Christ the King
November 22, 2025 News
Christ the King. Today is the last Sunday of the Catholic liturgical year, which ends with the celebration of the feast of Christ the King of the Universe. Jesus told us His “kingdom is not of this world.” Rather His kingdom, and kingship, is established to reign in men’s hearts, minds and souls, and so transform the world. May Christ the King truly reign in our lives at all times.
Thanksgiving. This Thursday is, of course, Thanksgiving Day. This week, remember who you are giving thanks too: “Almighty God”—Christ the King—to whom we owe our unending thanks. May He continue to bless us, and our beloved nation. And what better way to begin Thanksgiving Day than by coming to our 10am Mass? After all, Eucharistic comes from the Greek word eukharistia, which means thanksgiving. I hope to see you there.
Advent. Next week we start the season of Advent. So please take some time this week to plan ahead for Advent, so that it may be season of spiritual and moral preparation for the celebration of the Birth of the King of the Universe. And remember to save Thursday evenings in Advent to attend Fr. Bergida’s Advent series on the Eucharist. Please see this weekend’s bulletin insert for Advent/Christmas scheduled events.
Bishops on Immigration. At their semi-annual meeting last week the American Bishops’ (USCCB) issued a “Special Pastoral Message” on the current state of “immigration enforcement” by the U.S. Government. A Reuters headline captured most people’s assessment of this document: “US Catholic bishops condemn Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.” Let me share what I think are some of the fundamental flaws in the document.
First, the document fails to draw any distinction at all between legal and illegal immigrants. Of course we should love everyone, including all immigrants, but “loving” and “welcoming” are not the same.
Most Catholic Americans welcome legal immigrants—I know our parish does. But they don’t welcome those who defy our laws and cause incalculable costs to taxpayers. We love them, but not their lawbreaking.
Many bishops seem to think that illegal immigration is no big deal. Archbishop Wenski of Miami once wrote: “When we look at illegal entry into the U.S. from a Catholic perspective, we understand that it doesn’t carry a moral judgment on that person…It is not a felony to be in this country illegally — it’s a misdemeanor, which is what you do when you jaywalk …. You don’t become a criminal because you…don’t use the crosswalk.”
Actually, illegal immigration is, by definition, a crime. Which makes illegal immigrants “criminals.” It is a criminal misdemeanor on the first offense, punishable by up to six months in prison, but it is a criminal felony for subsequent offenses, punishable by up to two years in prison.
And I don’t understand why so the Bishops think it’s not a sin, that “it doesn’t carry a moral judgment.” Jesus commands us, “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s,” and St. Paul tells us, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God…Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment…Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval” (Rom. 3:1-3). So it seems pretty clear to me that breaking immigration law is a sin. That’s the case even if it’s done for a good reason, e.g., to provide for their families, just as it’s a sin to rob a bank to feed your family.
And finally, breaking the law to enter our country seems a terrible way to begin one’s life in America. Our second President John Adams famously wrote that America is founded on a “government of laws and not of men,” and that the rule of law is “a principle of governance” central to the survival of our Republic. A 2024 study by the World found that over 96% of Americans agree with this position.
Second, the document ignores the fact that the U.S. Government program “Project Homecoming” offers illegal aliens what seems a very compassionate opportunity to “self-deport,” with incentives including a $1,000 “exit bonus,” a free flight, and dismissal of all fines. So that when illegal immigrants choose to reject this clemency, they also choose to subject themselves to enforcement and incarceration, and to subject their neighbors to the “climate of fear and anxiety” the Bishops are concerned about.
Third, it treats illegal aliens as victims, not criminals, but says nothing about the actual victims of their crimes. These include American taxpayers who, if nothing else, pay taxes to enforce the laws they are breaking. But these also include legal immigrants who make great sacrifices to patiently obey the law and then unjustly get lumped into the same group as the criminal illegal aliens by people like the U.S. Bishops. And then there are the victims of crimes, especially violent crimes, committed by illegal immigrants in the U.S.. Granted, such crimes are committed by only a small percentage of these illegal immigrants, but a percentage perhaps comparable to the illegal immigrants who the Bishops refer to as victims of abusive behavior of law enforcement.
Fouth, the Bishops’ document uses some very incendiary language when it says, “some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status,” and speaks of “indiscriminate mass deportation.” Those are very serious charges to make, deserving of denunciation. But the Bishops do not give any specific examples to clarify what they mean. Perhaps some of this occurs—it is a human system after all—but this would not seem to be the rule. Many of the more well-publicized accusations in the media often prove to be a matter of perspective or media bias.
Fifth, while the Bishops condemn the “dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement,” they neither acknowledge nor apologize for their own such rhetoric. For example, Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston once wrote that ICE agents: “cannot escape personal responsibility for an unjust action with the excuse that it was ordered by their superiors. …That defense was not allowed during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals at the end of World War II.”
Sixth, the Bishops make no effort to admonish the illegal immigrants to correct their wrongdoing. Isn’t it their moral obligation as pastors to lovingly and respectfully encourage these lawbreakers to repent from their crimes and cooperate with lawful authority, even to return to their home countries, at least when they are not true refugees or asylum seekers under the law?
Finally, the tone of the document leaves many Catholics feeling that there is no option for Catholics except to accept the USCCB’s perspective on the issue of illegal immigration. That is incorrect. The Catholic understanding of this issue is much more nuanced and much less emotionally driven.
Let me conclude by saying, I mean no malice toward illegal immigrants, and exhort you to treat them with charity. And I mean no disrespect for our Bishops, even as I find flaws in their opinions. God bless all immigrants, legal and illegal, and all the Bishops as well.
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles