Charity Without Illusion: Immigration, Prudence, and the Christian Memory

Headlines shout about border crises while our feeds trade compassion for outrage, but the deeper question remains: how do we love the stranger without surrendering the order that protects the weak?

Jack takes a hard look at the images and ideas shaping public imagination, starting with the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt and what it actually means for modern immigration debates. Egypt was a Roman province, not an alien nation; the story teaches refuge from a tyrant, not a mandate for lawlessness or open borders.

Drawing on St. John Paul II’s distinction between emigrants and immigrants, we examine how language quietly shifts blame from failed regimes that expel people to host nations struggling to respond. Borders exist to serve justice, not to erase it; ordered hospitality protects both citizens and newcomers.

The goal is a community able to welcome the stranger while preserving the very foundations that make welcome possible—family, faith‑shaped virtues, and the common good.

Read Jack's Article: Charity Without Illusion: Immigration, Prudence, and the Christian Memory https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/charity-without-illusion-immigration-prudence-and-the-christian-memory

Follow us on X https://x.com/JP2Renewal

If this conversation challenged you or clarified something you’ve felt but couldn’t name, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review with the one question you want us to tackle next.

Support the show https://jp2renew.org/