traditions

U.S., Hungarian thought leaders share ethical concerns over mass migration #Catholic “The Crisis of Migration for Families and Nations” was the subject of a Feb. 4 symposium that brought together American and Hungarian thought leaders who share concerns about the phenomenon of mass migration and its impact on the common good of their respective nations. The event coincided with the release of a new paper titled “Migration and Ethics: The Axioms of a Christian Migration Policy” by the Budapest-based Axioma Center, a Christian think tank. The Catholic University of America’s Chad Pecknold (left) endorses the Hungarian think tank’s approach to Christian migration policy. | Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/EWTN News The paper, which was endorsed by Chad Pecknold, associate professor of systematic theology at The Catholic University of America, notes that “the Christian perspective on immigration has historically emphasized compassion and solidarity with refugees, along with a welcoming attitude towards foreigners.”However, the paper continues, the Christian perspective on immigration “also calls for a prudent balance between these values and the legitimate responsibility of rulers to protect their people.” In this context, the paper explains, “national security, cultural and moral traditions, the rule of law, public order, and social cohesion are all essential components of what constitutes the common good.” In the face of illegal immigration, the authors assert that “mass deportations may be a legitimate response to mass migration.”At the event, Samuel Samson, a senior adviser at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, said he does not see large-scale migration as a “moral necessity” but rather the opposite.“It is actually fundamentally disordered and impacts the well-being and the common good of society,” he said. Samson said the Trump administration has sought to “shift the general narrative” about migration to bring this awareness to the fore.In the United States, more than 14% of the population was born outside the country. In the European Union (EU), nearly 10% of the population was born in a country that is not an EU member. The panel was moderated by the America First Policy Institute’s Kristen Ziccarelli (left) and included the participation of Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian (right). | Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/EWTN News For his part, Heritage Foundation Vice President for Economic and Domestic Policy Roger Severino contended that the United States is not essentially a “nation of immigrants” but “a country of pioneers who took on immigrants who bought into the ethos of the United States.”Addressing the issue of the assimilation of immigrants, Severino, who is Catholic and the son of Colombian immigrants, lamented that the “salad bowl” (as opposed to “melting pot”) concept of immigration encourages “separate independent cultures that, in practice, don’t even end up talking to each other.”Severino also faulted the largesse and abuses of the modern welfare state for not serving the interests of either the nation or immigrants.In his remarks, Pecknold reflected on the corrosion of the understanding of the family and the understanding of the nation. “A nation comes from a commonwealth of families that bring life,” he said.Pecknold said the wealth of nations is not simply the GDP but rather, in Christian terms, has been “providentially given” by God and said the erosion of borders, heritage, language, customs, and religion is an “attempt to deconstruct the very belief of God as the providential provider” of families and nations.Pecknold also contended that mass migration has negative impacts on family for both the immigrants and the native-born population.For migrants, he said “it almost inevitably breaks up the family,” with some leaving their home country and others staying behind or sometimes trying to enter illegally. He said it also hurts the American family by filling the workforce with cheap labor, saying: “You actually are taking jobs away from … young Americans who deserve those jobs.”Pecknold encouraged Christians to take into account the faith’s long tradition on the subject of immigration, citing St. Thomas Aquinas as a prime example. In the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas speaks about the need for assimilation and that danger could otherwise arise if someone who does “not yet having the common good firmly at heart” is given full citizenship.“Christians have to take some of these principles and think outside of the bounds of liberalism,” he said.USCCB approachThe United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has recently raised concerns on immigration that markedly differ from those presented at the Hungarian embassy symposium, particularly when it comes to the Trump administration’s mass deportation program.In November 2025, the bishops voted 216-5 to issue a special message rejecting “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” It noted that Scripture commands Christians to care for vulnerable people, including “the stranger,” and said Catholic teaching instructs nations “to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants.”The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs prosperous nations “to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner.” It also instructs immigrants “to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”According to the catechism, political authorities can regulate immigration “for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible.”
Read More

