Pope Francis: Rejecting migrants is a ‘grave sin’

Pope Francis gave new meaning to the old term “Catholic guilt” on Wednesday when he said refusing to help the masses of migrants pouring into Europe was a “grave sin.” Refusing to become an open-borders globalist leftist politician is all about pride (well, bordering on pride these days), anger, lust, laziness and all the rest.

Will Catholics who fought to preserve Europe’s cultural and spiritual heritage in earlier times now be retroactively sent to hell for not opening their doors to the invaders? The Pope kept quiet about that, but if you’re not in favor of mass migration to the West now, you’re on dangerous ground as far as the Roman Catholic Church is concerned.

Reuters reported that Pope Francis on Wednesday “strongly condemned the treatment of migrants who cross the Mediterranean to enter Europe.” The pope lamented: “There are those who systematically and by all means reject migrants. And this, if done with conscience and responsibility, is a grave sin.” The solution to this evil, he said, would be “global governance of migration, based on justice, fraternity and solidarity.” Yes, that would solve everything.

However misguided and misguided the pope’s position on migration may be, one thing can be said about him: He is consistent. In May, he insisted that “migration is what makes a country grow,” and he was right: look at how the ranks of criminals, welfare recipients, and homeless people have swelled since Old Joe Biden, Border Czar Kamala Harris, and their cronies decided to erase the southern border.

Pope Francis, however, heard none of this. As if to prevent such talk, he denounced historical stereotypes about migrants: “They say that you Irish migrated and brought whiskey, and that the Italians migrated and brought the mafia. Migrants sometimes suffer a lot. They suffer a lot.” He made it clear that he could not appreciate criticism of open borders: “To close the border and leave them there, that is madness.”

In April 2022, the Pope claimed that opposition to mass migration was really just about racism: “It’s true, refugees are divided. There is first class, second class, skin color, (if) they come from a developed country (or) a country that is not developed. We are racists, we are racists. And that is bad.”

Of course. What else could we be but racists? The Pope does not seem to have considered that there might be other reasons for opposing mass migration than racism. He has consistently presented the acceptance of mass migration policies, without regard for the cultural identity or integrity, let alone the security, of the host country, as a core aspect of Christian commitment.

In Francis’ 2018 apostolic exhortation “Gaudete et Exsultate” (Rejoice and Be Glad), he asked rhetorically whether welcoming migrants “is precisely what Jesus asks of us when he tells us that by welcoming the stranger we welcome him (cf. mountain 25:35)? St. Benedict was happy to do so, and although it might have “complicated” the lives of his monks, he commanded that all guests who knocked on the monastery door should be welcomed “like Christ,” with a gesture of veneration; the poor and pilgrims were to be received with “the greatest care and solicitude.”

Did the pope expect the monastery to welcome hordes of military-age men, many of whom committed crimes in their new home, and some of whom vowed to turn the monastery into a mosque? The pope cannot imagine that Americans and Europeans would oppose mass migration because they want economic and physical security for themselves and their loved ones, and racism and bigotry have nothing to do with that.

The Pope seems incapable of even considering the idea that some deeply rooted Christians, including Roman Catholics, might not equate the obligation to welcome foreigners with a movement to weaken a nation, dilute its national character and manipulate its political scene. Does the Pope want what is left of Catholic Europe to die, drowning in a sea of ​​migrants? It seems so.

Now that the Pope has made it clear that opposing open borders is a “grave sin,” responsible Roman Catholics should ask themselves: Is it also a “grave sin” to doubt his wisdom in this area and his politicization of the spiritual realm? There is a question for Roman Catholic theologians to ponder.

Article posted with permission from Robert Spencer