As Franciscan Friars, we are committed to upholding the sacred dignity of every human being. Over the past several days, in reaction to the Executive Order issued by President Trump, we have heard the pain and fear expressed by some we minister to and with. We stand in solidarity with them.
We strongly oppose this Executive Order and ask the President and his administration to rescind it immediately. Closing our country’s borders to immigrants and refugees based on their ethnic origin and religious beliefs is an act of cruelty and hate.
We echo the U.S. Catholic Bishop’s opposition and: “believe in assisting all those who are vulnerable and fleeing persecution, regardless of their religion . . . welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope.” Love and hope are absent from an Executive Order that bans entry to our country by those seeking safety. On January 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day – we shut our doors to those most in need. It was a barbaric action that robbed our nation of its humanity
As Franciscan Friars, we are followers of Francis of Assisi, the saint who feared no one, embracing the leper, the most rejected in his society. And now we are branding millions of people as unworthy. Where is compassion? Where is love and hope? Where is the respect for the sacred dignity of our brothers and sisters?
We are encouraged by the example of our founder Francis of Assisi and his meeting 800 years ago with the Sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Kamil, when they embraced out of respect for one another and entered into genuine dialogue, seeking peace and reconciliation. By starting with those things that they held in common, such as belief in the one true God, the centrality of God’s will in our lives, charity for the poor, and the desire for peace, their dialogue turned into an embrace of each other as human beings driven by their religious belief for a higher good.
We implore the President and our nation’s leaders to have the courage to be peace makers through respectful dialogue. We stand with and pray for all people of our United States of America to rise up in solidarity against this inhumane action.
