Pope Leo
The pope was asked about the “special message” adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at their general meeting in Baltimore last week.
The bishops denounced President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda and “vilification” of migrants, expressing concern about the fear and anxiety that immigration raids have fueled communities, as well as the denial of pastoral care to migrants in detention centers.
“We are alarmed to see a climate of fear and anxiety among our people around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” the bishops’ statement read. “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,” read the statement from the bishops, who also oppose “the arbitrary mass deportation of people.”
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Pope Leo (AP)
Leo, the first American pope, said he appreciated the message from the American bishops and encouraged Catholics and all people of goodwill to listen and treat migrants with dignity, even if they are in the country illegally.
“I think we have to look for ways to treat people humanely, with the dignity that they have,” Leo told reporters. “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to handle that. There are courts, there is a legal system.”
The pope has previously urged local bishops to speak out on social justice issues. Catholic leaders have criticized Trump’s mass deportation plan as fears of immigration raids have reduced mass attendance in some parishes.
Catholic leaders have criticized Trump’s mass deportation plan as fears of immigration raids have reduced mass attendance in some parishes. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP/Getty Images)
The federal government earlier this year reversed a Biden administration directive that banned immigration agents from raiding sensitive areas such as churches, schools and hospitals.
Leo acknowledged problems with the U.S. migration system, but he emphasized that no one has advocated open borders in the U.S. and that each country gets to choose who can enter and what methods apply.
“But when people live a good life, and many of them have for ten, fifteen, twenty years, and treat them in a way that is, to say the least, extremely disrespectful — and there has been some violence, unfortunately — I think the bishops have been very clear in what they said,” he told reporters as he left the papal mansion south of Rome.
POPE LEO
The pope said he appreciated the message from the US bishops and encouraged Catholics and all people of goodwill to listen and treat migrants with dignity. (Getty Images)
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“I would like to invite all the people of the United States to listen to them,” Leo added.
The bishops’ “special message” marked the first time since 2013 that they had issued a single-issue statement at one of their meetings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
