St. Thomas Aquinas on Immigration

@IMPERATORAUS on Twitter

In his Summa Theologiae, St Thomas Aquinas laid out one of the most charitable yet practical arguments concerning immigration that effectively shaped the West for almost 1,000 years.

1. Immigration must always be proportionate so that foreigners can properly assimilate into the culture and mode of worship of the state.

2. Citizenship – and associated rights – should only ever be granted after the third generation to preserve the culture, mode of worship, and constitution of the state.

3. The common good of the citizens must remain the highest priority of the state, meaning, the state's obligation to provide aid to its neighbours can never be at the expense of the citizens.

However, Aquinas ends with the sobering reminder that some peoples and states are incompatible with one another, and these must be held as "foes in perpetuity".

Check out my article with @realAtlasPress to read more:

https://www.atlaspress.co/p/citizens-vs-foreigners-a-saints-perspective?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web