The Pope and the Speaker 

     Sometime before Iran took center-stage, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, called U.S. citizens to "deep reflection" about how we are treating immigrants. He mentioned Jesus' words in Matthew 25:35: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." Or, in my Bible's version: "I was a stranger and you invited me in." 

     You know how millions of "strangers" came here during the Biden administration, many of them criminals, and many of them still on the loose. What do you think?

     House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "borders and walls are biblical." He argued that scriptural admonitions to welcome sojourners were given to individuals, while it is the responsibility of civil government to maintain order and protect its citizens.  

     Meny top officials in the Trump administration are Catholic, and Trump won a majority of the Catholic vote in 2024. The article said the White House and the Vatican have diverged on other key policy issues, including the UN, the war in Ukraine and in-vitro fertilization.  

     Well, Americans have given jobs to many who crossed our border illegally...usually working at lower pay than normal. And we have seen the wreckage of trucks that immigrants have driven, without license and even without knowing our language. And we have women abused by immigrants. And so far, those deported are mostly those with criminal behavior. We could lock them up. That's my "deep reflection."

          Jimmy