POPE FRANCIS MISGUIDED VIEWS ON MASS IMMIGRATION

Pope Francis has put the plight of migrants in Europe at the heart of his concerns.

The Holy Father has repeatedly referred to his four criteria for welcoming migrants: "to welcome, accompany, accommodate, integrate".

Recently, during his return from Geneva, the Pope engaged in his now-customary in-flight question and answer sessions with journalists and added a novel but sensible word of caution.

"Every country has to do this with the government virtue of prudence, because a country has to host as many refugees as it can, that it can integrate and educate," the Pope said.

While the sentiments of the Holy Father are sincere and heartfelt, to be sure, his advocacy for migrants is, like so many who have made pleas for open borders and unlimited mass immigration, misguided and misdirected.

Why does Pope Francis put the burden of the suffering of migrants on the shoulders of the countries he admonishes to be welcoming while almost always saying nothing critical or condemnatory of the government policies and corruption which force so many to leave their native lands?

Why criticize populist movements which seek to protect sovereign national borders, while never calling migrants’ native leaders to accountability for the misery and poverty they create and perpetuate?

I have repeated ad nauseam the consistent teaching of the Church regarding the right of a state to protect and preserve the integrity of its borders, while at the same time coming to the aid of neighboring states in times of emergency or crisis.

I can only conclude that Pope Francis’ intimate awareness of poverty, the kind he personally witnessed in Argentina and the neighboring nations of South and Latin America, has clouded his judgment to the point that he is incapable of distinguishing between the right of sovereignty versus the moral imperative to assist the suffering in other nations to the extent that a country is able to do so without imperiling the safety and security of its own citizens.

Certainly, I insist upon and defend the infallibility of the Pope regarding matters of Faith and Morals.  In this regard, the Pope has no equal.

But, as regards matters of international law and politics, his opinions are just that:  opinions.

And Catholics (including Priests) may, in good faith and conscience, disagree with the Holy Father’s political or legal opinions.

I have gone on record that I disagree with the Pope’s demands that nations open themselves to the unfettered welcoming of migrants.

I have further suggested, and do so again, that Holy Father might do better for the migrants he wishes to serve to engage the leaders of their native lands and call them to judgment and the accountability of world opinion.

Consistently criticizing and “biting the hand” of nations that have done so much to assist but have been overwhelmed in the process does little for the migrant and undermines the dignity and moral authority of the Papacy itself.