From the Vatican, 10 February 2025

From the Vatican, 10 February 2025

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Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,

I am writing today to address a few words to you in these delicate moments that you are living as

Pastors of the People of God who walk together in the United States of America.
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I. The journey from slavery to freedom that the People of Israel traveled, as narrated in the Book

of Exodus, invites us to look at the reality of our time, so clearly marked by the phenomenon of

migration, as a decisive moment in history to reaffirm not only our faith in a God who is always

close, incarnate, migrant and refugee, but also the infinite and transcendent dignity of every

human person.'

2. These words with which I begin are not an artificial construct. Even a cursory examination of

the Church's social doctrine emphatically shows that Jesus Christ is the true Emmanuel (cf. Mt

1:23); he did not live apart from the difficult experience of being expelled from his own land

because of an imminent risk to his life, and from the experience of having to take refuge in a

society and a culture foreign to his own. The Son of God, in becoming man, also chose to live the

drama of immigration. I like to recall, among other things, the words with which Pope Pius XII

began his Apostolic Constitution on the Care of Migrants, which is considered the "Magna Carta" of

the Church's thinking on migration:

"The family of Nazareth in exile, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, emigrants in Egypt and refugees there to

escape the wrath of an ungodly king, are the model, the example and the consolation of emigrants

and pilgrims of every age and country, of all refugees of every condition who, beset by persecution

or necessity, are forced to leave their homeland, beloved family and dear friends for foreign

lands."²
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3. Likewise, Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent

recognition of the dignity of every human being, without exception. In fact, when we speak of

"infinite and transcendent dignity," we wish to emphasize that the most decisive value possessed by

the human person surpasses and sustains every other juridical consideration that can be made to

regulate life in society. Thus, all the Christian faithful and people of good will are called upon

to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person

and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa.
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4. I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the

initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a

critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly

identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. At the same time, one must

recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have

committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival. That said, the act of

deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty,

insecurity, exploitation,  persecution  or serious deterioration  of the environment, damages the

dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular

vulnerability and defenselessness.
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5. This is not a minor issue: an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified

treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized. The true common

good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of

all -  as I have affirmed on numerous occasions -  welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the

most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable. This does not impede the development of a policy that

regulates orderly and legal migration. However, this development cannot come about through the

privilege of some and the sacrifice of others. What is built on the basis of force, and not on the

truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.
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6. Christians know very well that it is only by affirming the infinite dignity of all that our own

identity as persons and as communities reaches its maturity. Christian love is not a concentric

expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words:

the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings!

The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the

constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his

identity and vocation. The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by

meditating constantly on the parable of the "Good Samaritan" (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by

meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.³
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7. But worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations,

easily introduces an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the

strongest as the criterion of truth.
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8. I recognize your valuable efforts, dear brother bishops of the United States, as you work

closely with migrants and refugees, proclaiming Jesus Christ and promoting fundamental human

rights. God will richly reward all that you do for the protection and defense of those who are

considered less valuable, less important or less human!
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9. I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to

give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and

refugee brothers and sisters. With charity and clarity we are all called to live in solidarity and

fraternity, to build bridges that bring us ever closer together, to avoid walls of ignominy and to

learn to give our lives as Jesus Christ gave his for the salvation of all.
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I0.   Let us ask Our Lady of Guadalupe to protect individuals and families who live in fear or

pain due to migration and/or deportation. May the "Virgen morena", who knew how to reconcile

peoples when they were at enmity, grant us all to meet again as brothers and sisters, within her

embrace, and thus take a step forward in the construction of a society that is more fraternal,

inclusive and respectful of the dignity of all.

Fraternally,

Francis

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