Ordo Avaritiae of the Bishop of Rome

 This week, the Bishop of Rome has chosen to issue an apostolic letter to exhort the Roman Catholic bishops in the United States against President Trump and the ongoing efforts to secure the Mexico-America border and to deport criminal, illegal immigrants in the United States.  While the Bishop of Rome is entirely within his right to tell his lackeys to do whatever he fancies at a given point in time, his claims on the Christian response to a situation with precedent not seen since the fall of Rome; are not only tone-deaf, but contrary to the natural law and the dignity of the citizens of a free nation.    It is entirely true: the United States is a nation that is built upon a bedrock foundation of immigrants from various places in the world.  Indeed, it is this tapestry of patrimonies which has given the US its unique, cultural importance on the world stage in the modern era.  But what comprises such a nation, and more importantly the national identity?   Is it simply by people being physically present, or is it something more?  The American principle of national identity is very much congruent with what the Roman empire held as essentials to Roman citizenship: in that it is accessible to all people, however it is bound upon the rule of law; and the necessary jurisdiction of that law.  In short, one could not be a citizen,  if one refused to abide by the law of the land; or worked against the law that had been set forth for the populace by the people and Senate of Rome.  In much the same manner, the people and Congress of the United States have set apart rules and regulations to govern them; to which all who proclaim and maintain citizenship must be answerable in jurisdiction.  To transgress these laws is to invoke just punishment under the jurisdiction of the law.  Those who enter the territory of a nation and refuse to be subject to the laws and jurisdiction of the same, are not eligible for citizenship.  

It is often accused that deporting people who have come to the US illegally is "unjust" or "immoral", but is it?  Consider this- is it reasonable that small communities which are suffering in poverty and destitution, should be forced to make room for extra mouths to feed, because the government says the "newcomers" have to go SOMEWHERE?  Is it reasonable and just that citizens of the nation who have fought and bled and sacrificed all they have for the defense of the nation, should be cast into the streets because someone who refuses to obey the laws on immigration wanted a bed?  Is it meet and right that women and children should be terrorized by gangs of thugs and criminals who have entered the nation illegally, simply because someone thinks that there's nothing wrong with people immigrating however they please?  

Immigration around the world is categorized by strict regulations and oversight.  There is no other country in the civilized world that allows a free for all at their border, and deprives its own citizens of their rights so that so-called "newcomers" can get better treatment.  It is absurd and unjust that anyone should perceive that one nation should be forced to accept immigrants and refugees from the entire world; and not even be allowed to ask if any of them coming harbor ill-intent for others.  Contrary to the Bishop of Rome's claims, regulating who can immigrate to a nation shows both a level of concern for the national well-being, as well as compassion for those who seek to make a new start and a new life in a new place.  If it were not so, then nations would completely prohibit immigration in full; as some nations, who are not accused of being unjust by the Bishop of Rome, have already done.   

The difficulty that the United States has with illegal immigration stems not from a hatred of the foreigner, as Rome would have us believe; but from a breakdown in law, prompted by the previous presidential administration and associated politicians.  Politicians who do not care if the people coming here illegally ever become citizens; they simply want them here to provide cheap, manual labor.  These corrupt politicians who promote the wholesale importation of entire populations, promising them citizenship; all the while knowing full well that they will never be able to be citizens, and most will disappear into human trafficking, slavery, and death.  The deserts surrounding the Mexico-America border are littered with the bodies of children who have been sacrificed so that evil men can bring their wickedness into this nation.  Factories and fields are full of illegal immigrants who are forced to work in unsafe conditions for inhumane amounts of time, while being told that they have no right to complain or seek other work.  The children who come across that border are being bought and sold as sex toys for perverse persons; and beaten into submission.  

It is a wonderful thought to speak of universal love and human dignity; but the Bishop of Rome neglects to take into account the words of our blessed Lord in dealings with human nature: Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Matt. 10:16)  Indeed one cannot even make comparison to the plight of the modern immigrant to that of the Holy Family, for the Holy Family were never immigrants to a foreign nation.  Egypt at the time of Christ was a state under the Roman Empire; and thus moving from Israel to Egypt would have been more in line with moving from North Carolina to Florida in the United States.  

I note with importance, that everyone who demands that illegal immigration be permitted without reservation or limitation, only does so until it begins to impact their own lives in a negative manner.  It is quite easy to sit back in one's 15th century church and pontificate on the plight of the foreign poor; but harder to come to grips with the reality of the situation, where those who have been impoverished for their entire lives are forced into further obscurity and mistreatment, simply because a newly arrived illegal immigrant is considered "more deserving" simply because they are foreign.  One who insists that a nation MUST permit uncontrolled immigration and NEVER be willing to deport a person, even those who commit grave crimes against humanity; is by their own volition a person of low morals and crooked spirit.  Ordo Amoris, by its own definition as a term, implies a specific order to affection/ love.   It does not imply that one should be reckless with affection or charity, but rather that one should be introspective, and consider what is truly beneficial to those around him; and then and only then, be able to consider extending charity to those beyond his own horizon.  The true Ordo Amoris is based out of not only "unlimited" love, but of understanding the other and what their needs are.  To promote a notion of unlimited love meaning unlimited charity to unlimited persons, forced upon extremely limited people to carry out; is a contradiction to the dignity of the Christian person.  In short, you cannot force charity; nor can you make demands upon the charity of people, for in so doing it ceases to be charity, and becomes instead tyranny of affection and goods.  

The implication of the Bishop of Rome that the United States should be forced to accept all the world's illegal immigrants and refugees, is not the act of a loving father who cares for his children; nor is it the advice of a man who is truly concerned for the well-being of the suffering.  It is the act of a man who looks upon another nation with envy and hatred because they are not what HE believes they should be.  It is the act of a man who is so concerned with how his neighbors spend what little money they have, that he will demand  they open their wallet to him for inspection.  Francis' letter violates the very essence of the Ordo Amoris, and instead typifies an Ordo Avaritiae, an Order of Greed: Greed for the goods of foreign lands, and greed for affection of the peoples of the same. 

There can be legitimate, and beneficial reform to the immigration system in the United States, where more people are able to enter and be blessed by the gift of citizenship in these lands.  However it must be done by law, and not through a painfully naive notion that there are no evil people in the world looking to exploit our charity for wicked means.  Immigration reform is necessary; not because the law should be broken, but because it must be reformed and enforced.  

And an interesting note as a closing thought: Vatican City forbids illegal immigration.  Those who attempt it are subject to 5 years imprisonment, and 25,000 Euros in fines.  Perhaps if the Bishop of Rome is so invested in the good of immigrants, he might come down from his popemobile and allow immigration to the Vatican City. 

Here Endeth the Lesson