social policies to support their work. Polls suggest they are out of sync with everyday Catholics. A Pew survey last year showed that 55 percent of those who identified as Catholic supported Trump. Even Hispanic Catholics were almost evenly divided in their support of the candidates. Catholics who said they attended church regularly were even more supportive of Trump. Those results were part of broad backing among religious voters for Trump. By contrast, about seven in ten voters claiming no religious affiliation or belief said they supported Biden.

In his Face the Nation interview, Vance described himself as a "practicing" Catholic—that is, one who regularly attends church. Though polls suggest as many as 20 percent of American adults, or about 50 million people, identify as Catholic, only about 28 percent of them, or 14 million, say they go to church frequently. Once, parishioners financed the church's social mission, their contributions a vote of confidence in this work. But as the numbers in the pews have diminished over the years, the church has turned to the state for support; individual donations from churchgoers now represent a minuscule portion of its funding for social work. That dynamic has produced a church whose leadership and mission seem increasingly out-of-step with its own congregants.

https://www.ncregister.com/cna/vatican-official-people-terrorized-by-u-s-crackdown-on-illegal-immigration

Quoted article below from link above.

QuoteVatican Official: People 'Terrorized' by U.S. Crackdown On Illegal Immigration

Catholic Relief Services — the U.S. Catholic Church's primary aid agency and one of USAID's recipients — has already raised concerns about the impact.

A prominent Vatican cardinal said on Monday that people are being "terrorized" by the U.S. government's "crackdown" on immigration and freeze of Catholic-run aid programs.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told the Associated Press in an interview published Feb. 10 that U.S. measures affecting both migration policy and international aid programs are causing serious harm to vulnerable populations.

"A crackdown is a terrible way to administer affairs and much less to administer justice," the Czech-born Canadian Jesuit said. "I'm very sorry that many people are being hurt and indeed terrorized by the measures."

The cardinal's comments coincided with a sharp rebuke from Caritas Internationalis, which on Monday strongly condemned what it called "the reckless decision by the U.S. administration to abruptly close USAID funded programs and offices worldwide."

Caritas warned: "Stopping USAID will jeopardize essential services for hundreds of millions of people, undermine decades of progress in humanitarian and development assistance, destabilize regions that rely on this critical support, and condemn millions to dehumanizing poverty or even death."

Catholic Relief Services — the U.S. Catholic Church's primary aid agency and one of USAID's recipients — has already raised concerns about the impact.

Cardinal Czerny noted that smaller Catholic programs are also affected.

The Vatican official emphasized Pope Francis' teaching that caring for migrants and vulnerable people is a fundamental Christian duty.

"What the Church teaches is very well summed up by Pope Francis, who says that our obligation, not only as Christians but as human beings, is to welcome people, to protect them, to promote them, and to integrate them," Cardinal Czerny said.

The Jesuit cardinal is the latest of several prelates to weigh in on U.S. immigration policy changes, which numerous Catholic leaders, including Pope Francis, have criticized as unjust.

On Feb. 7, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, noted that "the Church does not have the authority or the responsibility to determine the legal status of those living in the United States" but does have "an obligation to care for every person with respect and love, no matter their citizenship status."

At the same time, the Kansas archbishop offered a full-throated endorsement of prioritizing public safety threats in immigration enforcement.

https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-catholic-church-immigration-2021007

Quoted article below from link above. My comments or input in blue.

QuoteJD Vance Suggests Catholic Bishops Just Care About Money

Vice President JD Vance suggested to CBS News' Margaret Brennan in an interview that aired Sunday morning that Catholic bishops concerned over President Donald Trump's immigration plans just care about money.

Newsweek reached out to the White House and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) via email for comment on Sunday.

Why It Matters
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced it would end a longstanding policy that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would not make arrests in or near "sensitive" areas, such as churches, hospitals or schools.

Vance, a practicing Catholic, made his recent remarks in response to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) statement on the rescission of the ICE policy. The USCCB said, in part, on Thursday, "Turning places of care, healing, and solace into places of fear and uncertainty for those in need, while endangering the trust between pastors, providers, educators and the people they serve, will not make our communities safer."

Trump made immigration a central theme of his successful presidential campaign and Americans largely support his plans to execute mass deportations of people living in the United States illegally.

A New York Times/Ipsos poll, carried out from January 2 to 10, found 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported "Deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records." Large majorities of Democrats and Republicans agreed that the immigration system is broken.

During Tuesday's inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde called on Trump's faith to ask him "to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now," including immigrants.

What To Know
Appearing on Face the Nation on Sunday, Vance told Brennan, "As a practicing Catholic, I was actually heartbroken by that statement and I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?"

The USCCB has the largest refugee resettlement agency in the world. Refugees are not illegal immigrants. Official entities give refugee status to people who have been forced to flee their home country because of war, violence or persecution. Refugees can become lawful permanent residents and eventually citizens in the U.S. During his first day in office, Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), a federal program that gives refugees a legal pathway into the U.S.

"We're going to enforce immigration law. We're going to protect the American people," Vance told Brennan, adding if the USCCB is "worried about the humanitarian cost of immigration enforcement let them talk about the children who have been sex trafficked because of the wide-open border of [President] Joe Biden."

In a May 2024 article, The Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, said that "numerous studies show that immigration is not linked to higher levels of crime, but rather the opposite...When looking specifically at the relationship between undocumented immigrants and crime, researchers come to similar conclusions."

Brennan asked during her interview with Vance: "You think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' are actively hiding criminals from law enforcement?"

The vice president responded: "I think the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has, frankly, not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for, and I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they'll do better."

When reached for comment by Newsweek, the USCCB referred to its statement issued Sunday about its refugee resettlement agency, which is one of 10 resettlement agencies in the U.S.: "Faithful to the teaching of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church has a long history of serving refugees. In 1980, the bishops of the United States began partnering with the federal government to carry out this service when Congress created the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)."

The USCCB added that those resettled through USRAP are "vetted and approved for the program by the federal government while outside of the United States" and that in its agreement with the government it "receives funds to do this work; however, these funds are not sufficient to cover the entire cost of these programs."

The USCCB's statement concluded: "Nonetheless, this remains a work of mercy and ministry of the Church."

What People Are Saying
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said in its Thursday statement, "Catholic health care, Catholic Charities agencies, and the Church's other social service ministries work daily to feed, house, heal, educate, and meet people's needs in communities across our nation...Through our parishes, shelters, hospitals, schools, and other Church institutions, we recognize that this dignity is not dependent on a person's citizenship or immigration status."

Then-acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman said in a statement on Tuesday: "This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP [Customs and Border Protection] and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense."

Olivia Golden, interim executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy, said in a statement on Tuesday: "This action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including U.S. citizen children, deterring them from receiving medical attention, seeking out disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out everyday activities."

