Church and State, Volume 1

This is a new feature I’m trying out. My aim is to compare statements issued by officials of the government of the United States with statements on the same or similar subject from Sacred Scripture or from the teachings of the Church or both.

I am mindful that we have in this country a separation of Church and State, and I do not mean to imply that the State should be run from the Church. I do, however, strongly feel that the teaching of the Church should guide Christians in making the moral decisions that they may face every day.

State: Inauguration Address of President Donald Trump

Church:

“For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and high” (Isaiah 2:12)

“Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come, and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:7 – 11)

“So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matt. 20:16; cf. Matt. 19:30, Luke 13:30)

“[P]refer nothing to the love of Christ.” (Saint Benedict, Holy Rule, IV: 21)

State: Executive Order of January 27, 2017 (source)

“I hereby proclaim that the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens from countries referred to … would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, of such persons for 90 days from the date of this order.”

“The Secretary of State shall suspend the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days. … I hereby proclaim that the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States and thus suspend any such entry until such time as I have determined … that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest.”

Church:

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 12:2)

“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:35-40)

“A particular category of war victim is formed by refugees, forced by combat to flee the places where they habitually live and to seek refuge in foreign countries. The Church is close to them not only with her pastoral presence and material support, but also with her commitment to defend their human dignity: ‘Concern for refugees must lead us to reaffirm and highlight universally recognized human rights, and to ask that the effective recognition of these rights be guaranteed to refugees’.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 505)

“Despite an increased awareness of interdependence among peoples and nations, some States, guided by their own ideologies and particular interests, arbitrarily determine the criteria for the application of international obligations.

On the other hand, in countries which had in the past offered a generous reception to refugees, there is now a disturbingly similar trend of political decisions aimed at reducing the number of entries and discouraging new requests for asylum. While moments of economic recession can make the imposition of certain limits on reception understandable, respect for the fundamental right of asylum can never be denied when life is seriously threatened in one’s homeland.

It is troubling to witness the reduction of resources earmarked for the solution of the refugee problem, as well as a weakening of political support for the structures purposely created for such humanitarian service.”

(Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” and Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Refugees: A Challenge to Solidarity, 1992)

“Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ” (Saint Benedict, Holy Rule, LIII:1)