Posted on 11/19/2025 10:23:52 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Pope Leo made one of his clearest public interventions yet on immigration policy, telling journalists outside the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo that defending the dignity of migrants should never be confused with advocating for open borders.
His remarks, delivered spontaneously in response to questions from journalists the evening of Nov. 18, came after questions about the ongoing immigration debate in the U.S. and the recent pastoral message released by the U.S. bishops.
The Pope praised the bishops’ moral leadership while simultaneously drawing a clear line: affirming the rule of law and the legitimate authority of governments is not contrary to Catholic teaching.
“I appreciate very much what the [U.S.] bishops have said [about immigration],” he said. “I would like to invite especially all Catholics and also people of good will to listen carefully to what they have said. I believe we must seek ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.”
He then clarified: “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts. There is a system of justice, I think there are a lot of problems in the system. No one has said that the United States should have open borders. I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter.”
Pope Leo went on to make an appeal for long-residing immigrant families who do not engage in criminal activity: “When people are living good lives, and many of them for 10, 15, 20 years, to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful to say the least, and there has been some violence unfortunately… I think that the Bishops have been very clear in what they said, and I think that I would just invite all people in the United States to listen to them.”
His brief remarks to reporters amounted to a concise restatement of Catholic teaching on questions of immigration and border enforcement, as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 2241).
The Catechism states that countries have the right to secure their borders, that immigrants must be treated justly and humanely, and that immigrants must respect the laws and culture of their adoptive country.
Pope Leo’s comments also align with arguments recently made by CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt. In a Nov. 17 essay published at First Things, Reinhardt lauded the U.S. bishops’ recent message on migration for its expressions of solidarity with vulnerable migrants.
“The American bishops are right to be troubled by ‘a climate of fear,’ by the plight of parents afraid to take their children to school, and by the often harsh, sometimes dehumanizing conditions in detention centers,” she wrote. “These are realities Christians must not look away from.”
She then presented her organization’s recent report on the topic, titled “Immigration Enforcement and the Christian Conscience,” as a guide for those who wish to more thoroughly address the border debate from a Catholic perspective. The document “raises the other unavoidable dimension of the problem,” she wrote: “the federal government’s failure over decades to maintain a coherent, enforceable immigration system.”
“This is not a peripheral concern. As we argue, it is precisely the collapse of lawful order that has created the conditions in which exploitation flourishes, cartels thrive, and millions of migrants are pushed into a shadow-world without legal recourse or clear prospects,” she continued.
Readers can find Reinhardt’s full essay here and CatholicVote’s report on immigration here.
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
I’m glad Leo cleared that up.
quote “millions of migrants are pushed into a shadow-world without legal recourse or clear prospects”
BS
no one is “pushing” them! they come here knowing all that, and still “choose” to come anyway!
Supporting human digniy is not the goal your Popeness. The goal is to destroy western civilization
In the long run, it is far more inhumane to allow uncontrolled immigration. By being basically a relief valve for all the corrupt and inept third world governments, we are encouraging all those countries to continue on with business as usual. Their people who can’t leave continue to suffer in misery. That’s what the Pope should concern himself with.
Today Prevost says this... and last month he told the flock to embrace open borders for the new missionary age.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4344487/posts
He still has time to flip flop back again before Christmas.
I’d love a jounalist to ask this American pope from Illinois if he voted for Obama, Pritzker, Durbin, Johnson and other pro abortion Democrats.
El Pope feeling the heat!
Pope Leo did vote in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014, and 2016, but also has records (in Cook County, IL) of voting in Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010, indicating a history of voting in both parties’ primaries depending on the cycle.
See here:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-leo-robert-prevost-voting-records-republican-democratic-primaries/
Why doesn’t he go after all these governments that are driving their citizens away
Now the Catholic charities get to return all the illegals they imported—and pay treble damages to .gov who had to try to clean up their mess.
“ I believe we must seek ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.”
Tell that to the illegals perpetrating horrible violence on innocent people, stealing things that are not theirs, etc.
Do not direct that at our law enforcement trying to protect us.
He’s trying to have it both ways. He just say earlier this week, that deporting them was not right.
It’s gotta be exposure to televisions and smart phones. Why stick around in a $hithole when opportunities abound elsewhere? Is controlling information the answer?
Pope Leo went on to make an appeal for long-residing immigrant families who do not engage in criminal activity: “When people are living good lives, and many of them for 10, 15, 20 years, to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful to say the least, and there has been some violence unfortunately… I think that the Bishops have been very clear in what they said, and I think that I would just invite all people in the United States to listen to them.”
......
I’d listen to the guy who declared an invasion, closed the border, and asked you to leave voluntarily.
But I’m not the Antichrist head of state living in Daniel’s 4th Beast
If I'm wrong, point out what you are doing to promote dignity by touting your successes due to your direct leadership, for all to see. Also, include the same for the successes of Francis who preceded you. You were installed because you are supposedly an American, but in reality you are a mirror image of Francise, a woke fuax Pope masquerading as a man of the Lord, and yet another form of DEI, because you believe in nothing aabout that you supposdely are leading, but you need to repent more than others, for you sin is a direct assault on the Lord himself.
Let’s see if he walks this back before Sundown today.
He should mention that illegal migration, encourages criminal behavior, gang activating and ipso facto, the degradation and exploitation of people.
HUMAN DIGNITY necessarily entails being against illegal immigration.
NO POPE, NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Americans are NOT going to give up our court system so hundreds of billions of dollars can be spent trying each one of them individually. Illegals do NOT belong in our country and they don't get all the rights of US citizens. We need to pick them up and send them back to their home country. Does this Pope have any idea how much time it and money it would take to 'give due process' to all the millions who have crossed our border?
How about if 10,000 people are in Vatican Square and decide they want to live there and be fed and given free medical care? Will the Pope give all of them an attorney and due procss or will he ask his Swiss guards to tell them they all have to leave?
What's the matter with Catholics and the idiots they choose to be Popes? How about a Pope that cares about the spiritual well being of ALL people NOT JUST criminals, illegals, perverts and dope dealers?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.