Pope Leo urges respect for migrants, challenging Trump views

May 17, 2025 , 09:10 AM

(May 17, 2025, REUTERS) – U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV, in his first address to world diplomats, said on Friday that the dignity of migrants had to be respected, possibly putting himself on a collision course with the administration of U.S. 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.

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 U.S. state of Louisiana.

Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants who are in the U.S. 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 criticized U.S. 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 U.S. delegation at Leo’s inaugural Mass on Sunday.

(Production: Oriana Boselli)

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