US-born Pope Leo XIV, in his first address to world diplomats, said yesterday that the dignity of migrants had to be respected, possibly putting himself on a collision course with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The pope, who was born in Chicago but lived for many years in Peru as a missionary, said his own background made him feel compelled to call for compassion and solidarity with those seeking a better life in other countries.
“My own story is that of a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate,” he told ambassadors at the Vatican.
“All of us, in the course of our lives, can find ourselves healthy or sick, employed or unemployed, living in our native land or in a foreign country, yet our dignity always remains unchanged. It is the dignity of a creature willed and loved by God,” he added.
Leo’s ancestors are believed to have come from either the Dominican Republic or Haiti, two countries that share an island in the Caribbean, and his family has roots in the Creole culture of New Orleans in the southern US state of Louisiana.
“No one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike,” said Leo, who was elected last week to succeed Pope Francis as head of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church.
Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants who are in the US illegally.
Pope Francis, who died last month, had a very conflictual relationship with Trump over immigration, with Francis once calling Trump “not Christian” because of his anti-migrant policies and plans to build a wall along the southern border.
Before becoming pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost indirectly criticised US Vice President JD Vance, who had asserted – incorrectly according to Prevost – that Catholic theology called on people to take care of their own before turning to others.
Vance is due to lead a US delegation at Leo’s inaugural Mass tomorrow.
The Vatican has diplomatic relations with about 185 countries and Leo wove his speech around the themes of peace, justice and religious freedom, calling for an end to the arms trade and stressing the need for multilateral diplomacy.
The pope condemned what he called a “destructive urge for conquest”, without naming any specific countries. Later, he mentioned the Middle East and Ukraine, saying they were two of the places where people were suffering “most grievously”.
The Church, Leo said, would not hesitate to use “blunt language” when necessary to speak the truth to the powerful of the world.
&uuid=(email))