Cardinal Dolan of New York says he was "really disappointed and hurt" by Vice President JD Vance's Remarks on the U.S. Catholic Bishops

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said he was "really disappointed and hurt" by Vice President JD Vance's remarks on the U.S. Catholic bishops in their efforts to serve migrants and resettle refugees. The vice president alluded to possible financial gains as the bishops intent other than following the Gospel mandate. (Card. Dolan's comments on Vance start at the 9:28 Mark)

JD Vance, is a Catholic who converted in 2019, was questioned on CBS' Face the Nation on Jan. 26 about the USCCB’s criticism of the President Trump's new orders on immigration, particularly the administration's removal of a policy that had prevented immigration arrests at “sensitive locations” such as churches.

Vance said, "I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns or are they actually worried about their bottom line"

When Congress created the US Refugee admissions program in 1980, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops began partnering with the American government to help immigrants and refugees. A January 26, 2025 statement released by the conference of Bishops, stated that despite the fact that the church "receives funds to do this work; however these funds are not sufficient to cover the entire cost of these programs nonetheless this remains a work of mercy and Ministry of the church." 

Vance was asked if he thinks the bishops are “actively hiding criminals from law enforcement,” Vance said that the USCCB has “not been a good partner in commonsense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for, and I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they’ll do better.”

Cardinal Dolan on January 28th, called Vance’s suggestion that the bishops’ pro-immigrant stance was only for financial gain, said Vance's comments were "not true," “scurrilous” and “very nasty.”

“I was really disappointed with what he said on ‘Face the Nation’ the other day. And I don’t mind telling you, somewhat hurt. This was not only harmful, this was inaccurate. You heard what he said: ‘Oh, the bishops, they’re pro-immigrant because of the bottom line, because they’re making money off this.’ That’s just scurrilous. It’s very nasty, and it’s not true,” Dolan said, speaking on his weekly podcast “Conversations with Cardinal Dolan.”

“You want to come look at our audits, which are scrupulously done? You think we make money caring for the immigrants? We’re losing it hand over fist … we’re not in a money-making business,” he explained. 

The USCCB released a statement defending this long-standing refugee program calling it a “work of mercy,” and noting that every person they help “is vetted and approved for the program by the federal government while outside of the United States” and mentioned that despite the large sums of money received, the costs of refugee resettlement often go beyond the government’s financial aid.

In 2023, the USCCB spent about $131 million on migration and refugee services, with nearly $130 million of that amount covered by government grants, most notably from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of State.

Sources: Embedded Podcast - CNA and GoodNewsRoom - CBS Face the Nation Youtube - USCCB

https://www.usccb.org/resources/Issued%20FY23%20USCCB%20FS_08.16.2024.pdf