She added: "Should ICE presence near such locations become more common, the likelihood also increases that children could witness a parent's detention, arrest, or other encounters with ICE agents."

What Happens Next
Trump signed a flurry of executive orders on Monday including ones that targeted immigrants, such as the one to end birthright citizenship of children born to people living in the U.S. illegally. This order has already been temporarily blocked by a federal judge who called it "a blatantly unconstitutional order."

During this time of uncertainty, groups across the nation have been holding workshops to teach immigrants about their legal rights.

JD Vance is simply wrong. The Roman Catholic Church does not just care about money. They are dead set upon world domination, positioning themselves as the moral guide and leaders of a global government and economic system. Which is why they have been preaching, teaching, politicking, and facilitating the same openly, for decades now.

The vast majority of those they facilitate across our borders with our own tax monies, are Catholics. Catholics are much more likely to listen to and help facilitate the global aspirations of their church than others. The Church has aligned itself with enemies of our nations form of government and economic system repeatedly throughout history. It's social justice agenda, common good, and non stop calls for equity over equality, are manifestations, tools, and weapons of war against the founding principles of this nation built primarily upon established Protestant principles of civil, religious, and economic freedom.

Like many other forms of blood sucking political establishments, it does not build successful nations or governments, but takes over existing one's and sucks them dry from within. Its policies put into practice the redistribution of wealth, peoples, natural resources, business, technology, and progress itself in general, unto widespread  poverty. Equity, or equal poverty of the people, under an ever increasingly elitist government of the few. Who ever increasingly live upon the backs of the many people they dominate and control.

Instead of fixing the causes of widespread poverty and ignorance within many nations, they simply spread all such around by robbing prosperous peoples and nations to support such failing systems. As such is conducive to greater control over the masses, and unending accumulation of wealth and power among the elites the Church of Rome is ever in bed with.

Dan 11:13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. 14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. 15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.

QuoteIn America, particularly, is this investigation important. In all the countries over which it has triumphed, Popery, like the anaconda, has wound around its folds of art, of cunning, of superstition and of power, until, enclosing everything in its too friendly embraces, it has, with one tremendous effort, crushed the nation to death. It sends forth its missionaries; it gathers its schools and colleges; it erects its cathedrals and builds its churches; it is patriotic, benevolent, charitable. Its alms and offerings attract the vulgar, its austerities and penances convince the sceptical. It is at first tolerated; then approved; next obeyed! But now come the dread realities of the system, taxation, passive submission, excommunications, interdicts, crusades, the inquisition, destruction. Yes, Popery has well nigh destroyed every country in which it has been predominant. The liberties and national prosperity of a people cannot coexist with such a system.

Let then, Americans — Americans, who have never witnessed a Court of Inquisition, or an Auto-da-fe, on their virgin soil; Americans, whose national liberties are still fragrant with the blood of revolutionary forefathers; Americans, whose proud eminence in the civilized world, gives them more to lose than other nations; let Americans especially examine this subject well. And if, in such an examination, the following pages shall contribute but a mite to the discovery of the truth, the author will feel himself more than compensated for the labor they have cost him.
(CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST, by Samuel J. Cassels, PART 2 ANTICHRIST OR THE PAPACY PROVED TO BE THE ANTICHRIST PREDICTED IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, Pgs. 125&126)

Thus does the anomalous character of the Papacy prove it to be the antitype of "the little horn." This power is unlike all others; is uncongenial with all others. It is a usurper, a supplanter. We can readily conceive, how a spiritual power, either associated with the state, or entirely independent of the state, may exist without discord or collision. If the church be entirely distinct from the political institutions of a people, there can of course be no disturbance, as there is no contact. And if a church be established by law, as the operations of the religious and the political systems are kept in distinct spheres, there may be but occasional evils growing out of such union. But for a government that claims its existence jure divino, that sets up a universal empire, that arrogates to itself supremacy in all civil, as well as ecclesiastical matters — for a government that considers itself infallible, and which requires absolute submission in all its subjects — for such a government to exist in the midst of other governments; in its very principles trampling upon their rights and privileges; wielding both a temporal and a spiritual sword; punishing offenders both in this world and the next — for such a government to exist in harmony with other governments, is impossible, absolutely impossible. The papal system can harmonize with no other, whether religious or political. To the religious world, it exhibits one supreme pontiff of Christendom, and requires for him universal obedience. To the political world, it presents one great monarch, whose throne is above every throne, and whose will is law throughout the globe. No the Papacy is a unit, and presents the front of positive hostility to every thing that is not consolidated in itself. It may not be able to carry out its principles and wishes, but this is its nature. It is "diverse from all other governments; it is the adversary of all other governments.(Chapter 3, Pgs. 155&156)


The cause of truth recompenses those who embrace and defend it, and such has been the result with the nations who received the Reformation. In the eighteenth century, at the very moment when Rome thought to triumph by the Jesuits and the scaffold, the victory slipped from her grasp. Rome fell, like Naples, Portugal, and Spain, into inextricable difficulties; and at the same time two Protestant nations arose and began to exercise an influence over Europe that had hitherto belonged to the Roman catholic powers. England came forth victorious from those attacks of the French and Spaniards which the pope had so long been stirring up against her, and the Elector of Brandenburg, in spite of the wrath of Clement XI, encircled his head with a kingly crown. Since that time England has extended her dominion in every quarter of the globe, and Prussia has taken a new rank among the continental states, while a third power, Russia, also separated from Rome, has been growing up in her immense deserts. In this manner have evangelical principles exerted their influence over the countries that have embraced them, and righteousness hath exalted the nations (Proverbs 14:34). Let the evangelical nations be well assured that to Protestantism they are indebted for their greatness. From the moment they abandon the position that God has given them, and incline again towards Rome, they will lose their glory and their power. Rome is now endeavoring to win them over, employing flattery and threats by turns; she would, like Delilah, lull them to sleep upon her knees,.....but it would be to cut off their locks, that their adversaries might put out their eyes and bind them with fetters of brass.(paragraph 6) (HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY by J. H. Merle D'Aubigne,  PREFACE TO VOLUME THIRD)

But the success of the Papacy, when closely examined, is not so surprising as it looks. It cannot be justly pronounced legitimate, or fairly won. Rome has ever been swimming with the tide. The evils and passions of society, which a true benefactress would have made it her business to cure -at least, to alleviate -Rome has studied rather to foster into strength, that she might be borne to power on the foul current which she herself had created. Amid battles, bloodshed, and confusion, has her path lain. The edicts of subservient Councils, the forgeries of hireling priests, the arms of craven monarchs, and the thunderbolts of excommunication have never been wanting to open her path. Exploits won by weapons of this sort are what her historians delight to chronicle. These are the victories that constitute her glory! And then, there remains yet another and great deduction from the apparent grandeur of her success, in that, after all, it is the success of only a few -a caste -the clergy. For although, during her early career, the Roman Church rendered certain important services to society -of which it will delight us to make mention in fitting place when she grew to maturity, and was able to develop her real genius, it was felt and acknowledged by all that her principles implied the ruin of all interests save her own, and that there was room in the world for none but herself. If her march, as shown in history down to the sixteenth century, is ever onwards, it is not less true that behind, on her path, lie the wrecks of nations, and the ashes of literature, of liberty, and of civilization.

