Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

The treatment of immigrants in the United States violates the biblical and ethical norms that God requires of his people, according to speakers at a conference at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago on Nov. 2 about the ethics of immigration. Deportations, for example, often cause suffering for families and children. William O’Neill, S.J., an associate professor of social ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, Berkeley, Calif., pointed out that throughout salvation history God reminds the people of Israel that they are to “love the stranger and the migrant” because they themselves were once exiles. The Gospels describe how Jesus, born away from home, was forced to flee and was brought back, mirroring the story of the Jewish people. “To oppress the alien is no less than a betrayal of faith,” said O’Neill. “It is apostasy. Hospitality is the measure of righteousness and justice.... Hospitality is the very heart of Christian discipleship. It is not offered to kith and kin, but to those whose only quality is vulnerability and need.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

July 16 marks 80 years since the first atomic bomb was detonated. The specter of nuclear annihilation has been with us ever since.
James T. KeaneJuly 15, 2025
David Corenswet in a scene from "Superman" (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The first time we see the titular hero of James Gunn’s new film “Superman,” he doesn’t descend from the heavens. He plummets.
John DoughertyJuly 15, 2025
If we imagine ourselves as satisfying a God who will “give us” things only if we do the “right things,” then our relationship with God becomes less a friendship and more a chore.
James Martin, S.J.July 15, 2025
For 13 years, Josep Lluís Iriberri, S.J. has guided pilgrims along the same trail St. Ignatius walked over 500 years ago.