During a recent appearance on the The Alex Marlow Show, author and Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer argued that ideological movements within the Catholic Church have played a major role in reshaping its political stance over the past several decades, particularly on immigration.
Schweizer, who is the author of The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon, said he believes the shift was driven largely by advocates of liberation theology, especially in Latin America, beginning in the late 20th century.
According to Schweizer, liberation theology promoted a view of Christianity that went beyond spiritual life and personal faith, placing heavy emphasis on economic and political systems. He said this movement encouraged the idea that Christian values should align with Marxist-style economic principles.
“It wasn’t just about your relationship with God anymore,” Schweizer explained. “It became about reshaping society, economics, and politics according to ideological goals.”
He argued that this represented a deliberate effort to move the Church in a more progressive political direction.
“I do think it was intentional,” Schweizer said. “There was a concerted effort to move the Church politically to the left.”
Schweizer connected this ideological shift to changes in how Church leaders approached immigration policy. He said the influence of liberation theology helped lay the groundwork for a dramatic change in Catholic activism beginning in the 1980s.
According to Schweizer, Church leadership increasingly embraced positions favoring open borders and mass migration, viewing large-scale immigration as a tool for social and political transformation.
“As it relates to immigration, this is why you saw such a radical shift,” he said. “Most recent popes have embraced completely open borders.”
He added that, in his view, these leaders see immigration as beneficial not only for humanitarian reasons but also because of its potential impact on Western societies.
“They view open borders as transformative to the West,” Schweizer said.
Schweizer also suggested that this transformation aligns with broader political and economic goals promoted by progressive activists and international institutions.
During the discussion, he emphasized that the Church’s evolving positions did not happen overnight but developed over decades through academic, theological, and institutional influence.
He argued that many lay Catholics are often unaware of how deeply these ideological debates have shaped modern Church policy.
“This didn’t happen by accident,” Schweizer said. “It was the result of years of organized intellectual and political work.”
The comments come as immigration remains a major point of debate within religious communities, particularly among Catholics in the United States and Europe. While Church leaders often frame migration as a moral obligation, critics like Schweizer argue that political ideology has increasingly shaped those positions.
Schweizer concluded by urging believers to examine the historical roots of these changes and consider how theology and politics have become intertwined.
“It’s important to understand where these ideas came from,” he said. “Because they continue to influence policy, culture, and faith today.”