U.S., Hungarian thought leaders share ethical concerns over mass migration #Catholic “The Crisis of Migration for Families and Nations” was the subject of a Feb. 4 symposium that brought together American and Hungarian thought leaders who share concerns about the phenomenon of mass migration and its impact on the common good of their respective nations. The event coincided with the release of a new paper titled “Migration and Ethics: The Axioms of a Christian Migration Policy” by the Budapest-based Axioma Center, a Christian think tank. The Catholic University of America’s Chad Pecknold (left) endorses the Hungarian think tank’s approach to Christian migration policy. | Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/EWTN News The paper, which was endorsed by Chad Pecknold, associate professor of systematic theology at The Catholic University of America, notes that “the Christian perspective on immigration has historically emphasized compassion and solidarity with refugees, along with a welcoming attitude towards foreigners.”However, the paper continues, the Christian perspective on immigration “also calls for a prudent balance between these values and the legitimate responsibility of rulers to protect their people.” In this context, the paper explains, “national security, cultural and moral traditions, the rule of law, public order, and social cohesion are all essential components of what constitutes the common good.” In the face of illegal immigration, the authors assert that “mass deportations may be a legitimate response to mass migration.”At the event, Samuel Samson, a senior adviser at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, said he does not see large-scale migration as a “moral necessity” but rather the opposite.“It is actually fundamentally disordered and impacts the well-being and the common good of society,” he said. Samson said the Trump administration has sought to “shift the general narrative” about migration to bring this awareness to the fore.In the United States, more than 14% of the population was born outside the country. In the European Union (EU), nearly 10% of the population was born in a country that is not an EU member. The panel was moderated by the America First Policy Institute’s Kristen Ziccarelli (left) and included the participation of Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian (right). | Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/EWTN News For his part, Heritage Foundation Vice President for Economic and Domestic Policy Roger Severino contended that the United States is not essentially a “nation of immigrants” but “a country of pioneers who took on immigrants who bought into the ethos of the United States.”Addressing the issue of the assimilation of immigrants, Severino, who is Catholic and the son of Colombian immigrants, lamented that the “salad bowl” (as opposed to “melting pot”) concept of immigration encourages “separate independent cultures that, in practice, don’t even end up talking to each other.”Severino also faulted the largesse and abuses of the modern welfare state for not serving the interests of either the nation or immigrants.In his remarks, Pecknold reflected on the corrosion of the understanding of the family and the understanding of the nation. “A nation comes from a commonwealth of families that bring life,” he said.Pecknold said the wealth of nations is not simply the GDP but rather, in Christian terms, has been “providentially given” by God and said the erosion of borders, heritage, language, customs, and religion is an “attempt to deconstruct the very belief of God as the providential provider” of families and nations.Pecknold also contended that mass migration has negative impacts on family for both the immigrants and the native-born population.For migrants, he said “it almost inevitably breaks up the family,” with some leaving their home country and others staying behind or sometimes trying to enter illegally. He said it also hurts the American family by filling the workforce with cheap labor, saying: “You actually are taking jobs away from … young Americans who deserve those jobs.”Pecknold encouraged Christians to take into account the faith’s long tradition on the subject of immigration, citing St. Thomas Aquinas as a prime example. In the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas speaks about the need for assimilation and that danger could otherwise arise if someone who does “not yet having the common good firmly at heart” is given full citizenship.“Christians have to take some of these principles and think outside of the bounds of liberalism,” he said.USCCB approachThe United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has recently raised concerns on immigration that markedly differ from those presented at the Hungarian embassy symposium, particularly when it comes to the Trump administration’s mass deportation program.In November 2025, the bishops voted 216-5 to issue a special message rejecting “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” It noted that Scripture commands Christians to care for vulnerable people, including “the stranger,” and said Catholic teaching instructs nations “to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants.”The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs prosperous nations “to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner.” It also instructs immigrants “to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”According to the catechism, political authorities can regulate immigration “for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible.”

unitedyam

A Hungarian think tank’s new paper “Migration and Ethics: The Axioms of a Christian Migration Policy” prompts a meeting of the minds.

