Pope Leo criticizes the disrespectful politics of the Trump era and supports the rebuke of American bishops
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Pope Leo criticizes the disrespectful politics of the Trump era and supports the rebuke of American bishops

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CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday strongly backed American bishops who condemned the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and urged the American people to listen to them and treat immigrants humanely.

The first American pope in history was asked about the “special message” that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted during the general assembly of bishops last week. The text criticized the mass deportation of migrants by the Trump administration and the “vilification” of them in the current immigration debate. He lamented the fear and anxiety that immigration raids have placed in communities and the denial of pastoral care to immigrants in detention centers.

Leo, who had previously urged local bishops to take the lead in speaking out on social justice issues, said he appreciated the American bishops’ statement and urged Catholics and all people of good will to listen to what they were saying.

“I think we have to look for ways to treat people humanely, treat them with the dignity that they have,” said Chicago-born Leo. “If there are people in the United States illegally, there are ways to deal with it. There are courts, there is a justice system.”

Pope Leo has previously urged local bishops to take the lead in speaking out on social justice issues.
Pope Leo has previously urged local bishops to take the lead in speaking out on social justice issues.

via News

Speaking to reporters as he left the papal country house south of Rome, Leo acknowledged that there are problems in the American immigration system. But he stressed that no one has said that the United States should have open borders and that each country has the right to determine who can enter and how.

“But when people live good lives, and many of them for 10, 15, 20 years, they are treated in an extremely disrespectful manner, to say the least, and unfortunately there has been some violence, I think the bishops have been very clear in what they said,” he said.

“I would just invite all the people of the United States to listen to them.”

The bishops’ “special message” was unusual, the first time since 2013 that the bishops wrote a single-topic statement at one of their meetings. It was accompanied by an Instagram video of individual bishops reading the text on camera, to drive home its message.

Upcoming travel plans

Leo spoke to journalists gathered outside his villa in Castel Gandolfo, where he usually spends Monday afternoons and Tuesdays relaxing, playing tennis and swimming in the estate’s indoor pool.

He suggested he is planning more trips from 2026 onwards, after his commitments in Rome ease with the end of the Holy Year.

When asked if he would return to Peru, where he spent about 20 years as a missionary, Leo said “of course.”

But he also hinted at other possible destinations, including the Fatima shrine in Portugal, the Guadalupe shrine in Mexico and visits to Argentina and Uruguay.

“I love traveling, the problem is the agenda with all the commitments,” he said.

Next week Leo will embark on his first trip abroad as Pope, to Türkiye and Lebanon.

AP writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report. News religion coverage is supported through AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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