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The “Homeland Without Borders”: A Modernist Denial of Christ’s Kingship

The cited article from Vatican News reports on a homily delivered by “Cardinal” Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago during an Ash Wednesday Mass held in solidarity with immigrants. The core of his message, as presented, is a naturalistic, anthropocentric appeal that systematically omits the supernatural foundation of Catholic identity and duty. He declares to immigrants: “You may be undocumented in the eyes of the state, but you were hand-crafted by the Creator… Your worth does not come from a visa or a permit; it comes from the breath of God inside you.” He further states that the ashes are “a seal that says you belong to Jesus Christ” and “a reminder that you are citizens of a homeland that has no borders.” This presentation constructs a false dichotomy between the “state” and a nebulous, borderless “homeland” in Christ, while utterly ignoring the Catholic Church’s consistent, unchangeable teaching on the duty of nations, the legitimacy of just laws, and the supernatural end of man. The thesis is clear: Cupich’s homily is a prime example of post-conciliar theology’s reduction of the Catholic faith to a mere ethical naturalism, a “cult of man” that is the very synthesis of all errors condemned by the Church.

1. Theological Bankruptcy: The Omission of the Supernatural Order

The most grave accusation against the article and the homily it reports is its complete silence on the supernatural. In the entire presentation, there is no mention of original sin, no call to repentance, no reference to sanctifying grace, the sacraments (especially Penance and the Eucharist), or the ultimate end of man—eternal salvation or damnation. This is not an oversight; it is the defining characteristic of Modernism, which Pope St. Pius X condemned in his encyclical *Pascendi Dominici gregis* and the decree *Lamentabili sane exitu*.

The article frames the immigrant’s condition solely in terms of earthly dignity and psychological comfort (“cry in secret,” “work hard,” “struggle to send income”). The “seal” of the cross is presented not as a sign of belonging to a *supernatural* kingdom requiring obedience to its laws and participation in its sacraments, but as an identity marker in a vague, universalist “homeland.” This directly contradicts the very purpose of the ashes, which is to recall: “Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris” (“Remember, man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return”). The focus is on mortality and the need for penance, not on affirming worldly status. Cupich’s inversion is heretical. He uses the sacramental sign to affirm earthly identity against earthly authorities, while the Church uses it to remind the soul of its dependence on God and its need for conversion.

2. The Error of “A Homeland Without Borders” vs. the Reign of Christ the King

The phrase “citizens of a homeland that has no borders” is a stunning repudiation of the social doctrine of the Church as defined in encyclicals like *Quas Primas* of Pope Pius XI. Pius XI, instituting the Feast of Christ the King, explicitly taught that the Kingdom of Christ encompasses all men and all societies, and that this truth has direct consequences for the ordering of the state:

> “His reign, namely, extends not only to Catholic nations… but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ… And it matters not whether individuals, families, or states, for men united in societies are no less subject to the authority of Christ than individuals.”

The “homeland without borders” is a Gnostic, spiritualized abstraction that destroys the very concept of the political common good and the legitimate sovereignty of nations. The Church has always taught that the state has the right and duty to make and enforce laws for the common good, including just immigration laws. The Syllabus of Errors of Pope Pius IX condemns in advance such modernist notions:

> “77. In the present day it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of worship.” (This is about the state’s *official* religion, not about borders).
> More directly, it condemns the subversion of state authority: “63. It is lawful to refuse obedience to legitimate princes, and even to rebel against them.”

Cupich’s message implicitly encourages disobedience to “legitimate princes” by asserting a higher, borderless “citizenship” that nullifies the state’s right to regulate its borders. This is the classic Modernist error of separating the “kingdom of God” from the legitimate order of the temporal sphere, which Pius XI identified as the root of secularism:

> “This plague is the secularism of our times, so-called laicism, its errors and wicked endeavors… It began with the denial of Christ the Lord’s reign over all nations; the Church’s authority to teach men, to issue laws, to govern nations… was denied.”

By presenting a “homeland” that has “no borders,” Cupich denies Christ’s reign over the *temporal* order, including the legitimate borders of nations. He promotes a false, interiorized, and effectively anarchic “kingdom” that has no bearing on public law, which is the essence of the Modernist and secularist error.

3. The Cult of Man and the Denial of Sin and Judgment

The homily is a masterpiece of the “cult of man” condemned by Pius XI. The immigrant’s worth is derived solely from being “hand-crafted” and having “the breath of God inside.” This is pure Pelagianism—the dignity of man as a mere creature, devoid of any reference to original sin, the need for redemption, or the state of grace. There is no mention of the soul’s value, its immortality, or its accountability before God. The cross is presented as a symbol of God’s embrace of our “dust,” a sentimental image, not as the instrument of propitiatory sacrifice that redeemed us from sin and the devil.

