Pope Francis and JD Vance collide with Ordo Amoris

In a recent letter to the US bishops in which he expressed concern about the “Mass Deportations Program” of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, Pope Francis also seemed to criticize the use made by Vice President JD Vance of the Catholic term “the order of love” in the context of the current debate about immigration.

Vance, Catholic, had invoked In an interview at the end of January a “Christian concept of the old school” that then identified like “the order of love“, Who according to him teaches that” compassion belongs first “to the family itself and the fellow citizens,” and then after that “to the rest of the world.

“You love your family, then love your neighbor, then love your community, then love your fellow citizens in your own country, and after that you can concentrate and prioritize the rest of the world,” Vance said.

In a letter addressed to US bishops on the issue of migration, the Pope wrote on February 10 that “a true rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized “, Which, he said,” does not appear to promote the maturation of a policy that regulates ordered and legal migration. “

“Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that are gradually extended to other people and groups,” the Pope wrote.

“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 that, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in their identity and vocation, ”he continued.

“The true Ordo Amoris that is necessary to promote, is the one we discover constantly meditating in the parabola of the” good Samaritan “(cf. Lc 10,25-37), that is, meditating in the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception ”.

Pope Francis proposed in his letter that a “rightly formed conscience” would not agree with associating the state of undocumented violent or serious.

“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 for the serious deterioration of the environment, hurts the dignity of many men and women, Of entire families, and places them in a state of special vulnerability and helplessness, ”the Pope continued.

“I urge all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to the narratives that discriminate and make our migrant brothers and refugees suffer unnecessarily. With charity and clarity we are all called to live in solidarity and fraternity, to build bridges that bring us closer and more, to avoid ignominy walls, and to learn to give life as Jesus Christ offered it, for everyone’s salvation. ”

What is “the order of love”?

He the order of lovewhich often translates as “correctly ordered love”, is a well -established principle that is considered evident both through revelation and reason, said Dominican priest Pius Pietrzyk to CNA – Ewtn News an English agency – earlier this month. That said, although the concept is well established, its practical application can be complex and there may be legitimate disagreements about specific aspects.

San Agustín was the first to introduce the term, explain That a person who lives a fair and holy life is one who properly directs his affections: not loving what he should not be loved, loving what should be loved and ensuring that the appropriate degree of love is given to every thing or person.

Centuries later, Santo Tomás de Aquino was based on Agustín’s work and wrote that there must be a “specific order in things loved by charity.” In this “Ordo Caritatis”, according to Aquino, you must love God first, then to oneself and then to others, with a more intense affection for those with whom there is a closer relationship, such as the family.

While recognizing that certain relationships lead to more immediate obligations (for example, a married person has a greater responsibility to take care of his spouse and his children before meeting the needs of others), Aquino’s approach requires taking into account certain situational difficulties and urgent needs, especially the greatest need for an individual at the time.

“We must preferably grant to each one those benefits that belong to the subject in which, simply speaking, it is more closely related to us,” writes Tomás de Aquino in the Summa Theologica.

“And yet, this may vary according to the various demands of time, place or matter in question: because in certain cases one should, for example, help a stranger, in extreme need, instead of his own father, if It is not in such an urgent necessity. ”

“A closure of the heart”

The mention made by Vance of “the order of love“As defense of widely criticized Trump Migratory Policies unleashed a world debatein which some Catholic figures criticized the understanding and use of the concept by the vice president and others, including several Catholic theologians and philosophers, expressed Your agreement and appreciation.

In an article published in the National Catholic Registercommentator P. Raymond de Souza said that Pope Francis, far from defending open borders, condemns rather “a closure of the heart to immigrants, a denigration of his dignity and the political exploitation of his difficult situation.”

“The conflict between the Holy Father and Vance probably has more to do with language than with theology. It is difficult to perceive in the rhetoric of Trump and Vance love for immigrants, whether it has properly ordered or not. Francisco insists that even those who are denied entry or are returned must be treated with dignity and fit in the Ordo Amoris ”, wrote The P. of Souza.

“The decision to address Vance’s comments is probably due to his accusation Notably hostile That the refugee programs of the American bishops, under contract with the United States government, are motivated by a desire to inflate ‘the final result’. Cardinal Timothy Dolan from New York described those comments as ‘outrageous’ and ‘very unpleasant’. Nor were they true, ”Fr. De Souza continued.

“The Holy Father probably felt the need to express his solidarity with US bishops.”

Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.