Pope Francis Rebukes Governments That Build Walls to Keep Migrants Out
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Pope Francis Rebukes Governments That Build Walls to Keep Migrants Out


Pope Francis March 31 spoke out strongly against governments that build walls to keep immigrants out.


“Those who build walls will become prisoners of the walls they put up," the Pope said. "This is history," the pontiff told reporters.


The Pope’s remarks were made in response to reporters’ questions about the efforts of several nations, including the United States and Spain, to stem the flow of migrants seeking asylum.


Francis’ handling of the issue is characteristic of his approach to papal authority, says Katie Grimes, an assistant professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova.


“Much more than he likes to promulgate or reiterate magisterial law, Francis tries to spark and reshape our collective moral imagination,” Grimes commented.” “This approach is no less rigorous, however. In the United States, for example, cultivating a culture of true hospitality to migrants would require us to confront our long history of often racialized xenophobia.”


She continued, “We would also need to exchange an economic ethos of scarcity to abundance. Rather than an extremely limited resource that we can possess only if others do not, we ought to recognize economic prosperity as a gift that all can share.

 As countries such as China and India continue to grow in wealth and power, this shift will become increasingly important.”


President Trump’s push to build a wall to turn immigrants away is akin to his actions to isolate the United States from certain trading partners as part of a trade war strategy from which, presumably, the United States will emerge victorious, Grimes says.


“The same attitude of scarcity drives the President's appetite for so-called trade wars with countries like China. Rather than recognizing trade as a method of connection and mutual benefit, the President understands international trade as a war that only one country can win. The Pope's comments inspire us to reject this approach to citizenship and international relations as both unjust and untrue, “she concluded.


To speak with Grimes, click on her headshot above, email mediaexperts@villanova.edu or call 610-519-5152.



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