This omission is not neutral; it is a positive denial of the Catholic faith. The *Syllabus* condemns:
> “58. All the rectitude and excellence of morality ought to be placed in the accumulation and increase of riches by every possible means, and the gratification of pleasure.”
Cupich’s message, while not about riches, places all “rectitude and excellence” in the affirmation of human dignity as defined by the individual’s subjective condition (being an immigrant), divorced from the objective moral law and the supernatural order. It is the same error: morality reduced to human flourishing in this world, with no reference to God’s law or eternal beatitude.

Furthermore, the triumphant conclusion—”it is the cross that conquers all injustice, that leads to the resurrection where every tear will be wiped away, and every exile will finally find their true home”—is a gross distortion. The “true home” for the Catholic is the **Beatific Vision**, not a terrestrial or even merely eschatological resolution of social injustice. The cross conquers sin and death, not primarily “injustice” in the socio-political sense. By equating the two, Cupich reduces the supernatural work of Christ to a program of social amelioration, which is the core error of Modernism as defined by St. Pius X: the transformation of religion into a purely human, philanthropic sentiment.

4. Symptomatic of the Conciliar Apostasy: The “See-Judge-Act” of the Neo-Church

The methodology of the homily perfectly mirrors the “see-judge-act” paradigm of the conciliar revolution. Cupich “sees” the concrete situation of immigrants (their fear, their labor, their family separations). He “judges” this situation through the lens of a vague, deistic “Creator” who “hand-crafted” everyone, and a universalist “homeland.” He then “acts” by offering a message of affirmation that bypasses the Church’s supernatural mission.

This is the exact opposite of the Catholic approach, which must begin with God’s revelation. The proper “see” is the reality of man as a sinner in need of a Savior. The “judge” is the law of God and the teaching authority of the Church. The “act” is the call to repentance, faith, and incorporation into the Mystical Body of Christ through the sacraments. Cupich’s entire framework is inverted, beginning with the human situation and ending with a naturalistic affirmation. This is the “synthesis of all heresies” (*Lamentabili*, Prop. 65): a “dogmaless Christianity” that is “broad and liberal,” focusing on “the practical function” of faith as “binding in action” for worldly betterment, rather than as “principles of belief” (Prop. 26).

5. The Heresy of Implicit Indifferentism

The assertion that the sign of the cross marks one as a citizen of a borderless homeland, regardless of one’s legal status before the state, carries the implicit odor of religious indifferentism. If belonging to “Jesus Christ” is defined primarily by this existential condition of being an immigrant or a “child of God” in such a generic sense, then the specific, exclusive obligations of the Catholic faith—attendance at the Traditional Mass, rejection of false religions, submission to the true hierarchy—are rendered irrelevant. The *Syllabus* condemns:

> “15. Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.”
> “16. Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.”

Cupich’s language is the pastoral application of these condemned errors. By focusing on a universal “belonging” that transcends all institutional, doctrinal, and disciplinary boundaries of the one true Church, he effectively teaches that the external profession of the Catholic faith and submission to its laws are not necessary for salvation. The immigrant’s “seal” is his condition, not his incorporation into the Catholic Church through valid baptism and fidelity. This is the ecumenical spirit of *Nostra Aetate* and *Dignitatis Humanae* put into practice: the reduction of Catholic identity to a vague, pre-denominational “spirituality.”

Conclusion: The Abomination of Desolation in the Sanctuary

The homily reported in the article is not a mere pastoral mistake; it is a doctrinal catastrophe. It represents the final stage of the Modernist infection: the complete evacuation of supernatural content from Catholic language, replaced by a therapeutic, naturalistic humanism. The ashes, which should be a memento mori and a call to penance, are turned into a badge of worldly identity. The cross, which should be the sign of our redemption from sin and our hope of eternal life, is reduced to a symbol of social justice. The “homeland” is not the Catholic Church, the “City of God” with its immutable laws and sacraments, but an imaginary, borderless realm where all are equal in their Creator’s eyes, irrespective of their doctrinal beliefs or moral state.

This is the fruit of the conciliar revolution. The “Cardinal” of the conciliar sect speaks the language of the world, not the language of the Church. He offers the “dust” of this life a placebo of dignity, while withholding the Bread of Life and the medicine of salvation. His message is a demonic inversion, comforting the exiled in their earthly exile while leading them to ignore the one thing necessary: the salvation of their immortal souls. The only “homeland without borders” for the Catholic is the Church, and she has strict, divinely instituted borders: the boundaries of true faith, the sacraments, and the moral law. Cupich’s homily is a betrayal of Christ the King, who reigns not in a borderless fantasy, but in the souls of the faithful and in the laws and constitutions of nations that recognize His sovereignty. To the immigrants he addresses, the true and loving message would be: “You are sinners in need of a Savior. Come to the Catholic Church. Receive the sacraments. Live according to the Ten Commandments. Your true home is Heaven, and the path there is the narrow gate of the Church, outside of which there is no salvation (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus).” That message, however, is absent, because the speaker does not believe it.

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Source:
Cardinal Cupich offers encouragement to immigrants on Ash Wednesday   (vaticannews.va)
Date: 19.02.2026