Bishop Malooly sent a message to all priests in the Diocese of Wilmington reaffirming the stand by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops denouncing the government’s zero-tolerance policy that has led to children being held in government shelters while their parents are sent to federal prisons.
The bishop said he is in full agreement with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, USCCB president, and the group’s statement on Asylum Seekers and Family Separation. The bishop said the statement thus reflects the stance of the Diocese of Wilmington.
“Families are the foundational element of our society, and they must be able to stay together. While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety. Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral,” the statement said.
In a June 20 statement, Pope Francis said he also stands with the U.S. bishops.
Pope Francis said the current wave of populist rhetoric against migrants was “creating psychosis” and that people seeking a better life should not be rejected.
Europe, he added, is facing a “great demographic winter” and, without immigration, the continent “will become empty.”
“Some governments are working on it, and people have to be settled in the best possible way, but creating psychosis is not the cure,” he said. “Populism does not resolve things. What resolves things is acceptance, study, prudence.”