Popery, then, we hold to be an after-growth of Paganism, whose deadly wound, dealt by the spiritual sword of Christianity, was healed. Its oracles had been silenced, its shrines demolished, and its gods consigned to oblivion; but the deep corruption of the human race, not yet cured by the promised effusion of the Spirit upon all flesh, revived it anew, and, under a Christian mask, reared other temples in its honour, built it another Pantheon, and replenished it with other gods, which, in fact, were but the ancient divinities under new names. All idolatries, in whatever age or country they have existed, are to be viewed but as successive developments of the one grand apostacy. That apostacy was commenced in Eden, and consummated at Rome. It had its rise in the plucking of the forbidden fruit; and it attained its acme in the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome,--Christ's Vicar on earth. The hope that he would "be as God," led man to commit the first sin; and that sin was perfected when the Pope "exalted himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." Popery is but the natural development of this great original transgression. It is just the early idolatries ripened and perfected. It is manifestly an enormous expansion of the same intensely malignant and fearfully destructive principle which these idolatries contained. The ancient Chaldean worshipping the sun,--the Greek deifying the powers of nature,--and the Roman exalting the race of primeval men into gods, are but varied manifestations of the same evil principle, namely, the utter alienation of the heart from God,--its proneness to hide itself amid the darkness of its own corrupt imaginations, and to become a god unto itself. That principle received the most fearful development which appears possible on earth, in the Mystery of Iniquity which came to be seated on the Seven Hills; for therein man deified himself, became God, nay, arrogated powers which lifted him high above God. Popery is the last, the most matured, the most subtle, the most skilfully contriven, and the most essentially diabolical form of idolatry which the world ever saw, or which, there is reason to believe, it ever will see. It is the ne plus ultra of man's wickedness, and the chef d'oeuvre of Satan's cunning and malignity. It is the greatest calamity, next to the Fall, which ever befell the human family. Farther away from God the world could not exist at all. The cement that holds society together, already greatly weakened, would be altogether destroyed, and the social fabric would instantly fall in ruins.
(Book I. History of the Papacy. By Rev. J.A. Wylie, LL.D. Chapter I. Origin of the Papacy.)

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8187

Quoted article below from link above. Stumbled upon this eye opening article while doing a search. Emphasis in the quotes its mine.

QuoteMeet the New Generation of Catholic-Inspired NGOs

The work of international organizations like the United Nations and their effect on local and national institutions and policies has increased exponentially in the last 20 years.

This has raised many new (and sometimes difficult) issues for Catholics worldwide, but at the same time it has provided a greater platform for the Church, through the representation of the Holy See, to magnify its voice on critical issues including life, family, bioethics, human sexuality, poverty, and religious freedom.

Mega-conferences such as Cairo (on population and development) in 1994 and Beijing (on women's issues) in 1995 radically changed the landscape of the international scene, particularly that of the United Nations. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) would now play a much more visible and prominent role in shaping international human rights law. Radical liberal NGOs who represented the interests of the abortion lobby, drug companies, health providers, and other big corporations attempted to insert language into international documents that was a direct attack on traditional values as espoused by Catholic social teaching.

The UN became the favorite forum to push new concepts, often coded in ambiguous terms like "sexual and reproductive health," ideas which they usually could not pass in their own countries. In response to this new and grave threat, many organizations were formed in the last two decades which have had a strong presence at the UN and international organizations to defend Catholic values, assist the work of the Holy See, and to combat the proliferation of radical language and documents that could later become part of customary international law.

The Catholic Church recently recognized the growing importance of the international organizations as it organized the first-ever Vatican forum for Catholic-inspired NGOs late last fall. About 90 NGOs were invited to this forum in Rome, which was attended by most of the highest-ranking officials in the secretariat of state, and included an important address from Pope Benedict XVI (see sidebar). In his address, His Holiness took note of the newly created NGOs and their important work.

Taking part in this important meeting are representatives of groups long associated with the presence and activity of the Catholic laity at the international level, along with members of other more recent groups which have come into being as part of the current process of global integration.

Below are profiled five of these newer NGOs which are either explicitly Catholic organizations or whose mission is compatible with Catholic social thought and emphasize the Church's teachings on human dignity.

Society of Catholic Social Scientists (SCSS)
Founded in 1992; accredited with ECOSOC in 2003
www.catholicsocialscientists.org

The SCSS is comprised of about 400 academics, professionals, and scholars in nearly every discipline, including political science, law, history, medicine, and psychology. Two of the main projects of the Society are its annual conference and its annual scholarly journal. The most recent Society conference, which was held at St. John's University School of Law last fall, was the largest conference in the history of the school and featured a panel of authors of white papers on international organizations and issues. The Society has been very active at the United Nations since 2004, reflecting their Catholic inspiration and mission of responding enthusiastically [to] Pope John XXIII's injunction that "Christians . . . conform their behavior in economic and social affairs to the teachings of the Church."

Responding to a request for help from the Holy See Mission, the Society was very involved in most of the drafting sessions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and addressed the UN several times on life and family issues relating to that treaty, which came into force in 2007. While most of the SCSS members are in the U.S., there are also a number in Europe, and there is a very active chapter in the Philippines. The SCSS has launched an M.Th. program in Catholic social thought through tutorial and online studies and a "Catholic Social Thought" book series, and recently published an Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy. One of the most prominent members of the Society, Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon, has just begun her term as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) Founded in 1997; has not sought accreditation with ECOSOC
www.c-fam.org

John Paul the Great called laymen of all faiths to help him fight the pro-abortion lobby at the Cairo Conference in 1994, and then at the Beijing Conference in 1995. Hundreds answered the call each time, had great success, and then went home. It became obvious that the promotion of abortion and the devaluation of the natural family were going on every day at UN headquarters in New York, so the Holy See Mission made a call that a full-time office of Catholic laymen be opened at UN headquarters in New York. In the summer of 1997 the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (CFAM) was created specifically to answer that call.

In the last ten years C-FAM, led by President Austin Ruse, has participated directly in every major UN social policy negotiation, including the International Criminal Court, the debate that led to a UN resolution calling for a ban on human cloning, the Disabilities Convention, Cairo+5, Beijing+5 and dozens of others. C-FAM sits at the center of a coalition of non-governmental organizations and pro-life governments that have stopped abortion from becoming an international human right, blocked radical attempts to redefine the family, stopped a redefinition of gender, and much else.

