JD Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019 and went on to be critiqued by the last two popes on his stance of immigration. Vance, it seems, does not let the disapproval of the pope keep him from still claiming his Catholic faith or continuing with his anti-immigrant positions and rhetoric.
That was clearer than ever this past week with the vice president’s comments on immigrants and access to emergency care.
His conversion may have been sincere or, much like his political allegiances, it could have been very calculated. He was the one who said Donald Trump might be America’s Hitler and then went on to become his top ally and running mate. Whether his Catholic faith was entered into sincerely or opportunistically, it is far from the actual teachings of Jesus and from the church he claims to be part of.
Will McCorkle
It always is shocking to see how far Vance will debase himself to defend Trump and to promote anti-immigrant conspiracies and hate. He was the driving force behind the lies about Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs. When he was confronted about it, he said he was fine with creating stories about immigrants to bring attention to the topic.
In the current moment, Vance is once again spreading lies about the government being shut down primarily to give undocumented immigrants health care. Most of the funding he is referring to is for Medicaid and ACA programs that undocumented immigrants do not quality for. The only aspect of the funding that could indirectly go to undocumented immigrants is to reimburse hospitals for emergency care for poor individuals who do not have Medicaid, which would include undocumented immigrants.
As a civilized nation with basic ideas of human rights, we do not let people die outside the Emergency Room because they do not have the right papers. A law passed in 1986 entrenched this policy. You would think that would not even be questioned, especially by those claiming to follow the risen Christ.
“As a civilized nation with basic ideas of human rights, we do not let people die outside the Emergency Room because they do not have the right papers.”
However, Vance seems to be willing to break any subject that seems to be taboo — even about denying people health care services. As he stated, “If you’re an American citizen and you’ve been to the hospital in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed that wait times are especially large and very often somebody who’s there in the Emergency Room waiting is an illegal alien.” He went on to ask: “”Why do those people get health care benefits at hospitals paid for by American citizens?”
To say this position is anti-Christian does not even begin to describe it. It is something that is hard to fathom by anyone claiming any type of ethical framework outside complete nihilism, survival of the fittest or white supremacy. As Vance hints at denying immigrants even emergency care, we must remember those words of Jesus who said those who follow him would be those sheep who cared for the least of these, and the goats would be those who overlooked the least of these.
Vance’s stance goes far beyond that of the goats as he is directly putting the lives of migrants at risk to make a political point. It is time for Vance to listen to the words of Jesus, the words of the pope, and detangle himself from a xenophobia that risks leading our whole nation to a tragic place.
Will McCorkle serves as an education professor in Charleston, S.C., and is a board member with Practice Mercy Border Ministries. He writes on the topics of immigration, peace and faith.