We Should Not Kick Catholic Priests Out of U.S.

The American Catholic Church has, for quite a few years now, faced a shortage of priests to serve its parishes. Mercifully, there are still places around the world that produce enough vocations to spare priests who can come to the United States, either for a period of years or permanently. Some of those places are in Europe, such as Poland; many others are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. We may think of the First World as sending missionaries to the Third World, but in the 21st century, it’s the Third World that sends Christian missionaries to us.

But there’s a problem: federal immigration law. There are many sound reasons for our laws to control who enters the country and on what conditions. But those laws are written principally to address very different situations than those of Catholic priests. While the law makes some accommodations, and while the Trump administration has recently enacted rules to alleviate some of the problems, this is still a dilemma that Congress could solve — if it wanted to. This is, however, a difficult moment politically, and one exacerbated by the recent war of words between the president and the pope.

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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The American Catholic Church has, for quite a few years now, faced a shortage of priests to serve its parishes. Mercifully, there are still places around the world that produce enough vocations to spare priests who can come to the United States, either for a period of years or permanently. Some of those places are in Europe, such as Poland; many others are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. We may think of the First World as sending missionaries to the Third World, but in the 21st century, it’s the Third World that sends Christian missionaries to us.

But there’s a problem: federal immigration law. There are many sound reasons for our laws to control who enters the country and on what conditions. But those laws are written principally to address very different situations than those of Catholic priests. While the law makes some accommodations, and while the Trump administration has recently enacted rules to alleviate some of the problems, this is still a dilemma that Congress could solve — if it wanted to. This is, however, a difficult moment politically, and one exacerbated by the recent war of words between the president and the pope.