In a lengthy two-part interview with Crux, Ambassador Brian Burch emphasized that U.S. immigration policy is not rooted in hate or xenophobia, but in moral principles tied to a nation’s duty to protect its citizens.
The U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See spoke for more than an hour with Crux Senior Correspondent Elise Ann Allen in Rome. In the first part of the conversation, Ambassador Burch addressed several contentious issues related to the Trump administration’s policies, ranging from immigration to ongoing global conflicts.
Regarding immigration, Burch explained to Crux that “the important thing here is this is not a set of evil policies rooted in hate or xenophobia. That is a false claim that has never been true.”
“Instead, it is a set of moral goods; namely the safety, security, and prosperity of our citizens that has been in tension with a set of policies that was chaotic and disorderly,” he explained. “How we resolve that is never going to be perfect, but I commend our president for being someone willing to take it seriously and to engage with the Holy See and others on some of their concerns.”
In this portion of the interview, Allen also asked Burch about current U.S. foreign policy, including Venezuela, Gaza, and the war in Ukraine, as well as the role of international bodies such as the United Nations.
Responding at length, Burch explained that his role as U.S. Ambassador is “to help inform the Holy See on our policies and what we’re doing there, but also to help build a working partnership around some of the areas where the Holy See can be of huge help.”
A Catholic moment in the US?
In the second part of the interview, Allen asked the ambassador what it means to relate to an American pope and whether Pope Leo’s pontificate could signal a “Catholic moment” for the United States.
Burch shared several anecdotes about his interactions with Pope Leo, recalling their cordial first meeting, their shared Chicago roots, and their common concern for religious freedom.
Asked directly about the possibility of a “Catholic moment” in the United States, Burch responded affirmatively, revealing that “Pope Leo and I talked about this when I sat down with him to present my credentials, that for all of the political noise and the accusations that surround the president — in a very real sense, this is a president who deeply cares about and understands intuitively this Catholic view of the human person and of human communities.”
“I think this is represented in the vice president he chose, in the secretary of state he chose,” he added. “They speak about this frequently.”
Access the full two parts of Ambassador Burch’s interview with Elise Ann Allen here and here.