A few weeks before he was hospitalized, Pope Francis addressed a letter to the Bishops of the United States of America. He began with reference to the Israelites’ journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom through migration. He detailed the journey of Mary with her infant son Jesus as they fled their homeland from persecution ordered through government edict by a monarchical tyrant. He called upon community leaders to recognize the executive orders issued by the Trump administration for what they are: inhumane, discriminatory exercises of power against the vulnerable and defenseless. 

Pope Francis died on Monday, but with his passing, his message is even more prescient: reasonable, thoughtful people must not give in to the Trumpian narratives of “criminality,” threats to safety, militaristic nationalism and fear mongering. What President Donald Trump and his administration are doing is not only in opposition to direction provided by any moral compass but also patently illegal and unconstitutional. 

Seniors, you are graduating at a unique moment in history. What we the people are witnessing the executive branch effectuate is an unprecedented attack on institutions: publicly threatening judges who render opinions they disagree with; firing inspectors general; blackmailing private law firms and universities; unilaterally dissolving and reorganizing executive agencies without the express authorization of Congress; and causing international financial market turmoil. 

Simultaneously, this executive branch has ordered the kidnapping and extraditing of vulnerable individuals to foreign countries without due process, all in clear violation of statutory law, constitutional law and the orders of the United States Supreme Court. 

Specifically, visa-holding Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father of three with no criminal history here or in El Salvador, was illegally deported in March without due process, to the one country in the world to which the federal courts had already declared he could not be deported. 

Then, on April 10, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration “to ‘facilitate’ Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” To date, the Trump administration has refused to comply with this legally binding mandate, issued by a co-equal branch of government. 

Class of 2025: I ask that as you contemplate your bright future, you consider this truly unique moment in history. Ask yourself to find your moral compass. As you weigh your options, remember that your future is in your hands. You have the capacity to speak fundamental truth to power. You have the capacity to move the needle in the right direction — if not for your fellow human, then for the sake of our laws. Begin your next chapter well, so that it will end well. 

I leave you with the wisdom conveyed by Pope Francis in this same letter: “The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all, welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable. What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”