In a recent clip posted to social media, a Catholic priest slammed JD Vance for his views on immigration. The disagreement stems from the Catholic doctrine of ‘ordo amoris.’ This term, which literally translates to ordered love or ordered charity, was cited by Vance when he said American politicians should prioritize citizens over illegal immigrants.
“There’s this old school, and I think it’s a very Christian concept, by the way, that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world,” Vance said. “A lot of the far left has completely inverted that they seem to hate the citizens of their own country and care more about people outside their own borders.”
“That is no way to run a society. And I think the profound difference that Donald Trump brings to the leadership of this country is that the simple concept America first,” he added. It doesn’t mean you hate anybody else. It means that you have leadership, and President Trump has been very clear about this that puts the interests of American citizens first.”
Vance went on to say, “In the same way that the British Prime Minister should care about Brits and the French should care about the French, we have an American president who cares primarily about Americans, and that’s a very welcome change.” In response to this quote, Francis fired back at Vice President Vance’s well-reasoned argument.
“[Augustine was a ] fourth-century father of the church. [Ordo Amoris] means literally, order of loves or order of charity. Augustine does not say you start with just your family and then work it out of these concentric, concentric circles. [As] JD, Vance was talking about,” the priest said. ” The Pope says, ‘No, Mister Vance, you who are a Catholic only for six years. I’ve been a Catholic for 88 years as being, that’s not what Augustine meant.”
“Augustine meant the paradigm of the Good Samaritan, who is walking along and sees a Jew in a ditch who has been put there by robbers, a priest passing by, Israeli priest Levi, and another Jew passes them by,” he added. ” The Samaritan, the foreigner, goes and picks him up. That is the paradigm, the model that the Pope is setting forth for what ‘ordo amoris’ is. So, that’s the stranger. It is the person in need, most in need. That’s who gets your attention, not just your family member, not just your community.”
Pope Francis addressed Vance’s remarks directly. “Christians know very well that it is only by affirming the infinite dignity of all that our own identity as persons and as communities reaches its maturity,” the Pope replied. ” Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: The human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings!“
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He added, “The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation. The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”
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