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Vice President JD Vance, USCCBChristian Chavez/AP, CNS photo/Nancy Phelan Wiechec, Stefan Jeremiah/AP

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Vice President JD Vance called out the hypocritical nature of the pro-open borders stance of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops this weekend and was praised by Bishop Emeritus Joseph Strickland for doing so.  

During an interview that aired on CBS’s “Face the Nation” this Sunday, Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, pushed back against a statement released by USCCB President Archbishop Timothy Broglio that accused the Trump administration of pursuing “deeply troubling” immigration policies. 

“As a practicing Catholic, I was actually heartbroken by that,” Vance told a hostile Margaret Brennan, who repeatedly interrupted him with liberal talking points 

“The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million dollars to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” 

Vance continued by noting that “if the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is worried about the humanitarian costs of immigration enforcement let them talk about the children who have been sex trafficked because of the wide open border of Joe Biden; let them talk about people like Laken Riley who were brutally murdered [by an illegal immigrant].” 

Vance’s comments prompted the USCCB to issue a follow-up statement on Sunday. The group defended its efforts as a “work of mercy” and claimed that “every person” who it helps resettle is “vetted.”  

READ: US bishops are lying when they say abortion is their ‘preeminent priority’

Vance had told Brennan that “we know that there are cases of people who allegedly were properly vetted and then were literally planning terrorist attacks in our country. So, clearly, not all of these foreign nationals have been properly vetted.”  

He also said that “just because [the U.S. was] founded by immigrants doesn’t mean that 240 years later we have to have the dumbest immigration policy in the world.” 

Vance was praised for his comments by former bishop of Tyler, Texas, Bishop Joseph Strickland. In an X post on Sunday, His Excellency defended Vance for being “bold” in speaking out in defense of common sense policies.  

“This is so important, to characterize the gospel as calling a nation to allow chaos is truly absurd. Yes we welcome the immigrant but it is the right and duty of a nation to regulate immigration. Politics has interfered with fulfilling this responsibility properly, we must support establishing an immigration system that supports individuals and families and respects the laws of the nation,” he said. 

Vance’s interview aired just days after Trump’s immigration czar Tom Homan called out Pope Francis. Francis had said on January 19 that Trump’s plan to deport illegals was a “disgrace.” 

“Let me give a message to the Pope. I’m a lifelong Catholic. I was born Catholic. I’ve been through Catholic doctrine. Look, he ought to concentrate on fixing the Catholic Church … he’s got big problems there,” Homan said on Newsmax. 

“They have a wall around the Vatican,” he continued. “And if you illegally enter the Vatican, the crime is serious. You’ll be charged with a serious crime and be jailed. So he can protect the Vatican where he lives. He can build a wall where he lives, but the American people are not allowed that? No. Securing the border saves lives.” 

During the Biden presidency, the Catholic Church in the United States reportedly received $2.4 billion in federal payments to facilitate the trafficking of migrants. In contrast, during Trump’s first administration, the Church received only $384 million. The funding was received through Catholic Charities, Catholic Social Services, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops directly. In 2024 alone, the USCCB received $219 million from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State. 

This past April, left-wing El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the USCCB’s migration committee, submitted a lengthy letter to Congress urging lawmakers to spend $20 billion dollars on various social justice causes, including the USCCB’s immigration programs.  

Seitz is notorious for supporting left-wing causes. In the summer of 2020, he was photographed kneeling and holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign at a protest. In a rambling 2,500-word commentary published in the Jesuit-run America magazine, he praised the “step forward” that a Kamala Harris presidency would allegedly bring were she elected. He also said he was “encouraged by the Biden campaign’s promises to address” so-called “climate change.” Seitz has parroted other globalist and pro-open borders talking points on other occasions as well. 

Ten days ago, Barbara Graham, program director and immigration attorney for Catholic Charities, released a video on YouTube advising illegal immigrants on how to avoid being deported. She was criticized on X for essentially encouraging persons to break the law. 

Several Catholic clergy have sounded the alarm on open borders while also defending Catholic social teaching on the subject. 

In an X post earlier this month, former apostolic nuncio to the United States Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò defended deportations as a policy supportable by natural law but opposed by the “the Bergoglian Hierarchy, the Democratic Party and the NGOs attributable to George Soros.” He added that “stopping illegal immigration would make them lose an inexhaustible source of profit, paid for by citizens’ taxes.” 

In 2017, Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea similarly said, “some people exploit the Word of God to justify the promotion of multiculturalism and gaily take advantage of the excuse of hospitality to justify the admission of immigrants.” 

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