If the American bishops seem especially concerned about the rights of refugees, there is a good historical reason. In the aftermath of World War II, with Europe devastated and huge populations on the move, the bishops lobbied for the US government to accept more refugees. They also began to initiate a huge network to resettle those who arrived.
In 1948, the Displaced Persons Act became law, and Pope Pius XII wrote to the bishops to affirm their stance. “The natural law itself, no less than devotion to humanity, urges that ways of migration be opened to these people,” Pius told them. “For the Creator of the universe made all good things primarily for the good of all.”
