Pope Francis, right, washes the feet of prisoners in 2015. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO, POOL
As Vice President Mike Pence addressed crowds of supporters
at the March for Life, protests raged across the country decrying President
Trump’s ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. This executive order includes an indefinite ban
on refugees from war-torn Syria. The Vice-President did not mention immigration
in his comments to Pro-Life activists, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be on
our minds. It is the height of hypocrisy
to march for protection of the unborn and ignore the plight of children around
the world. Mr. Pence, it seems, is unaware
that immigration is a life issue
The Pro-Life movement has fallen into a dangerous trap of
one-issue politics. The fixation with
overturning Roe V Wade has chained us to the Republican Party, distracting us
from vital work and weakening our stance. In fact, the Republicans often oppose
measures that are vital to our cause: a stronger safety net for single mothers,
fixing our broken foster-care system, and putting an end to the death
penalty. Lessening our focus on these goals
has given weight to our opponent’s argument that we don’t really care about
life at all. They perceive Pro-Life Christians as only focused on controlling
women and forcing them into motherhood. We,
they argue, are hypocrites who only care about the life of a child while it is
still in the womb. This stance would be insulting if it wasn’t so close to the
truth. We have lost touch with our calling as
Christians and fallen into the simplistic story of the culture war. And now President Trump has slammed the door
on immigration. This is our chance to prove ourselves.
Not to be outdone, conservatives are quick to point the
finger of hypocrisy at the left-wing outrage surrounding the immigration ban.
Obama took similar measures in 2011. (The seven countries on Trumps list are drawn
from the Obama-era’s Visa Waiver program.)[1] It’s natural to want to point fingers and say
“Where were your protests then?” My question to pro-life activists is this: who cares? We have no time to waste
removing splinters from other people’s eye’s- our beam is enormous. We owe no loyalty to the Republican Party. We
are Christians. Our loyalty lies only in
what is true. The question is not why are
they outraged all the sudden but rather why
weren’t we outraged before? Pointing
out the flaws in others is a distraction.
We only have time for the flaws in ourselves.
We’ve known for years about the refugee crisis in Syria, but
we chose to do nothing. We’ve known that
translators who risked their lives to help our military were being denied entry
into the United States. We in the
Pro-Life movement should have been the first to take up this cause. Instead, we
are making excuses and blaming others. Worse, we are allowing our fears to
control our actions.
The story of Jewish refugees being turned away at the border
during the Second World War has been passed around so much in connection with
the current crisis, that it has started to feel like empty rhetoric. But it is not. The fears about allowing these refugees into
the country are almost identical to the fears being expressed today: we haven’t
vetted these people, we don’t know who they are, the enemy could be hiding
among them, their values seem different than ours. Roman Catholics often forget that we were at
once suspected of wanting to set up a Papal Kingdom in the United States, echoing
the current fear that Muslims will try to institute Sharia Law. None of these fears ever came to fruition in
our country, but we allowed them to guide our choices. Every passenger on that ship of Jewish
refugees died in concentration camps.
I want to be clear: I
am not suggesting that all the rhetoric around this issue is accurate- popular
media is rife with misinformation, which is certainly fueling the protests. I
am also not suggesting that the Pro-Life movement ought to side with the
Democratic Party. On the contrary, I’m
begging that we become entirely non-partisan. From the outside, it is much easier
to perceive how both parties are right some of the time. It is reasonable that a Pro-Life person might
feel immigration policy needs to be reexamined, and a temporary hiatus may be
necessary to do this. But if this is the case (and I’m not convinced it is)
these changes must be made as quickly as
possible. An indefinite ban is not
acceptable. And, once the process is completed
in a swift manner, we must dramatically increase our acceptance of
refugees. The numbers under President
Obama were not remotely high enough. Every day that our borders are closed is a
gift to ISIS and a victory for death.
Finally, I strongly urge Christians to take the charges of
religious discrimination seriously. Virtually
every religious group has experienced persecution at some point in their
history. It is tragically rare for
members of one religion to stand up for members of another. This is to our shame. Once again, conservatives will argue that the
phrase “Muslim Ban” is hugely inaccurate, used to spur partisan rage. The undeniable truth is that banning Muslims
was one of President Trump’s (admittedly contradictory) campaign promises.[2] If he intends to keep this promise then
this executive order is the first step, as was disturbingly described by Rudy Giuliani [3].
While the immigration ban may not
directly forbid entry based on race or religion, when taken within the context
of President Trump’s previous statements, it sends a very specific message. As Senator
John McCain, observes, “This executive order sends a signal, intended or not,
that America does not want Muslims coming into our country.”[4] Now, the President will wait and see how the
Christian majority will react to this message. We must not allow ourselves to be comforted by legality. There is always a division between what is technically legal and what is morally acceptable, and we can only fall down on one side. We must protect the sacred right to worship, and vociferously oppose anything that comes close to challenging that right.
The United States has so far failed to protect the innocent victims of our greatest enemies.
Some of these people are fellow Christians and ethnic minorities, many
more are Muslims- all are targeted for extinction by extremists. This is unquestionably a life issue. When meditating on the moral path, we must
remember Christ’s words in what is significantly known as the Judgement of Nations:
“Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” (Mt. 25 v34-36)
Will Pro-Life Christians demand protection for refugees, or will we once again fail in our mission?
Will Pro-Life Christians demand protection for refugees, or will we once again fail in our mission?
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[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/01/trump-immigration-order-muslims/514844/
[2] https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/donald-j.-trump-statement-on-preventing-muslim-immigration
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/29/trump-asked-for-a-muslim-ban-giuliani-says-and-ordered-a-commission-to-do-it-legally/?utm_term=.2fbb7b78df6e
[4] http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=587F2A2D-8A47-48F7-9045-CF30F0A77889
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