Washington D.C., Sep 7, 2017 / 15:22 pm
The U.S. bishops' conference on Thursday sharply rejected claims by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon that the bishops support undocumented immigrants in order to fill churches and make money.
"It is preposterous to claim that justice for immigrants isn't central to Catholic teaching. It comes directly from Jesus Himself in Matthew 25, 'For I was hungry and you gave me food…a stranger and you welcomed me,'" said James Rogers, chief communications officer for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"Immigrants and refugees are precisely the strangers we must welcome," he said in a statement Thursday.
Bannon, who was the White House chief strategist before leaving the Trump administration on Aug. 18, told CBS News' "60 Minutes" host Charlie Rose, in an interview set to air on Sunday evening, that he thought the U.S. bishops support illegal immigration because of a cynical "economic interest."