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In his Sunday address, Pope Leo urged the world’s Catholics to care for immigrants, days after he criticized President Trump’s immigration policies.
Leo, America’s first Pope, told thousands of pilgrims celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square that immigrants should not be treated with “the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination.”
Although he did not single out any country for its treatment of migrants, he urged Catholics to “open our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope.”
The Pope said the world is in the grip of a new “missionary age” in which the Catholic Church must offer “hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity” to migrants.
“In the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West, the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world’s South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the Church,” he said.
A week ago, the Pope offered pointed comments directed at President Trump.
Addressing reporters outside his residence of Castel Gandolfo, Leo questioned whether Trump’s policies were in line with the Church’s pro-life teachings.
“Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life,” the Pope said.
