Posted on 01/26/2026 12:28:02 PM PST by ebb tide
A high-ranking Catholic leader is ratcheting up criticism of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and urging people of faith to be more vocal in calling out injustice.
Responding to a sense of helplessness many people are feeling in the wake of violence at the hands of federal immigration officials, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, urged people of faith not to shy away from the news and to use their voices to say, "No."
In a reflection delivered Jan. 26 during an online interfaith prayer service hosted by Faith in Action, Tobin employed some of the strongest language yet by a U.S. cardinal to condemn the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, describing Immigration and Customs Enforcement "lawless" and urging Catholics to tell their lawmakers to vote against additional funding.
Recounting a story from Bread and Wine, a 1936 novel by Ignazio Silone, Tobin described a character lamenting the incursion of fascist forces who asks a priest, "Father, what can we do?" With "the machinery of death" set in motion, as Tobin put it, the priest tells the young woman that what worries dictators and authoritarian regimes is the person who scrawls on the piazza wall, "No."
"I think if we are serious about putting our faith in action, we need to say 'no,' each one of us," Tobin said. What saying "no" looks like today, he continued, is by telling the truth about what is happening and honoring those whose lives are upended.
Over the weekend, immigration enforcement agents killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and intensive care nurse who was filming at the protest. Federal authorities say that Pretti was armed and a threat to law enforcement, but video analysis by The New York Times and other media outlets dispute that account. According to reports, Pretti's gun had already been secured by officers before two agents shot him at least 10 times.
"One way that we say 'no' is that we mourn, we do not celebrate death, and, what is probably worse, we do not pretend it doesn't happen. We say names. We pray for the dead," Tobin said. "We mourn for a world, a country, that allows 5-year-olds to be legally kidnapped and protesters to be slaughtered."
One of three U.S. cardinals who recently signed a statement condemning President Donald Trump's foreign policy aims and calling for the White House to focus on peace, Tobin noted that he was speaking within a few miles from two detention centers.
"Everyday people from many faith communities go to Delaney Street here in Newark, and to the Elizabeth Detention Center, and they say 'no' by standing at the gates, by talking with the ICE personnel, by insisting on the rights of the detainees within," he said. "They bring them human comfort, they console the families of those who aren't always admitted to see their loved ones. How will you say 'no?' How?"
Citing the Gospel story of the Good Samaritan, and invoking the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Tobin asked how people will say "no" to what's happening today.
"How will you say 'no?' How will you say 'no' to violence?" he said. "How will you say 'no' this week when an appropriations bill is going to be considered in Congress? Will you contact your congressional representatives, the senators and representatives from your district? Will you ask them, for the love of God and the love of human beings, which can't be separated, to vote against renewing funding for such a lawless organization?"
Tobin concluded his remarks with a challenge to people of faith disturbed by what they see: "How will you scrawl your answer on the wall? How will you help restore a culture of life in the midst of death?"
Ping
Back when I was a Catholic, so was the Catholic Church.
Is this the guy who played with himself on camera, while talking with women on Skype?
Same.
It is well past time to take away the tax exempt status of the Catholic church.
Who the f reads s like that?
How about leaving the apostasy that the RCC has become. If the Pope really cared for immigrants he should sell his gold plates to aid them.
Nighty-night, Joey ...
Ignazio Silone is often called “anti-fascist” which sounds nice. But Ignazio Silone was also one of the founders of the Italian Communist Party in 1921. Of course the modern Catholic Church likes him. He was an atheist who wanted to build heaven right here on Earth. Just like the recent popes.
Ahh yes, the Catholic Church. They have given up on trying to improve life where people live. Sometimes, the only way you can do that is to call out the government that leave the poor of the Third World nations in perpetual poverty. It isn’t easy to take a stand against tyrants.
Thus, the Catholic church’s solution to fighting poverty around the world is to just have the world move to the richer countries. It’s so lazy it’s pathetic. The church is so far away from John Paul II.
Time to pull the tax exempt status of the churches who make political demands.
Your Eminence: in the past, marxists, atheists, radicals and the agents of satan have forced societies to choose between Lenin vs Kolchak, Caballero vs Franco, Castro vs. Batista, or Allende vs. Pinochet
When forced to do so, the good Catholic will always choose Kolchak, Franco, Batista or Allende
Why are you and your ilk forcing America into a similar choice?
LOL! I remember a LONG time ago when the Catholic Church structure really was Catholic. Now it seems to be just a bunch of queers, pedophiles, and other assorted liberal human debris.
Back in the 1950s, even before Vatican II, Bella Dodd, a former Communist who reverted to her childhood Catholicism, claimed that the Communist Party had infiltrated 1,100 into Catholic seminaries with the goal of subversion. This infiltration is not just done to the Catholics; Protestant and Orthodox bodies have suffered from infiltration.
Either Tobin is ignorant or he is a closet Communist.
Tax the Church! They love their illegals they can pay for it.
Time to STOP sending taxpayer/federal dollars to NGO - all NGOs.
The Catholic church benefits from federal NGO dollars.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) - nearly half of CRS's $1.2 billion budget was funded by the U.S. government.
Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA). While specific 2024 federal funding figures for the entire network are not yet fully compiled and publicly available, Catholic Charities agencies are significant recipients of federal, state, and local government grants.
Catholic universities and colleges: Many Catholic educational institutions receive federal research grants, student aid, and other programmatic funding. For example, Georgetown University, Boston College, and the University of Notre Dame are significant recipients of federal research grants in various fields.
Catholic healthcare systems: Hospitals and healthcare providers affiliated with the Catholic Church receive federal funding through Medicare, Medicaid, and other health programs.
Smaller diocesan and parish-based charities: These organizations often receive grants for local community development, food banks, refugee resettlement, and other social services.
The catholic church is 1 giant corrupt NGO with it’s hand always out!
Agreed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.