Besides directly lobbying UN delegates, C-FAM also publishes numerous research papers every year through its International Organization Research Group whose papers go to senior policy makers and scholars around the world. C-FAM is best known for its weekly Friday Fax, the only originally researched and written news report on pro-life issues coming out of UN headquarters in New York. The Friday Fax has more than 100,000 readers, including those at the highest level of governments.

C-FAM has a full-time staff of six, plus three senior fellows [including two PhD's and two lawyers] and offices in New York and Washington DC, and is now operational in Brussels, focusing on the European Institutions.

European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ)
Founded in 1998; accredited with ECOSOC in 2007
www.eclj.org

In the late 1990s, efforts spearheaded by Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, began to mobilize Christian lawyers internationally to protect the rights of believers to worship and share the message of Jesus Christ without fear of persecution or discrimination in Europe. These efforts led to the creation of the ECLJ, which believes that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is one of the most important human rights and a prerequisite for the full development of the individual and society. The main office of the Center is in Strasbourg, France, and it has affiliated offices in Russia, Slovakia, and the United States.

The ECLJ has been involved in the litigation of dozens of cases before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and is very active in the work of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. In addition, the ECLJ has served as a mediator in many international issues, including the recent recognition by the Israeli government of the Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem. The Centre closely monitors the work of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, addressing it several times on issues including defamation of religion and the plight of Christians in the Middle East.

The ECLJ has submitted major reports to the UN on religious freedom issues, both nationally and internationally. Recently, ECLJ attorneys traveled to the Holy Land for a fact-finding mission on religious freedom in conjunction with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief and arranged joint meetings with her and numerous Christian religious leaders there. With three fulltime lawyers and affiliated attorneys on call, the ECLJ works closely in advising the Holy See, Christian organizations, and governments on religious freedom and other human rights issues.

Institute for Family Policies European Network (IPF) Founded in 2000; accredited with ECOSOC in 2006
www.ipfe.org

The Institute for Family Policies (IPF) is an international civil organization seeking to promote and defend the natural family. It has structures and representation in 8 European and Latin American countries with headquarters in Madrid, Spain.

The Institute aims for the adoption and implementation of family policies in all political levels and circumstances. To this end it carries out analysis of the situation of the family, seeks to identify its main problems and presents alternatives and solutions, particularly to the decision makers. For instance, a Report on the Evolution of the Family in Europe is presented annually at the European Parliament.

As a supranational organization, it has alliances and contacts with like-minded entities all over the world. IPF's representatives have participated in more than 30 international activities in the past 3 years. Also, the presence of IPF in the mass media is one of its aims in order to raise social and political awareness on the promotion of the family. Last year's achievements in this regard have been over 50 press releases, more than 600 news items in international, national and regional press, nearly 100 appearances on television and 275 news stories on the radio.

IPF believes that the foundation of the family unit is marriage, the union of a man and a woman, a formal and stable link, freely entered into, publicly celebrated, and providing the environment for the creation of new life. It has deep respect for and maintains mutual collaboration with the Catholic Church in order to promote family values.

International Solidarity & Human Rights Institute (ISHRI) Founded in 2004; applying for ECOSOC accreditation in 2008
www.ishri.net

ISHRI was founded by three attorneys and professors who teach at Franciscan University of Steubenville, in response to the need to form young leaders in the area of international relations with a solid foundation in Catholic social teaching. Beginning in 2005, ISHRI has brought about 200 high school, college, and graduate, and post-graduate students to major international UN conferences in New York, Geneva, and Vienna where the students actively participate as NGO representatives and advocate for issues of concern to the Church. ISHRI has been especially active at the Commission on the Status of Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which a disabled ISHRI student addressed on the critical need to include language on nutrition and hydration in the treaty.

ISHRI also has offered several summer courses on human rights, public policy, and Catholic social teaching in Europe, Washington, and Mexico, and is organizing a course this summer in Australia, the Philippines, and China. ISHRI has supported many initiatives and speakers, including a major symposium in Austria on John Paul II's theology of the body. Alumni of ISHRI have gone on to work as interns for the U.S. and Holy See Missions to the UN, and many have gone on to law school and other graduate studies.

The founders of ISHRI would like the Institute to be the impetus for a major new graduate program in international relations and Catholic social thought, which would serve as a feeder program for diplomats, public policy officials, and attorneys in embassies and missions around the world.

The need for such a program has been recently reaffirmed several times by Vatican officials, who have stressed the need for highly competent and well-catechized future leaders on the international stage.

Here we see the direct influence of the papacy upon the formation and policies of NGO's for many years now. And we all now know more widely exactly what their views of migration and illegal migration are. A thumbs up, and no doubt heavy support for the mass migrations that have been going on the world over, with the exact stated intent of influencing and changing the world according to the dictates of Roman Catholic Social Teaching and thought. Nothing to see here, move along.

https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2007/december/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20071201_ong.html

Quoted Address below from link above. My comments in blue.

Quote

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE HOLY SEE
TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE FORUM OF CATHOLIC-INSPIRED
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS* 

Clementine Hall
Saturday, 1st December 2007

Your Excellencies,
Representatives of the Holy See to International Organizations,
Dear Friends,

I am pleased to greet all of you who are assembled in Rome to reflect on the contribution which Catholic-inspired Non-governmental Organizations can offer, in close collaboration with the Holy See, to the solution of the many problems and challenges associated with the various activities of the United Nations and other international and regional organizations. To each of you I offer a cordial welcome. In a particular way I thank the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, who has graciously interpreted your common sentiments, while at the same time informing me of the goals of your Forum. I also greet the young representative of the Non-governmental Organizations present.

Taking part in this important meeting are representatives of groups long associated with the presence and activity of the Catholic laity at the international level, along with members of other, more recent groups which have come into being as part of the current process of global integration. Also present are groups mainly committed to advocacy, and others chiefly concerned with the concrete management of cooperative projects promoting development. Some of your organizations are recognized by the Church as public and private associations of the lay faithful, others share in the charism of certain institutes of consecrated life, while still others enjoy only civil recognition and include non-Catholics and non-Christians among their members. All of you, however, have in common a passion for promoting human dignity. This same passion has constantly inspired the activity of the Holy See in the international community. The real reason for the present meeting, then, is to express gratitude and appreciation for what you are doing in active collaboration with the papal representatives to international organizations. In addition, this meeting seeks to foster a spirit of cooperation among your organizations and consequently the effectiveness of your common activity on behalf of the integral good of the human person and of all humanity.

