WASHINGTON (OSV News): Executive orders signed by United States president, Donald Trump, on issues including migration, the environment and the death penalty are “deeply troubling,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a January 22 statement, while praising another on gender policy.
Among the first acts of his second term beginning, Trump signed a slew of executive orders on January 20. Some implement his hardline policies on immigration, including seeking to change the interpretation of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment of the Consitution, an order that prompted a legal challenge.
Others include withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate and another sought to expand the use of the federal death penalty. Trump also signed an order directing the government to only recognize two sexes, male and female.
Archbishop Broglio, who heads the US Archdiocese for the Military Services, said many of the topics that the first batch of executive orders concern “are matters on which the Church has much to offer.”
The archbishop noted, “Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us.” He added, “Other provisions in the Executive Orders can be seen in a more positive light, such as recognising the truth about each human person as male or female.”
Archbishop Broglio stressed that neither the Catholic Church nor the USCCB is “aligned with any political party.”
Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us
Archbishop Broglio, president of the USCCB and head of the US Archdiocese for the Military Services
He said, “No matter who occupies the White House or holds the majority on Capitol Hill, the Church’s teachings remain unchanged. It is our hope that the leadership of our Country will reconsider those actions which disregard not only the human dignity of a few, but of us all.”
Executive orders are legally binding directives from the president and are published in the Federal Register. At the same time, the term “executive actions” is broader and may include informal proposals for policy the president would like to see enacted. While it is typical for new presidents to issue some executive orders on their first day in office to signal certain priorities, Trump signed a larger number of orders than usual.
Citing the current Jubilee Year of Hope declared by Pope Francis, Archbishop Broglio said, “As Christians, our hope is always in Jesus Christ, who guides us through storm and calm weather.
Archbishop Broglio said, “He is the source of all truth. Our prayer is one of hope that, as a nation blessed with many gifts, our actions demonstrate a genuine care for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers, including the unborn, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and migrants and refugees. The just Judge expects nothing less.”
We stand with you in this moment of family and personal crisis and pledge to you our solidarity, trusting that the Lord, Jesus Christ, will bring about good even from this moment of pain, and that this time of trial will be just a prelude to real reform, a reconciled society and justice for all those who are forced to migrate
Bishop Seitz, El Paso
Also among its first actions, the Trump administration said on January 21 that it would rescind a long-standing policy preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals.
Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, said in a January 21 statement that the policy change is one of “many drastic actions from the federal government related to immigration that deeply affect our local community and raise urgent moral and human concerns.”
Bishop Seitz said, “The end of the Department of Homeland Security’s sensitive locations policy strikes fear into the heart of our community, cynically layering a blanket of anxiety on families when they are worshiping God, seeking healthcare and dropping off and picking up children at school.”
He said. “We have also seen the rapid and indiscriminate closure of the border to asylum seekers and the return of the ill-conceived Remain in Mexico policy, violating due process and restricting the few legal options available to the most vulnerable who knock on our door seeking compassion and aid.”
Bishop Seitz added that he wanted to assure El Paso’s immigrant community that “whatever your faith and wherever you come from, we make your anxieties and fears at this moment our own.”
He said, “We stand with you in this moment of family and personal crisis and pledge to you our solidarity, trusting that the Lord, Jesus Christ, will bring about good even from this moment of pain, and that this time of trial will be just a prelude to real reform, a reconciled society and justice for all those who are forced to migrate.”
Bishop Seitz, who heads the USCCB’s migration committee, told reporters at the bishops’ general assembly in November that the bishops would watch how Trump’s migration policy actually unfolds and “raise our voice loudly” if those policies violate basic human rights protections.
