The policy of separating refugee and immigrant children from their parents at U.S. borders is, bluntly put, a crime against the human family. Even if the policy was well intentioned, it would be a violation of the most basic understanding of human dignity and rights, and utterly counter to the spirit in which Archbishop John Hughes founded this university.
It is hard to understand, much less countenance, the failure of empathy that such a policy represents. To traumatize children and their families for attempting to enter the United States is not merely the amoral application of national policy, but an unambiguously evil act which must be understood for what it is, and vigorously opposed by people of good will.
As a Jesuit, Catholic University, we are committed to the care of, and compassion for, the most vulnerable members of society, regardless of their race, religion, citizenship, or national origin. We will be judged not just by our actions in these troubled times, but by our lack of action. Therefore, I urge that you contact your elected representatives to state your opposition to this heartless and despicable practice, and to lend your voice to those who are committed to ending it.
While we cannot cure all the suffering in the world, our collective conscience calls upon us to do whatever we can to bring to an end the miseries inflicted upon vulnerable, desperate children and their families through these despicable actions.
Joseph M. McShane, S.J., President
Fordham University
