Catholic cardinal condemns fear, ‘forces of division’
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops decried what he said were “the forces of division” in the country, as he called Monday for immigration policies that keep families together and a “humane” approach to policing the border.
Cardinal Daniel Dinardo of Galveston-houston, Texas, affirmed the government’s authority to protect national security. But he said recent policies and attitudes have often been rooted in anxiety about people who “look, talk and even think differently.” That fear is present both within and outside the church, he said.
“The forces of division prey on our fear of the unfamiliar, the different. But fear is not of God,” said Dinardo, in an address to the bishops’ fall meeting in Baltimore. “They tempt us to see a threat in the stranger.”
Dinardo never mentioned President Donald Trump by name, focusing instead on government policy.
Dinardo said the country had a “moral responsibility” to protect the border “in a humane way.”
He said a “pro-life immigration policy is one that does not tear families apart.”
And he expressed support for young immigrants known by their advocates as Dreamers.
For “those who have only known the United States as their home, we make Pope Francis’ words our own: Keep on dreaming,” Dinardo said.
Trump has said an aggressive deportation policy and restrictions on refugee entry to the U.S. are critical for national security.