Pope Francis sent a courageous letter to the American bishops on February 10, 2025. In it, he calls “on all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and on all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers.” In it, he points out that “we are called to live in solidarity and fraternity, to build bridges that bring us ever closer, to avoid walls of ignominy.”
In the text, the Pope also adds: “an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized. (…) This does not prevent the promotion of the maturation of a policy that regulates orderly and legal migration. However, the aforementioned ‘maturation’ cannot be built through the privilege of some and the sacrifice of others. What is built on the basis of force, and not on the basis of the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”
It is no secret that the American extreme right-wing conservatism has wanted many Catholics to believe that the new government is a political formula in conformity with the faith in Jesus Christ. Within this mentality, ideas from very diverse sources are mixed, which are naively embraced, without suspecting that they imply a profound distortion of the Catholic faith, of a healthy anthropology, and of an orderly, free society that respects human rights.
Some of these ideas are: the “theology of prosperity” of Protestant origin that has gradually found sympathizers in some elite Catholic groups; the Gnostic conspiracy theories that announce a secret infiltration of both the State and the Church; “moralism”—so denounced by Benedict XVI—which reduces Christianity to a merely ethical proposal and leaves aside mercy and compassion for the poor and those far from the Church. And of course, a version of “libertarian thought” with strong doses of fascism, which distances itself greatly from the primacy of the dignity of all people, and from the principles of subsidiarity, solidarity, the universal destiny of goods, the authentic international common good, and the preferential option for the poor.
The antecedents of this entire pathological worldview are easily traceable to the attentive observer: French counter-revolutionary thought, Charles Maurras, Carl Schmitt, Ayn Rand, Irving Kristol, Paul Gottfried, Richard Spencer, and the esotericism of Julius Evola, among others.
In the face of this highly polluted atmosphere that currently supports decisions against the poorest and most discarded, Pope Francis makes his voice heard on the global stage: “a rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement.” May God grant that we Catholics discover that we are called to bear witness against the current, learning from Francis. Perhaps it is time to remember that Christian social doctrine teaches not only “permanent principles” and “criteria for judgment,” but also “guidelines for action.”
