Cm'on, Holy Father, you well know that we've always welcomed poor immigrants and that our generosity to the world's poor is unparalleled. Castigate those who perniciously threw open our borders for the sole purpose of causing social and political unrest.
So William, are you saying that if a person never committed adultery and always lived chastely but then didn’t, no one should call that person out because of their past chastity? I live on a tourist island that has two Catholic parishes and both have huge Hispanic ministries and Masses and they are faithful Catholics. They have been in this country working their butts off and living good lives and contributing to their communities. Some of their children have been here so long they no longer know Spanish as fluently as their parents. They have become very Americanized. Now they live in terror. And if they are impounded before being deported, the Church is not allowed to minister to them and bring them Holy Communion, at the least, or preferably The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They were allowed to come in documented or not documented and then alllowed to work, live, play, marry and be productive members of their communities. They are not the ones who created the mess, they were allowed to come in! Misplaced blame anyone?
I am thankful that His Holiness did not cave to folks who a few weeks ago insisted that he halt his Tuesday interaction with journalists.
I believe that via, if you will, weekly (mini) press conferences with journalists, Pope Leo XIV is able to communicate powerfully with Catholics, as well as non-Catholics, throughout the world.
=======
When His Holiness may state something with which this, or that person disagrees, we will encounter the..."the Pope must not speak to journalists...he has upset the Faithful..." comments.
Please, Holy Father, continue to conduct mini-press conferences.
Amen! The terror is the point. Trump’s (and Stephen Miller’s) cruelty and utter disregard for human decency know no bounds.
Did the Biden Administration drop the ball on immigration? Yes, to some extent, they did. But in many ways the Biden “liberal” approach was a reaction to the draconian approach of Trump 1.0.
Never forget that Trump rose to political prominence based on the Birther Lie about Obama as well as scapegoating undocumented immigrants generally as he descended the golden escalator in July 2025.
And please don’t fall for the other Big Lie they keep trotting out that the undocumented should just come here legally. I taught Immigration Law for over 35 years and can tell you that, for most of the undocumented immigrants there IS NO LEGAL PATH other than an attempted asylum claim. It is about time Congress grew up, stopped playing political football with immigrant’s lives, and created a legal path for non-professional workers coming to fill regular (as opposed to temporary positions) so we could regularize the flow.
I fully support deporting the truly bad elements (subject to their proper due process rights) but what Trump, Miller, and Tom Homan are doing goes way beyond that. Shame on them—and on us for allowing it!
Instead of scapegoating immigrants, the MAGA faithful should look at who is really screwing them over. Clue---just look at the number of billionaires now running the country. But that’s the point of scapegoats, isn’t it—to distract from the real causes of people’s hardship.
Pope Leo XIV's "press conference" yesterday included the following:
"Pope Leo has called for “deep reflection” on the treatment of migrants in the United States.
Speaking to journalists in Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome, the Pope said that “many people who have lived for years and years” in the US, “never causing problems”, are “deeply affected” by the government's policy of mass deportations.
Many migrant detainees, he said, have “been separated from their families for a good amount of time”, and “no one knows what's happening”.
=======
Pope Leo on the 'spiritual rights' of migrant detainees
The Pope was responding to a question from a journalist concerning the fact that Catholic migrants detained in Chicago have been denied access to Holy Communion.
In answer, the Pope said that “the role of the Church is to preach the Gospel", and highlighted the Evangelist Matthew’s account of the Last Judgement: “Jesus says very clearly: At the end of the world, we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him, and welcome him, or not?”
Pope Leo went on to stress the importance of protecting the “spiritual rights” of migrant detainees.
“I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs” of detained migrants, he said. “Many times they've been separated from their families for a good amount of time. No one knows what's happening … but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”
=======
US-Venezuela tensions
In remarks to journalists, delivered in a mixture of Italian and English, Pope Leo also expressed concern over growing tensions between the US and Venezuela.
U.S. Marines have deployed near Venezuelan waters for what the US has described as an anti-narcotics operation, one which Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro has described as a pretext for “imposing regime change” to seize Venezuelan oil.
“I believe violence never brings victory,” Pope Leo said, noting he had just read reports of US warships moving closer to Venezuela’s coast. “The key is to seek dialogue, to find fair ways to resolve the problems that may exist within countries.”
Pope Leo then responded to a question on the situation in the Middle East, where a ceasefire deal has been threatened by new Israeli strikes, and settler attacks on villages in the West Bank.
"At least the first phase of the peace agreement is still holding," the Pope said, referring to an October 10 Israel-Hamas deal, before admitting that the truce was "very fragile".
He stressed the need to move to “the second phase, addressing governance and ensuring the rights of all peoples.”
The issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law, is “truly complex," the Pope said: "Israel said one thing, but sometimes it does another.”
What is needed, the Pope emphasized, is “to work together for justice for all peoples.”
=======
Pope Leo also addressed the issue of workers’ rights ahead of the upcoming Jubilee of the World of Work, in comments that came a day after a 66-year-old worker died in the partial collapse of Rome’s Torre dei Conti.
“It's a human right to have dignified work that allows one to provide for one’s family," the Pope stressed.
"The Church can only do so much," he noted, adding however that the upcoming Jubilee would be an opportunity “to offer some hope and to try to unite our efforts to find solutions, not just to comment on problems".
=======
Ongoing Rupnik case
Before returning to the Vatican, the Pope answered a final question about Marko Rupnik, the ex-Jesuit priest and artist accused of abusing numerous women, whose case is currently under investigation by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Responding to questions about Rupnik’s artwork, which is still displayed in many churches worldwide, the Pope said that “in many places … the artwork has been covered up, artwork has been removed from websites. That issue is certainly something that we're aware of.”
