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Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago issued a stern warning about potential “prophetic” condemnation from U.S. bishops if President-elect Donald Trump moves forward with plans to deport undocumented immigrants.
Speaking to the Argentinian newspaper *La Nación*, Cupich emphasized the bishops’ readiness to challenge any violations of human dignity under Trump’s presidency, particularly concerning immigration matters.
“We are going to be vigilant and we are going to defend the human dignity of immigrants,” he stated.
Cardinal Blase Cupich delivers a 3-minute opening prayer without mentioning Jesus Christ once. We are Democrats, after all. pic.twitter.com/zUQzcS0dBZ
— Neil Steinberg (@NeilSteinberg) August 19, 2024
The Cardinal expressed deep concerns about the implications of deporting undocumented individuals, noting that such actions could tear families apart and foster hostility toward newcomers.
“I think that would be intolerable, especially in a country where we are all immigrants. I am a product of immigration!” he added.
The Cardinal’s stance on immigration reflects his broader approach to social issues, which has previously sparked controversy among his fellow bishops. His tendency to draw parallels between various moral concerns, including immigration, abortion, capital punishment, and unemployment, has met with significant pushback.
In 2015, Cupich authored an opinion piece for the *Chicago Tribune* where he equated various social problems with the horror of abortion. As appalling as it is “to speak freely of crushing a child’s skull to preserve valuable body parts,” Cupich wrote, we should be “no less appalled by the indifference toward the thousands of people who die daily for lack of decent medical care; who are denied rights by a broken immigration system and by racism; who suffer in hunger, joblessness and want; who pay the price of violence in gun-saturated neighborhoods; or who are executed by the state in the name of justice.”
This perspective drew criticism from Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, who responded with his own piece titled “There Is No Equivalence.” Chaput argued against equating abortion with other social justice issues, asserting that deliberately ending innocent life stands alone in its gravity.
The debate continued with Archbishop Joseph Naumann, who leads the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, identifying abortion as the paramount moral challenge of our era, surpassing concerns about immigration, healthcare, and capital punishment.
In early 2021, tensions escalated when Cupich publicly challenged USCCB President Archbishop José Gomez’s criticism of President Biden’s pro-abortion stance. Cupich took to social media to denounce Gomez’s statement as “ill-considered” and issued his own message of congratulations to Biden, focusing on issues like poverty and racism while avoiding mention of abortion.
I will support Israel’s right to win its war on terror. And instead of pandering to jihad sympathizers and America-hating radicals, I will deport them.”
Donald Trump. January 20th can't come soon enough. 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/lwIDB6jEvv
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) January 7, 2025
This action prompted Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the Vatican’s former doctrinal chief, to rebuke Cupich for failing to confront Biden’s abortion advocacy. Müller argued that bishops must prioritize religious truth over political preferences.
“Vatican II and all the popes down to Francis have described the deliberate killing of a child before or after birth as a most grievous violation of God’s commandments,” Müller added.
“I cannot support a pro-abortion politician just because he builds public housing, as though I had to put up with what is absolutely evil on account of something relatively good,” he said.
