White House border czar Tom Homan criticized the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on Friday after they issued a statement earlier this week opposing “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”

“The Catholic Church is wrong,” Homan told reporters at the White House. “I’m a lifelong Catholic, but I’m saying it not only as a border czar, but I’m also saying this as a Catholic,” he added. 

The conference said it was its first time in 12 years to invoke a “particularly urgent way of speaking” to address immigration. The body overwhelmingly approved the special message.

“We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement. We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care,” the message said in part.

“Despite obstacles and prejudices, generations of immigrants have made enormous contributions to the well-being of our nation,” they continued. “We as Catholic bishops love our country and pray for its peace and prosperity. For this very reason, we feel compelled now in this environment to raise