This unity of purpose can only be achieved through a variety of roles and activities. The multilateral diplomacy of the Holy See, for the most part, strives to reaffirm the great fundamental principles of international life, since the Church's specific contribution consists in helping "to form consciences in political life and to stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly" (Deus Caritas Est, 28). On the other hand, "the direct duty to work for a just ordering of society is proper to the lay faithful" – and in the context of international life this includes Christian diplomats and members of Non-governmental Organizations – who "are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity" and "to configure social life correctly, respecting its legitimate autonomy and cooperating with other citizens according to their respective competences and fulfilling their own responsibility" (ibid., 29).

International cooperation between governments, which was already emerging at the end of the nineteenth century and which grew steadily throughout the last century despite the tragic disruption of two world wars, has significantly contributed towards the creation of a more just international order. In this regard, we can look with satisfaction to achievements such as the universal recognition of the juridical and political primacy of human rights, the adoption of shared goals regarding the full enjoyment of economic and social rights by all the earth's inhabitants, the efforts being made to develop a just global economy and, more recently, the protection of the environment and the promotion of intercultural dialogue.

At the same time, international discussions often seem marked by a relativistic logic which would consider as the sole guarantee of peaceful coexistence between peoples a refusal to admit the truth about man and his dignity, to say nothing of the possibility of an ethics based on recognition of the natural moral law. This has led, in effect, to the imposition of a notion of law and politics which ultimately makes consensus between states – a consensus conditioned at times by short-term interests or manipulated by ideological pressure – the only real basis of international norms. The bitter fruits of this relativistic logic are sadly evident: we think, for example, of the attempt to consider as human rights the consequences of certain self-centred lifestyles; a lack of concern for the economic and social needs of the poorer nations; contempt for humanitarian law, and a selective defence of human rights. It is my hope that your study and reflection during these days will result in more effective ways of making the Church's social doctrine better known and accepted on the international level. I encourage you, then, to counter relativism creatively by presenting the great truths about man's innate dignity and the rights which are derived from that dignity. This in turn will contribute to the forging of a more adequate response to the many issues being discussed today in the international forum. Above all, it will help to advance specific initiatives marked by a spirit of solidarity and freedom.

What is needed, in fact, is a spirit of solidarity conducive for promoting as a body those ethical principles which, by their very nature and their role as the basis of social life, remain non-negotiable. A spirit of solidarity imbued with a strong sense of fraternal love leads to a better appreciation of the initiatives of others and a deeper desire to cooperate with them. Thanks to this spirit, one will always, whenever it is useful or necessary, work in collaboration either with the various non-governmental organizations or the representatives of the Holy See, with due respect for their differences of nature, institutional ends and methods of operation. On the other hand, an authentic spirit of freedom, lived in solidarity, will help the initiative of the members of non-governmental organization to create a broad gamut of new approaches and solutions with regard to those temporal affairs which God has left to the free and responsible judgement of every individual. When experienced in solidarity, legitimate pluralism and diversity will lead not to division and competition, but to ever greater effectiveness. The activities of your organizations will bear genuine fruit provided they remain faithful to the Church's magisterium, anchored in communion with her pastors and above all with the successor of Peter, and meet in a spirit of prudent openness the challenges of the present moment.

Dear friends, I thank you once again for your presence today and for your dedicated efforts to advance the cause of justice and peace within the human family. Assuring you of a special remembrance in my prayers, I invoke upon you, and the organizations you represent, the maternal protection of Mary, Queen of the World. To you, your families and your associates, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.

It is the direct duty of the lay faithful, to form a just ordering of society, and to configure social life correctly. Which would be by the dictates of the Vatican and approved Social Justice Teachings of course. This includes "the full enjoyment of economic and social rights by all the earth's inhabitants, the efforts being made to develop a just global economy and, more recently, the protection of the environment". One way to accomplish "the full enjoyment of economic and social rights by all the earth's inhabitants", would no doubt include mass migrations of poorer peoples from poor nations, to wealthier nations at the expense of the citizens of those nations. And provide for them as well at the expense of these citizens also. With or without their consent of course. Apart from the various other means of wealth redistribution the Vatican proudly declares in their many Encyclicals and Doctrinal Notes. All of this just details regarding the ongoing establishment of the global economy and government the Vatican envisions. Regardless of the fact that a very great many peoples of the various nations do not share this vision at all. Global government and economy towards a common good, equals global compromise with many failing economic and political systems. Joining them, instead of fixing them or leaving them alone if they refuse to be fixed, will just drag everyone down along the way. You know, towards owning nothing, and being happy about it. For all of us peasants in any case.

There is no freedom in handing over the benefits of prosperous nations, peoples, or individuals, to elitist minded self important imposers, to be redistributed as they deem fit. There is no good reason to hand the accomplishments and wealth of successful and prosperous nations and peoples, over to unsuccessful nations and peoples who are not willing to change the causes of their failures. To the contrary, use the money voluntarily supplied by the citizens of successful nations, to better the failed policies of unsuccessful nations. If unsuccessful nations refuse to change, then they should be left to their own. Let the money that would be given to them, be used to legally move citizens wishing to escape such failure, to nations which they might benefit as well with such an attitude. legally vetting these immigrants to make sure their vision is in line with that of the nations they seek a better life from, and rightly demanding that they assimilate to the nations they wish to benefit from. Rather than demanding to be recognized as citizens of the nations they supposedly wanted to escape. So that it may be easily determined that they are not just abusing the system, as so much of fallen humanity is apt to do. There is no sense in pretending that a large segment of the human family are not just parasitical consumers and or outright criminals, when they most obviously are. And all nations should seek to firmly protect their citizens from a foreign invasion of numerous peoples of this mind set. As well as protect their own from the same kind of individuals within their own nations already.

A little common sense goes a long way. There is evil in this world. A great many of the world are predatory abusers of peoples and systems of success, prosperity, and liberality. They prey upon and rob those more productive and liberal than themselves. They do not deserve "the full enjoyment of economic and social rights" provided by successful, prosperous, and liberal nations. Sharing a supposed "common good" with them, is simply exposing yourself to their abuse. Governments, institutions, corporations or what have you, that will rob the success, prosperity, and liberality of their own citizens to redistribute as they please, are themsleves evil people. Regardless of whether they label such redistributive injustice as a "common good" or not. Adolf Hitler also declared to be establishing the "common good". Redistributing peoples wealth without their consent is stealing.

Exo 20:15  Thou shalt not steal.

https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2025-12-21/pope-names-pro-immigrant-pastor-bishop-of-diocese-where-trumps-mar-a-lago-is-located

Quoted article below from link above. Emphasis is mine.

QuotePope names pro-immigrant pastor bishop of diocese where Trump's Mar-a-Lago is located

Pope Leo XIV has named the Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez as bishop of Palm Beach. Rodríguez has expressed concerns about immigration policies.

Pope Leo XIV on Friday named the Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, currently pastor of a predominantly Hispanic church in the Queens borough of New York City, as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida.

