The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with Catholic Charities, USA and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, has offered to the U.S. Supreme Court an amicus brief in the case challenging the Muslim Ban, the executive order issued by President Trump. The entire brief can be read here. A summary of the brief follows:
SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT
The Executive Order has both the purpose and the
effect of discriminating against Muslims. Prior to is-
suing the Executive Order, the President announced
repeatedly his desire to target Muslims for denial of
entry to the United States. And the Executive Order
does just that, singling out the populations of six over-
whelmingly Muslim nations for sweeping immigra-
tion restrictions that apply nowhere else in the world.
Such blatant religious discrimination is repug-
nant to the Catholic faith, core American values, and
the United States Constitution. In particular, it poses
a substantial threat to religious liberty that this Court
has never tolerated before and should not tolerate
now. Having once borne the brunt of severe discrimi-
natory treatment, particularly in the immigration
context, the Catholic Church will not sit silent while
others suffer on account of their religion as well. In
the words of Elie Wiesel, “[t]he opposite of faith is not
heresy, it’s indifference.” Elie Wiesel, One Must Not
Forget, U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 27, 1986.
This Court should strike down the Executive Or-
der as a violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the
First Amendment.
St. Patrick Catholic Church 