An American archbishop says that the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a budget reconciliation bill, which is contrary to Catholic social teaching.

The bill is now waiting to be debated in the U.S. Senate.

An American archbishop says that the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a budget reconciliation bill, which is contrary to Catholic social teaching.

The bill is now waiting to be debated in the U.S. Senate.

Rev. John C. Wester, the archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said the bill should be strongly opposed.

"Moreover, the church and the bishops of the United States should lead the way in speaking against this bill and calling on Catholics to work for its defeat," said Archbishop Webster, writing in America, the Jesuit Review on June 3.

"Because of its overall effects on those who are most in need, passing this budget would be a moral failure for American society as a whole."

He said that unless the church opposes the bill "in the clearest possible terms," it will squander the credibility of "our witness to the Gospel and Christ's command to care for the 'least of these'."

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has named the proposed law as the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

Webster, noted, however, "The legislation is anything but beautiful, at least from the perspective of Catholic teaching.

"It basically steals from the poor to give to the rich, and it will leave millions of low-income U.S. citizens struggling to survive.."

He said ,"It also funds a mass deportation campaign that will separate immigrant families and profoundly harm children, including U.S.-citizen children. And that is just the tip of the iceberg."

The archbishop says that it is estimated that the legislation would cut $700 billion over 10 years in Medicaid spending, leaving 7.6 million American families without health-care coverage.

It also reduces spending for food assistance to the nation's poorest by an estimated $300 billion over 10 years, adversely impacting 40 million low-income persons, including 16 million children.

He said as many as 5.4 million people each year could lose food assistance from the cuts.

"According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill transfers wealth from citizens with the lowest tenth of income to those with the highest tenth of income, the largest transfer in U.S. history," explained Webster.

"On immigration," the archbishop said the bill "appropriates $75 billion for a mass deportation campaign, which includes funding for detention centers and a substantial increase in border and interior enforcement personnel.

In addition, the bill allows the gents to remove people based on the suspicion of illegal activity, without judicial review.

"And it increases fees for such benefits as temporary protected status (T.P.S.), humanitarian parole and work permits for asylum applicants, leaving these important protection mechanisms out of the reach of qualifying families," says the Santa Fe archbishop.

"To make matters worse, the bill undermines other important church teachings, such as the need for a progressive tax structure based on the ability to pay and measures to combat climate change, as it raises taxes on the working poor and repeals clean energy tax credits."

Webster notes the list goes on, and the cruelty of the bill "is historic."

He says the bill violates several principles of Catholic social teaching.

The first of these is the preferential option for the poor, which teaches that the most vulnerable should claim the attention and assistance of the rest of society.

The second is the principle of solidarity, in which all people are interconnected and the powerful should be advocates for the marginalized of society.

"And perhaps the most important principle is the advancement of the common good, so that all members of society are given a chance to thrive and become full members of the community."

"As passed by the House of Representatives, this bill forsakes the most vulnerable among us, widens both the economic and human gap between the rich and poor, and ignores the common good to benefit only the wealthiest in our country."

Webster said under the human costs of this bill it was likely that millions will fall into poverty, leaving them to rely on churches and private charities, such as Catholic Charities, to survive.

"More people will go without health care, at least until they arrive at the emergency room, when their condition becomes critical. Immigrant families, many of whom sit in the pews at Mass every Sunday, will be separated, traumatizing children."

, the archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said the bill should be strongly opposed.

"Moreover, the church and the bishops of the United States should lead the way in speaking against this bill and calling on Catholics to work for its defeat," said Archbishop Webster, writing in America, the Jesuit Review on June 3.

"Because of its overall effects on those who are most in need, passing this budget would be a moral failure for American society as a whole."

He said that unless the church opposes the bill "in the clearest possible terms," it will squander the credibility of "our witness to the Gospel and Christ's command to care for the 'least of these'."

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has named the proposed law as the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

Webster, noted, however, "The legislation is anything but beautiful, at least from the perspective of Catholic teaching.

"It basically steals from the poor to give to the rich, and it will leave millions of low-income U.S. citizens struggling to survive.."

He said ,"It also funds a mass deportation campaign that will separate immigrant families and profoundly harm children, including U.S.-citizen children. And that is just the tip of the iceberg."

The archbishop says that it is estimated that the legislation would cut $700 billion over 10 years in Medicaid spending, leaving 7.6 million American families without health-care coverage.

It also reduces spending for food assistance to the nation's poorest by an estimated $300 billion over 10 years, adversely impacting 40 million low-income persons, including 16 million children.

He said as many as 5.4 million people each year could lose food assistance from the cuts.

"According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill transfers wealth from citizens with the lowest tenth of income to those with the highest tenth of income, the largest transfer in U.S. history," explained Webster.

"On immigration," the archbishop said the bill "appropriates $75 billion for a mass deportation campaign, which includes funding for detention centers and a substantial increase in border and interior enforcement personnel.

In addition, the bill allows the gents to remove people based on the suspicion of illegal activity, without judicial review.

"And it increases fees for such benefits as temporary protected status (T.P.S.), humanitarian parole and work permits for asylum applicants, leaving these important protection mechanisms out of the reach of qualifying families," says the Santa Fe archbishop.

"To make matters worse, the bill undermines other important church teachings, such as the need for a progressive tax structure based on the ability to pay and measures to combat climate change, as it raises taxes on the working poor and repeals clean energy tax credits."

Webster notes the list goes on, and the cruelty of the bill "is historic."

He says the bill violates several principles of Catholic social teaching.

The first of these is the preferential option for the poor, which teaches that the most vulnerable should claim the attention and assistance of the rest of society.

The second is the principle of solidarity, in which all people are interconnected and the powerful should be advocates for the marginalized of society.

"And perhaps the most important principle is the advancement of the common good, so that all members of society are given a chance to thrive and become full members of the community."

"As passed by the House of Representatives, this bill forsakes the most vulnerable among us, widens both the economic and human gap between the rich and poor, and ignores the common good to benefit only the wealthiest in our country."

Webster said that under the human costs of the bill, it was likely that millions would fall into poverty, leaving them to rely on churches and private charities, such as Catholic Charities, to survive.

"More people will go without health care, at least until they arrive at the emergency room, when their condition becomes critical. Immigrant families, many of whom sit in the pews at Mass every Sunday, will be separated, traumatizing children."