Bishop Joseph Strickland issued a pointed challenge to Church leadership in the United States, warning that silence over the trafficking of migrant children at the southern border represents a moral failure with lasting consequences for the most vulnerable.
Speaking during an awards ceremony hosted by Catholics for Catholics, Bishop Strickland addressed the ongoing crisis of missing migrant children, noting that while tens of thousands have been recovered, an estimated 250,000 children remain unaccounted for following illegal border crossings during the administration of Joe Biden, according to figures cited at the event.
The ceremony honored Tom Homan, who was recognized for his efforts in helping recover more than 62,000 children from human trafficking networks. In that context, Bishop Strickland emphasized the interconnectedness of moral failures across generations, stating that when society fails to protect the unborn, “the threats to children just ripple through every age,” according to LifeSiteNews.
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Referencing comments made by General Michael Flynn, the bishop warned against spiritual complacency, saying that “there’s a complacency that’s so easy for us to slide into,” and lamented that even Church leaders “have turned a blind eye to many of these border issues,” according to the report.
Bishop Strickland urged Catholics to respond not only through advocacy but through prayer, calling on the faithful to pray the rosary daily. He said the Blessed Mother has “pleaded” for this devotion and described it as “our strongest hope,” adding that while the work of individuals like Homan is important, “we must pray as the people of God and remember we are all children before him,” according to LifeSiteNews.
He also offered a direct appeal for Church leadership, saying, “let us pray especially for our shepherds, from Rome to USCCB,” asking God to form shepherds’ hearts to be “truly shepherds. Not politicians. Not CEOs of a giant corporation.”
Addressing border policy more broadly, Bishop Strickland rejected the idea that open borders serve the common good. “We can’t pretend that open borders are a blessing to anyone,” he said. “We must have law and truth, or we find chaos,” adding that children are suffering because of “the chaos that I’ve allowed, that we’ve allowed in whatever way we’ve been complacent,” according to the source.
The bishop also criticized what he described as institutional silence tied to government funding. “When ministries depend on state funding to the point of silence, the Church’s prophetic voice is weakened,” he said, adding that “the Church must never profit from the suffering of others,” according to LifeSiteNews.
During the same event, Catholics for Catholics president John Yep echoed the bishop’s concerns, framing the crisis as a defining moral test. He said the “timeless test” of a society is how it treats “those people who had no voice. The defenseless. The children.”
Looking ahead to the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2025, Yep warned that the country is being judged by how it responds to the plight of vulnerable children, stating, “we’re being judged by how we’re taking care of those kids,” according to LifeSiteNews.
Together, the remarks underscored a growing call among some Catholic leaders and lay organizations for renewed moral clarity, stronger advocacy for children, and a recovery of what Bishop Strickland described as the Church’s prophetic voice in the face of suffering and injustice.
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