Here’s my article at the National Catholic Register assessing President Trump’s executive order on refugees from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching.
“The recent refugee executive order from the Trump administration sparked protests and impassioned statements of concern across the country. Many Catholic pastors and the heads of Catholic charitable institutions released statements. The sudden increase in public comment varied widely in tone, message and guidance, leaving many Catholics wondering what the demands of the Church’s teaching are in this situation.”…
Michael J Altemus said:
Why can’t you say President Trump?
Omar Gutierrez said:
I can and I do. I wrote “President Donald Trump states at the very beginning of his order that he intends it ‘to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States.'”
Michael J Altemus said:
Your article in NCR was misleading when you state that there is a ban on all refugees. The order is a suspension of Admissions Program to review the process to ensure security and welfare of USA.
“The Secretary of State shall suspend the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days. During the 120-day period, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of Homeland Security and in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall review the USRAP application and adjudication process to determine what additional procedures should be taken to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States”
Omar Gutierrez said:
I explicitly wrote that it was “a 120-day ban on all refugee admissions.” Hence a temporary ban where “ban” is defined as “an official or legal prohibition.” That’s what the executive order did. What’s more I explicitly made clear in my article that the stated purpose of the ban was for security and the common good. By your own standard I was not misleading at all.