Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson decided last week that he would try to clarify to the pope what the Bible says on immigration.
This was in response to Pope Leo XIV and U.S. Catholic Bishops’ constant condemnation of President Donald Trump’s harsh immigration policies.
Pope Leo XIV and U.S. Catholic Bishops particularly have cited Matthew 25:35-40, where Jesus says that how you treat the stranger or foreigner is how you treat him.
In response, Johnson tried to create his own biblical interpretation to justify Trump’s policies.
It is a difficult task, as the Bible overwhelmingly supports the cause of the immigrant and sojourner. Authoritarian regimes throughout history, however, have tried to take Bible verses out of context to justify injustice.
Without any irony, Johnson went straight to the one chapter that probably has been more abused than any other by authoritarians, Romans 13, in which the apostle Paul told his readers to obey the civil authorities, who have the right to punish wrongdoers.
Johnson did not look at the context of the passage: that Christians were under a harsh Roman emperor and any type of rebellion against the state could mean their death and the destruction of the church.
Johnson also seems aloof to how the passage has been used in history.
It was a passage used in Nazi Germany to try to ensure that people obeyed Adolf Hitler’s government. It was the passage used in the American South during slavery and later during Jim Crow. It was also employed in South Africa during apartheid. It was more recently used by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to defend Trump’s family separation policies during his first term.
It is beyond ironic that the person in charge of making the laws and the top ally of someone who is taking egregious actions against immigrants is trying to use Romans 13 as a defense. It would be akin to the Roman emperor quoting this to Christians in the first century. It is such a blatant distortion of the message of Paul and Jesus.
Unfortunately, too many privileged Americans have used Romans 13 as an easy way to justify oppression and injustice. I think Paul would weep if he knew it was being used in such a way today.
Sadly, it is clear that Johnson is first and foremost concerned about defending Trump. His loyalty to biblical texts is certainly in question.
Perhaps instead of clinging to one passage taken out of context, Johnson should instead focus on Jesus, who continually broke the rules of the religious leaders, cleared the tables of the money changers in the temple as they were exploiting foreigners and was crucified by the Roman Empire with the support of the religious elites.
We all know deep down that Jesus would not be supporting the egregious actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It is time for Johnson and the Republican Party to make the choice of whether they will follow Jesus or Trump.
About the author: Will McCorkle is an education professor who works with asylum-seekers in the Mexican border cities of Matamoros and Reynosa.