The diocese is home to the Mar-a-Lago estate of President Donald Trump, whose get-tough immigration policies have drawn objections from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Rodriguez has been a staunch advocate for migrants, which make up most of his 17,000 congregants at the Our Lady of Sorrows church — the largest parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn, which also oversees churches in Queens.

"I never, never, never expected anything even close to this," Rodriguez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday from Palm Beach, where he was visiting a homeless shelter.

"I'm even a little bit scared. But I trust in God's assistance," he said. "One thing I can tell you is that this diocese is a diocese of hard-working priests and hard-working people, and I'm here to help."

The Diocese of Palm Beach comprises about 260,000 Catholics and 54 parishes and missions. On its website, the diocese said that Rodriguez will be ordained and installed at a future date during a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola.

A Dominican native

Rodriguez was born in the Dominican Republic and ordained to the priesthood in 2004, in the capital, Santo Domingo. He led the Our Lady of Sorrows parish in the mostly Latino Corona neighborhood of Queens when more than 100 of its parishioners died from COVID-19.

Earlier this year, Rodriguez joined numerous faith leaders across the U.S. expressing their concern about how the immigration crackdown launched by Trump's administration had sown fear within their migrant-friendly congregations.

In his new assignment, he will lead the diocese where Mar-a-Lago — Trump's vast south Florida estate — is located. Trump has called the resort the "Center of the Universe."

"The president is doing really good things, not only for the United States, but for the world. But when it comes to the migrant, the immigration policy, we want to help," Rodriguez said. "We want to assist the president as a church because we believe that we can do better ... than the way we're doing this right now."

Some church leaders have condemned Trump's immigration crackdown, saying it targets parishioners without a criminal record who are now too scared to leave home to attend Mass, buy food or seek medical care.

At many immigrant parishes, U.S.-born children have parents in the country illegally. Some of these parents have signed caregiver affidavits, which designate a legal guardian, in hopes their children stay out of foster care in case they are detained.

"When it comes to enforcing immigration laws, we shouldn't be enforcing them by focusing on deporting 5-year-olds, 12-year-olds, 9-year-old kids, people that have never committed any crime. So, we're here to help. We're willing to help, and God willing, we will," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he's in line with the Catholic Church, which staunchly defends the rights of migrants, even as it acknowledges the rights of nations to control their borders.

"The Church's position about this important and urgent matter has been made crystal clear by the bishops of the United States," he said.

Immigration a challenging issue for Catholic bishops

The Vatican announced Rodríguez's appointment the day after it shared that Pope Leo had accepted the resignation of conservative Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan who led the New York archdiocese and also had ties to Trump, including praying at his inauguration earlier this year and being appointed to his Religious Liberty Commission.

On some issues, such as greater inclusion for LGBTQ+ people, U.S. bishops are divided. But on immigration, even conservative Catholic leaders stand on the side of migrants.

During their general assembly earlier this year, U.S. bishops issued a rare "special message" criticizing the Trump administration's mass deportation of migrants and their "vilification" in the current migration debate. It also lamented the fear and anxiety immigration raids have sown in communities, and the denial of pastoral care to migrants in detention centers.

U.S. Catholic bishops shuttered their longstanding refugee resettlement program after the Trump administration halted federal funding for resettlement aid.

Rodriguez said the church will always be ready to defend the dignity of poor people and migrants, who over generations, "have contributed to the growth of the United States."

"Migrants are not to be demonized ... Good migrant people that are here to work hard for their families — they share many of our core values," he said. "They're to be not to be rejected and treated harshly but instead, they're to be treated respectfully and with dignity. So, that's the idea, and Pope Leo is backing us up in this."

As is obvious, if the Pope, Vatican, and Catholic Bishops of the United States had their way, our borders would still be opened to all immigrants. Legal or not. And oh yea, tax payers would still be flipping the bill for them to come in and be set up with jobs and or long term government aid. To say the least. Neither do they intend to allow Trumps policies to remain, as the instruments of subversion they always represent from within any nation, that does not agree with and uphold their own political intentions. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD3s72PuhLE

It looks like the Brits might have someone and or a party to elect to combat the asymmetrical warfare globalists are and have been perpetrating against every sovereign nation through uncontrolled mass migration.

Quote from: Amo on Sat Feb 21, 2026 - 12:05:16https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD3s72PuhLE

It looks like the Brits might have someone and or a party to elect to combat the asymmetrical warfare globalists are and have been perpetrating against every sovereign nation through uncontrolled mass migration.

Amo, I copied this link and your words and gave you credit for the find on BAM forum.

I support their efforts and wonder if we will see hats with MGBGA?

Quote from: Rella on Tue Feb 24, 2026 - 10:01:56Amo, I copied this link and your words and gave you credit for the find on BAM forum.

I support their efforts and wonder if we will see hats with MGBGA?

Time will tell. Britain is further gone down the road than we are, I do believe. Their governments grip upon a totally disarmed populace is greater than ours, therefore neither do or can they represent as great a threat to their abuses, as we can. Nevertheless, it will all play out as God has predicted in the end. Whether it is the "right" or "left" leaners that bring about the final touches of global tyrannical government. 

https://factually.co/fact-checks/religion/us-catholic-hierarchy-response-pope-leo-immigration-trump-policy-ad7218

The following quoted article may be viewed at the above link.

QuoteHow has the U.S. Catholic hierarchy reacted to Pope Leo's comments about immigration and Trump-era policy?

Executive summary

The U.S. Catholic hierarchy has largely amplified and formalized Pope Leo XIV's public rebukes of harsh immigration enforcement, with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issuing a rare "special message" opposing mass deportations that the pope publicly endorsed. That endorsement sharpened divisions between more progressive prelates who have leaned into Leo's language and conservative figures aligned with the Trump administration or critical of clerical intervention in politics.

1. Bishops issued an unusually explicit, concordant statement

In late 2025 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted its first "special message" in over a decade condemning "indiscriminate mass deportation of people," a document the pope publicly backed and urged Catholics to heed, signaling an uncommon instance of near‑institutional unanimity on immigration criticism.

2. Prominent cardinals used the pope's language to pressure U.S. policy

A cluster of high‑profile U.S. cardinals — described in reporting as the more progressive wing of the American hierarchy — issued a statement urging the Trump administration to apply a "moral compass" in foreign policy and immigration, explicitly drawing on Pope Leo's diplomatic address and remarks.

3. Vatican endorsement gave bishops political cover and moral weight

Pope Leo's public backing of the bishops' message transformed what might have been a domestic American bishops' critique into a papal‑sanctioned moral intervention; U.S. bishops say they were consulted on related Vatican statements and that the pope's words provided language they could "piggyback on" to speak more specifically about policy.

