'See the Inherent Dignity in Every Person': Archbishop Aquila Discusses Immigration on Dan Caplis' Show

Speaking on his recently published Pastoral Call to Peace, the Denver archbishop urged the faithful and all those of goodwill to return to civil discourse, rooted in a biblical worldview and in the human dignity inherent in every person.

(Photo: Denver Catholic file photo)

As tensions run high nationwide in response to immigration enforcement and recent violence, Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila joined the Dan Caplis Show to urge a return to the peace that only Christ can give. 

Speaking on his recently published Pastoral Call to Peace, the archbishop placed human dignity at the center of the conversation around immigration, encouraging listeners to cut through rhetoric and vitriol to hear the voice of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures, in the Church and in the world today. 

“We have to look at it, first of all, through a lens that is a biblical worldview lens of creation, the gift of creation, and that all creation has been entrusted to humanity,” he said, pointing to the dignity of that creation. “The Church recognizes that that dignity is inherent, just as the Preamble of our Constitution does, that there are certain inalienable rights that are given by the Creator: that right of the gift of human life itself.” 

That dignity stems from mankind’s very creation in the image and likeness of God, the archbishop noted. Inherent from the beginning, that dignity “calls us to love as God loves,” he continued. “It calls us to love human beings as God loves human beings, and to see the inherent dignity in every human person, whether they’re legal or illegal, whether they’ve committed a crime or not committed a crime.” 

With a firm foundation in human dignity, one can consider the issue of immigration more holistically, the archbishop continued, distinguishing between those who entered the country without proper paperwork but are “working for the common good” and those who have “committed a very serious crime.” 

“There is a real distinction between those who have been here, and I think many of us know people like that who are very respectful people,” Archbishop Aquila said. “They’re good people, they’re working, and they’re helping to support others. You have to treat them with real dignity rather than intimidating them and saying all of you have to go back home, and providing no pathway.” 

Offering these individuals, as well as others seeking to migrate for a better life, a pathway to citizenship is key, the archbishop noted anew, pointing to both political parties’ unwillingness to address the broken immigration system in the United States, respecting the nation’s right to regulate its borders while also providing real pathways for immigration, citizenship and opportunity.  

But no matter the side of the aisle, at the heart of the archbishop’s pastoral plea is a deep concern for peace and for souls. 

“We need to return to civil discourse and to truly listening to one another, and all of our actions have to be rooted in charity,” he said, noting that the current polarization, rhetoric, violence, rejection and name-calling on both sides is “indicative of the abandonment of any moral principles or any kind of understanding of the principles that the country was founded on two hundred and fifty years ago. 

“When one stops believing in God or abandons God, and he is no longer our first love, what happens is that we are the ones who become God, and it all often leads to either the pursuit of power, wealth, control of others and the neglect of others,” he continued. “It certainly is not the standard set by the Gospel and of what it means to follow Christ and to really look at the world through the lens that is not secular, but rather that is seeing God as our first love.” 

As we leave behind the violence, anger, rhetoric and name-calling, Archbishop Aquila noted, we can return to “a moral foundation,” learning anew to “treat people humanly and with the dignity that they have,” as Pope Leo has recently reminded. He challenged listeners to “return back to a moral compass, back to virtue, back to recognizing that there is a Creator who has given to us the gift of the world,” highlighting that, throughout the Scriptures, when God’s people went astray, violence always followed. 

“Some of the name-calling that you see going on between both political parties, or the demeaning language that is used towards immigrants, or towards the police, or towards ICE itself, that does not contribute to the civil discourse,” Archbishop Aquila said. “But all it does is increase the violence, the anger, the rhetoric and the very real hatred of others. And hatred does not have a place when it comes to human beings and the Gospel."

Listen to the full conversation between Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila and Dan Caplis here.