Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, says he expects to engage soon with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on issues of shared concern, particularly immigration.
Speaking during a recent appearance on Face the Nation, Coakley said he has not yet spoken personally with either leader but anticipates future conversations. Immigration, he noted, will be central to those discussions. “Undoubtedly, the question of immigration is going to come up,” Coakley said, adding that the Church sees room for cooperation as well as honest dialogue, according to Catholic News Agency.
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The archbishop, who also serves the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, acknowledged the heightened fear many migrants are experiencing amid national debates over enforcement and deportation. He said that anxiety is especially pronounced in communities with larger migrant populations, where “there’s a great deal of fear and uncertainty … because of the level of rhetoric that is often employed when addressing issues around migration and the threats of deportation,” according to Catholic News Agency.
Despite those concerns, Coakley said fears of immigration enforcement have not led to widespread declines in Mass attendance. While some bishops in other regions have granted dispensations for immigrants who fear encountering Immigration and Customs Enforcement at church, Coakley said he has not observed significant drops locally and has not heard of the issue being widespread among his fellow bishops. “There’s an anxiety, there’s a fear, but I don’t think it’s kept people away in great numbers,” he said, according to Catholic News Agency.
The comments align with a recent statement issued by the USCCB on immigration, which rejects indiscriminate mass deportations and calls for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric, whether aimed at migrants or law enforcement. Coakley reaffirmed that message, emphasizing that respect for human dignity is non-negotiable for Christians.
“There’s no conflict necessarily between advocating for safe and secure borders and treating people with respect and dignity,” Coakley said, stressing that human dignity comes from God and cannot be granted or revoked by the state, according to Catholic News Agency. He added that a person’s legal status does not diminish that dignity and warned against policies or practices that rely on unjust means to achieve political ends.
Reflecting on the broader national context, Coakley reminded Americans that the United States itself was shaped by immigration. While affirming the right of nations to protect their borders, he underscored the Church’s moral responsibility to welcome migrants. “We have a right and a duty to respect sovereign borders of a state, but we also have a responsibility to welcome migrants,” he said, describing this balance as a core principle of Catholic social teaching, according to Catholic News Agency.
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