4. The administration and allied conservatives pushed back

White House spokespeople and immigration officials rejected the characterization of U.S. policy as inhumane, and key Trump administration figures publicly clashed with the pope's critique — including a senior border official who said he would "educate" the pope on Catholic teaching and dismissed the Vatican's critique. The White House framed enforcement as fulfilling campaign promises and protecting national security in the face of ecclesial criticism.

5. The reaction exposed fractures inside the U.S. Church over priorities and timing

Some Catholic reform commentators argued the bishops had been quicker to issue statements on sexuality and gender than to speak corporately on immigration, suggesting the episcopal chorus on Leo's remarks came only after Vatican prompting and public pressure. Reporting cites voices both praising the new specificity of the Church's stance and criticizing the hierarchy for inconsistent public emphasis.

6. The hierarchy paired moral admonition with diplomatic and pastoral moves

Beyond public statements, Rome appointed a new apostolic nuncio to the United States amid strained relations, and the Vatican declined to participate in some of the administration's diplomatic initiatives — moves that signal a coordinated mix of moral pressure and diplomatic distancing tied to Leo's messaging on migrants and foreign policy.

7. What this means for U.S. Catholics and public life

The hierarchy's reaction has turned Pope Leo's critiques from papal rhetoric into U.S. institutional pressure: progressive cardinals and the USCCB have amplified the pope's framing of human dignity versus mass deportations, while conservatives inside and outside the Church have questioned the prudence and partisan effects of such interventions, leaving the American Catholic community navigating a sharper clash between pastoral care, political loyalty, and national security concerns.

Papal interference in the politics of our country, which she exercises in every country of the world where she has enough adherents to put into effect, her agendas. Never mind the will of the people of those nations. So that when she has enough adherents within any nation, who will submit and cooperate with her will over and above that of the peoples of said nations, the Papacy successfully takes over said nations. Not very hard to figure out why the Papacy therefore is in favor of mass migrations of Catholics to our nation and others, and or mass migrations foreign peoples to create instability within the nations she seeks to change from within. That they may more easily bend to her globalist agenda, and submit to the globalist international organizations she so fully supports. Unto the one world government and economic system she envisions. A future Feudalist world, rather than the old Feudalist Europe, over which she, her clergy,  and the elitist kings, queens, and royalty ruled. Emphasis in the following quote is mine.

Quote

Excerpt from
ENCYCLICAL LETTER
CARITAS IN VERITATE
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
THE LAY FAITHFUL
AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL
ON INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
IN CHARITY AND TRUTH

67. In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. One also senses the urgent need to find innovative ways of implementing the principle of the responsibility to protect and of giving poorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity. To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority, as my predecessor Blessed John XXIII indicated some years ago. Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good, and to make a commitment to securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth. Furthermore, such an authority would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights. Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums. Without this, despite the great progress accomplished in various sectors, international law would risk being conditioned by the balance of power among the strongest nations. The integral development of peoples and international cooperation require the establishment of a greater degree of international ordering, marked by subsidiarity, for the management of globalization. They also require the construction of a social order that at last conforms to the moral order, to the interconnection between moral and social spheres, and to the link between politics and the economic and civil spheres, as envisaged by the Charter of the United Nations.

https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/catholic-house-dems-statement-immigration

Quoted article below from link above.

February 16, 2026 at 5:27 PM ET

Quote43 Catholic Democrats pledge migrant solidarity, invoke Leo XIV, Francis

Catholic U.S. House Democrats cited Church teaching in defense of the dignity of migrants as Trump administration officials defend immigration enforcement.

More than 40 Catholic Democrats in the House of Representatives signed onto a statement of principles regarding immigration, which urged "solidarity" with migrants and cited Catholic social teaching and the visions of Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV to back up their positions.

The statement comes as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) continues to speak out against indiscriminate mass deportations. Lawmakers are also negotiating an end to a partial government shutdown, which was spurred by debates about funding and potential reforms for immigration enforcement.

"We feel called in solidarity to stand with immigrants — especially those who are poor, marginalized, or fleeing hardship — and to ensure they are treated with dignity, justice, and compassion," the statement said.

"As Catholics and elected officials, we believe that addressing long-standing inequities and expanding meaningful opportunities for immigrants is an essential part of our responsibility to community and to those most in need," the lawmakers said.

The statement was led by Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, and signed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and 41 other Catholic Democrats. No Republicans signed onto the statement.

The Catholic Democrats said their position is rooted in three principles of Catholic social teaching on immigration: that people have a right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families, that nations have a right to regulate borders, and that all enforcement must be consistent with justice and mercy.

In their statement, they said Jesus Christ "identifies with the migrant" when he says in Matthew 25:35: "I was ... a stranger and you welcomed me." They also cited Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Dilexi Te, commenting on migration, in which he said the Church knows that "in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community."

They quoted Pope Francis' 2019 message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, in which the former pontiff said the Church's response to immigration can be summed up in four verbs: "welcome, protect, promote, and integrate."

The statement recognizes that regulations on immigration are legitimate, citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that "political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions."

"Catholic social teaching approaches migration with realism: It affirms the right of persons to seek safety and opportunity while recognizing the legitimate authority of nations to regulate their borders," they said. "Sound immigration policy is ordered, humane, and sustainable, balancing solidarity with prudence in service of human dignity and the common good."

The Catholic Democrats said, however, that border enforcement "is never a license for cruelty, indifference, or dehumanization" but instead "must be governed by justice and mercy." They accused Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of having "failed this moral standard."

"Their actions have separated families, removed law-abiding individuals from our communities, and, tragically, contributed to the deaths of detained migrants and citizens like Renee Good and Alex Pretti," the statement read.

The Catholic Democrats, in their statement, said their position on immigration is "guided by a living Catholic tradition that affirms the dignity of every human life." Despite the USCCB having called "the threat of abortion" its "preeminent priority" in the 2024 election, the Democratic Party supports abortion access, identifying abortion as an essential component of health care.

Negotiating ICE, CBP reforms

The signatories called on Congress to "bear the Church's teachings in mind" when considering reforms to ICE and CBP, which are being negotiated.

On Feb. 14, the government entered into a partial shutdown when Congress did not reach an agreement on funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which operates both ICE and CBP.

Many Democrats are proposing reforms that would restrict immigration enforcement as a condition of approving funds. Some have gone further, calling for the abolition of ICE altogether.

Catholic administration officials have rejected the Democrats' characterization that immigration enforcement has violated the human dignity of migrants.

In December 2025, border czar Tom Homan told EWTN News that "we treat everybody with dignity." He said "the most humane thing you can do is enforce the law, secure the border, because it saves lives" and asserted that the administration targets criminals and cited its work to combat fentanyl and sex trafficking.

Nathaniel Madden, principal deputy assistant secretary for communications at DHS, told EWTN News in November 2025 that detainees "are going to be treated like a person, and your dignity is going to be respected." He said dignity and immigration enforcement are compatible and "we have to take into account that laws were broken."

