In his first month back in office, Donald Trump has made cruelty toward migrants and refugees central to his agenda, while J. D. Vance has used his flawed understanding of Catholic social teaching to justify the administration’s plans for mass deportation. 

Their actions and remarks have alarmed many in the Church. On this episode, three guests tell us how and why.

Massimo Faggioli, Commonweal contributor and Villanova University professor addresses the challenges for Catholicism in the second Trump era. 

Kerry Robinson, the head of Catholic Charities USA, explains the vital work of her organization and who will be most harmed by the freezes in federal funding. 

And Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago speaks about why “the protection and advocacy for the dignity of migrants” is the Church’s new “preeminent urgency.”

For further reading: 

• Massimo Faggioli on what American regime change means for the Church


• Griffin Oleynick on Francis’s rebuke of J. D. Vance’s ethno-nationalism


• Terence Sweeney on how the bishops may respond to Trump