Executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on issues including migration, the environment and the death penalty are “deeply troubling,” the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said yesterday. Source: OSV News.
Among the first acts of his second term, which began on Monday, Mr Trump signed a slew of executive orders. Some implement his hardline policies on immigration, including seeking to change the interpretation of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, an order that prompted a legal challenge.
Others include withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate and another sought to expand the use of the federal death penalty.
Mr Trump also signed an order directing the US Government to recognise only two sexes, male and female.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who heads the US Archdiocese for the Military Services, said many of the topics that the first batch of executive orders concern “are matters on which the Church has much to offer.”
“Some provisions contained in the executive orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us,” he said.
“Other provisions in the executive orders can be seen in a more positive light, such as recognising the truth about each human person as male or female.”
Archbishop Broglio stressed that neither the Catholic Church nor the USCCB is “aligned with any political party.”
“No matter who occupies the White House or holds the majority on Capitol Hill, the Church’s teachings remain unchanged,” he said.
“It is our hope that the leadership of our country will reconsider those actions which disregard not only the human dignity of a few, but of us all.”
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USCCB president calls Trump orders on migration, death penalty ‘deeply troubling’ (By Kate Scanlon, OSV News)