In January, U.S. citizens Pretti and Good were both shot and killed by federal immigration officers in separate incidents in Minneapolis.

In November 2025, the USCCB issued a special message that opposed "the indiscriminate mass deportation of people" and called for an end to "dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement." The message was approved by a vote of 216-5.

Subversion of the will of the people in the election of a President and politicians who represent their interests above others. In this case, the Vatican and Roman Catholic teaching and political ideology of the common good which is defined by the Vatican itself. Which common good is far more in line with the socialistic and or communistic leanings of the globalists, than the will of the peoples of sovereign countries which guarentee their citizens civil and religious liberties by way of government by and for the people. Not government by and for unelected self exalting globalist international organizations such as the Vatican itself, which wish to lord themsleves over all nations.

The Vatican, UN, and or other international organizations have no right to step in and determine for the citizens of the United States, who is and who is not an acceptable migrant in our country. That is for us to decide, not the Pope of Rome according to his own self defined common good, or any other of his globalist cronies. Immigrants the people of the United States consider to be criminals and or dangerous to our way of life and or stability as a nation, should most certainly be deported as such. Overwhelming numbers of migrants to any nation is in and of itself, a danger to the stability of that nation. Numbers alone, are a legitimate reason to restrict migration, thereby making open boarders unsustainable for any nation as well. Globalists of course know this, and seek exactly to destabilize nations, unto their hopeful greater dependence upon them to resolve such issues. Neither the Vatican nor any other nation or institution has a right interfere with the privileges of United States citizens to determine such important matters for themselves. We can only hope, that as the number of Roman Catholic politicians continues to outpace their percentage of citizens in this nation, these politicians will not forsake the will of the people of this nation in favor of the will of the globalist minded Popes and Vatican. Who have been calling for a one world global government, economic system, and religion for some time now, that would enforce their vision of "the common good" upon all. 

https://www.usccb.org/news/2026/pope-supports-solidarity-immigrants-us-catholics-must-stand-together-archbishop-says

February 12, 2026

Interesting, the date of the quoted article below precedes that of the article posted before this one by four days. Think there is any connection? Was this article from Rome, instructions for the politicians actions in the previous quoted article? Seems likely. Emphasis in quoted article is mine.

QuotePope supports solidarity with immigrants in US, Catholics must stand together, archbishop says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- All Catholics are called to stand together by reaching out to their brothers and sisters in the faith of all ethnicities, especially those of Hispanic heritage, Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland, Oregon, said.

"They are our brothers and sisters, we love them, and we stand with them in these difficult times," he told Catholic News Service Feb. 11 during a visit to Rome and the Vatican, which included a private meeting with Pope Leo XIV Feb. 9.

"Our Holy Father has been a great source of encouragement and support for the United States bishops, I think, to be very strong in our statements and in our support for the immigrant community back home," he said. "Our Holy Father feels very strongly about this."

"I had the opportunity to speak with him, and I can say in the conversation, you could see that this was a matter of great concern for him," said the archbishop whose archdiocese had seen sustained activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known by its acronym ICE, in its communities, including near some parishes.

When it comes to immigration and religious liberty, one major concern is allowing the Catholic Church to provide the sacraments and pastoral care inside some detention facilities, he said; the archbishop is chair of the Committee for Religious Liberty of the USCCB.

"There have been some difficulties there in some places, and so we're keeping a very close eye on that to make sure that the religious rights of those in the detention centers are protected so that they can receive pastoral care and especially the sacraments from the church's ministers," he said.

Archbishop Sample said what had him most worried was when ICE officials "began showing up outside of churches and places of worship" in his archdiocese, causing "a great deal of doubt and fear and anxiety among our people -- people afraid to go to Mass." 

While ICE activity seemed to be less aggressive as of late, he said, "there has to be a better solution here to solving the immigration problem we have in the United States."

"We have a system that isn't working. But in terms of the folks that are already here, and especially when I think of the people in my own archdiocese who have been here sometimes for years and years and have established themselves, there has to be a more just, more humane, just a better way to go about this," he said.

When asked how Catholics in his archdiocese could best accompany those possibly at risk of arrest or detention, he encouraged the English-speaking community to reach out to and build a real connection with those in the Hispanic community. 

"Sometimes it feels like maybe (there are) two communities worshiping in the same building," he said of English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics. 

Launching a call for unity, peace and mutual support, the archbishop said Catholics of every ethnicity need to "see themselves as one and to really reach out to our brothers and sisters in the Hispanic community, especially right now ... just get to know them, welcome them, help them, know that they are loved and very much a part of the body of Christ."

Portland has seen ongoing protests in response to ICE operations, particularly near its facility where people are detained and interviewed to determine their legal status as U.S. residents.

While ICE and other agencies are meant to stop and detain people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, they have been accused of overly aggressive action and routinely going beyond what the law allows with entering homes, making arrests without judicial warrants and removing people believed to be unauthorized immigrants through mass deportations.

Pope Francis released a formal letter to U.S. bishops last February, addressing the "major crisis" taking place and criticizing efforts to equate the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.

While every nation has the right to defend itself and to keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes, the late pope wrote, mass deportations harm human dignity and families. "An authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized."

Archbishop Sample also released his own statement in November, reacting to increased ICE activity in Portland. That came just a few days before the U.S. bishops as a whole released a special message Nov. 12 underlining that "human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of goodwill work together."

Pope Leo supported the U.S. bishops' message, telling reporters Nov. 13, "If someone is in the United States illegally, there are ways to address this. There are courts. There is a judicial system."

"I believe there are many problems in the system. No one has said that the United States should have open borders," he said, adding, "I think every country has the right to determine who enters, how, and when."

However, the U.S. pope said, "when people have lived good lives -- many of them for 10, 15, 20 years -- treating them in a way that is, to say the least, extremely disrespectful, and with instances of violence, is troubling."

Pope Leo invited all Catholics and people of goodwill to "listen carefully" to the bishops' message. "I believe we must seek ways of treating people with humanity, with the dignity that is theirs."

Papal subversion once again. Every nation has a right to declare illegal immigration, to be illegal of course. When one does something illegal, they have broken a law, and are therefore determined to be a criminal. Uncontrolled masses entering countries destabilizes those countries, which can have serious if not eventual catastrophic effects upon the citizens of said nations and the entirety of nations themselves. Who does the Pope of Rome think he is, to tell all nations that it is wrong to call illegal immigrants criminals? Entering a nation without permission when that nation has determined such is illegal and therefore a criminal act, means exactly that those who do so are criminals.

This is not even to address the abundant evidence that the Vatican, Clergy, and many members of the Catholic church are directly involved in facilitating mass illegal immigration into this country. Many an article addressing such facilitation I have posted on this very board over the years. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk-0p6gtWFo