US VP invokes Catholic saint on deportations
Vice President JD Vance recently cited medieval Catholic theology in justifying the immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump.
“Just google ‘ordo amoris,’” he posted Jan. 30 on the social media platform X.
He posted this in reply to criticism over statements he made in a Fox News interview: “You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.” He claimed that the “far left” has inverted that.
Vance said the concept was “basic common sense” because one’s moral duties to one’s children outweigh those “to a stranger thousands of miles away.”
‘Love, charity’
It’s been translated as “order of love” or “order of charity.”
It’s a concept discussed by St. Augustine, who said everyone and everything should be loved in its own proper way.
“All men are to be loved equally,” he wrote. “But since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special regard to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.”
St. Thomas Aquinas, in the 13th century, expounded on this theme while also noting it depends on circumstances.