Read More
U.S. government reminds public schools to allow prayer #Catholic Public schools in the United States are required by the U.S. Constitution to allow students and staff to pray, the government said this week, with the Trump administration reminding educators that they must neither impose nor generally forbid prayer in school facilities. The government issued the guidance on Feb. 5, with U.S. Department of Education Office of the Secretary Chief Counsel Josh Kleinfeld writing that schools in general should “allow the individuals who make up a public school community to act and speak in accordance with their faith.”Schools must adopt a “stance of neutrality” regarding faith, the guidance says, with educators required to allow personal religious conduct so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of other students and the school itself does not show favoritism to one religion or another.U.S. President Donald Trump announced the guidance ahead of its release on Feb. 5, telling attendees at the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast that he expected the document to incur lawsuits. “We’ll win it,” Trump anticipated. Students, employees allowed to express religious beliefsDetailing a history of Supreme Court decisions involving free speech and religious expression in schools, the guidance offers “concrete scenarios” in which schools are required to accommodate religious expression.Among them include instances where students “pray privately and quietly by themselves” and cases where students “dress in accordance with their religious faith,” such as wearing crosses, yarmulkes, or headscarfs. Support for religious student groupsSchools are also required to support religious student groups “on the same terms” they support nonreligious groups. Public schools “may not sponsor or organize compulsory prayer” at school functions, the guidance notes, but schools are also required to allow participants to engage in prayer at such events provided they do not coerce other attendees or “speak on behalf of the school.” Teachers and staff themselves, meanwhile, “do not forfeit their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate and need not pray behind closed doors.” School employees “must be permitted to pray while at work on the same terms as students.”The guidance distances itself from what it described as the “legally unsound” principle of a “wall of separation” between church and state.Rather, it advances what it says is “a stance of neutrality among and accommodation toward all faiths, and hostility toward none,” which it describes as “deeply rooted in our nation’s history, traditions, and constitutional law.”Though the guidance itself is ultimately reflective of years of settled court precedent, it offers another indication of the Trump administration’s proactive support for religious liberty and practice in the U.S.At the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast, Trump announced that the government will hold an event, titled “Rededicate 250,” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on May 17 “to rededicate America as one nation under God.”“We’re inviting Americans from all across the country to come together on our National Mall to pray, to give thanks,” he said.In May 2025 the president established the Religious Liberty Commission, which has held hearings on religious liberty in education and the military.In December 2025, meanwhile, Trump became the first president in U.S. history to officially recognize the feast of the Immaculate Conception, acknowledging it as a “holy day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible.”
Read More

U.S. government reminds public schools to allow prayer #Catholic Public schools in the United States are required by the U.S. Constitution to allow students and staff to pray, the government said this week, with the Trump administration reminding educators that they must neither impose nor generally forbid prayer in school facilities. The government issued the guidance on Feb. 5, with U.S. Department of Education Office of the Secretary Chief Counsel Josh Kleinfeld writing that schools in general should “allow the individuals who make up a public school community to act and speak in accordance with their faith.”Schools must adopt a “stance of neutrality” regarding faith, the guidance says, with educators required to allow personal religious conduct so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of other students and the school itself does not show favoritism to one religion or another.U.S. President Donald Trump announced the guidance ahead of its release on Feb. 5, telling attendees at the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast that he expected the document to incur lawsuits. “We’ll win it,” Trump anticipated. Students, employees allowed to express religious beliefsDetailing a history of Supreme Court decisions involving free speech and religious expression in schools, the guidance offers “concrete scenarios” in which schools are required to accommodate religious expression.Among them include instances where students “pray privately and quietly by themselves” and cases where students “dress in accordance with their religious faith,” such as wearing crosses, yarmulkes, or headscarfs. Support for religious student groupsSchools are also required to support religious student groups “on the same terms” they support nonreligious groups. Public schools “may not sponsor or organize compulsory prayer” at school functions, the guidance notes, but schools are also required to allow participants to engage in prayer at such events provided they do not coerce other attendees or “speak on behalf of the school.” Teachers and staff themselves, meanwhile, “do not forfeit their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate and need not pray behind closed doors.” School employees “must be permitted to pray while at work on the same terms as students.”The guidance distances itself from what it described as the “legally unsound” principle of a “wall of separation” between church and state.Rather, it advances what it says is “a stance of neutrality among and accommodation toward all faiths, and hostility toward none,” which it describes as “deeply rooted in our nation’s history, traditions, and constitutional law.”Though the guidance itself is ultimately reflective of years of settled court precedent, it offers another indication of the Trump administration’s proactive support for religious liberty and practice in the U.S.At the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast, Trump announced that the government will hold an event, titled “Rededicate 250,” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on May 17 “to rededicate America as one nation under God.”“We’re inviting Americans from all across the country to come together on our National Mall to pray, to give thanks,” he said.In May 2025 the president established the Religious Liberty Commission, which has held hearings on religious liberty in education and the military.In December 2025, meanwhile, Trump became the first president in U.S. history to officially recognize the feast of the Immaculate Conception, acknowledging it as a “holy day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible.”

unitedyam

Public schools in the United States are required by the U.S. Constitution to allow students and staff to pray, the government said this week.

Read More