He confirmed that a Vatican trial against the ex-Jesuit “has recently begun”.
“Judges have been appointed, and judicial processes take time,” Pope Leo said. "I know it is very hard for victims to be asked for patience, but the Church must respect the rights of all individuals. The presumption of innocence until proven guilty applies in the Church as well. We hope this process will bring clarity and justice for everyone involved.”
7 comments:
Cm'on, Holy Father, you well know that we've always welcomed poor immigrants and that our generosity to the world's poor is unparalleled. Castigate those who perniciously threw open our borders for the sole purpose of causing social and political unrest.
So William, are you saying that if a person never committed adultery and always lived chastely but then didn’t, no one should call that person out because of their past chastity? I live on a tourist island that has two Catholic parishes and both have huge Hispanic ministries and Masses and they are faithful Catholics. They have been in this country working their butts off and living good lives and contributing to their communities. Some of their children have been here so long they no longer know Spanish as fluently as their parents. They have become very Americanized. Now they live in terror. And if they are impounded before being deported, the Church is not allowed to minister to them and bring them Holy Communion, at the least, or preferably The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They were allowed to come in documented or not documented and then alllowed to work, live, play, marry and be productive members of their communities. They are not the ones who created the mess, they were allowed to come in! Misplaced blame anyone?
Deo gratias that Pope Leo XIV is attached unwaveringly to Church teaching that has long pertained to migrants.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
I am thankful that His Holiness did not cave to folks who a few weeks ago insisted that he halt his Tuesday interaction with journalists.
I believe that via, if you will, weekly (mini) press conferences with journalists, Pope Leo XIV is able to communicate powerfully with Catholics, as well as non-Catholics, throughout the world.
=======
When His Holiness may state something with which this, or that person disagrees, we will encounter the..."the Pope must not speak to journalists...he has upset the Faithful..." comments.
Please, Holy Father, continue to conduct mini-press conferences.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Amen! The terror is the point. Trump’s (and Stephen Miller’s) cruelty and utter disregard for human decency know no bounds.
Did the Biden Administration drop the ball on immigration? Yes, to some extent, they did. But in many ways the Biden “liberal” approach was a reaction to the draconian approach of Trump 1.0.
Never forget that Trump rose to political prominence based on the Birther Lie about Obama as well as scapegoating undocumented immigrants generally as he descended the golden escalator in July 2025.
And please don’t fall for the other Big Lie they keep trotting out that the undocumented should just come here legally. I taught Immigration Law for over 35 years and can tell you that, for most of the undocumented immigrants there IS NO LEGAL PATH other than an attempted asylum claim. It is about time Congress grew up, stopped playing political football with immigrant’s lives, and created a legal path for non-professional workers coming to fill regular (as opposed to temporary positions) so we could regularize the flow.
I fully support deporting the truly bad elements (subject to their proper due process rights) but what Trump, Miller, and Tom Homan are doing goes way beyond that. Shame on them—and on us for allowing it!
Instead of scapegoating immigrants, the MAGA faithful should look at who is really screwing them over. Clue---just look at the number of billionaires now running the country. But that’s the point of scapegoats, isn’t it—to distract from the real causes of people’s hardship.
Mark J.
With Father McDonald's permission: (Part 1 of 2).
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-us-migrants-spiritual-rights-venezuela-gaza-work-rupnik.html
Pope Leo XIV's "press conference" yesterday included the following:
"Pope Leo has called for “deep reflection” on the treatment of migrants in the United States.
Speaking to journalists in Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome, the Pope said that “many people who have lived for years and years” in the US, “never causing problems”, are “deeply affected” by the government's policy of mass deportations.
Many migrant detainees, he said, have “been separated from their families for a good amount of time”, and “no one knows what's happening”.
=======
Pope Leo on the 'spiritual rights' of migrant detainees
The Pope was responding to a question from a journalist concerning the fact that Catholic migrants detained in Chicago have been denied access to Holy Communion.
In answer, the Pope said that “the role of the Church is to preach the Gospel", and highlighted the Evangelist Matthew’s account of the Last Judgement: “Jesus says very clearly: At the end of the world, we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him, and welcome him, or not?”
Pope Leo went on to stress the importance of protecting the “spiritual rights” of migrant detainees.
“I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs” of detained migrants, he said. “Many times they've been separated from their families for a good amount of time. No one knows what's happening … but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”
=======
US-Venezuela tensions
In remarks to journalists, delivered in a mixture of Italian and English, Pope Leo also expressed concern over growing tensions between the US and Venezuela.
U.S. Marines have deployed near Venezuelan waters for what the US has described as an anti-narcotics operation, one which Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro has described as a pretext for “imposing regime change” to seize Venezuelan oil.
“I believe violence never brings victory,” Pope Leo said, noting he had just read reports of US warships moving closer to Venezuela’s coast. “The key is to seek dialogue, to find fair ways to resolve the problems that may exist within countries.”
Pax.
Mark Thomas
With Father McDonald's permission: Part 2 of 2.
=======
‘Fragile’ situation in the Middle East
Pope Leo then responded to a question on the situation in the Middle East, where a ceasefire deal has been threatened by new Israeli strikes, and settler attacks on villages in the West Bank.
"At least the first phase of the peace agreement is still holding," the Pope said, referring to an October 10 Israel-Hamas deal, before admitting that the truce was "very fragile".
He stressed the need to move to “the second phase, addressing governance and ensuring the rights of all peoples.”
The issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law, is “truly complex," the Pope said: "Israel said one thing, but sometimes it does another.”
What is needed, the Pope emphasized, is “to work together for justice for all peoples.”
=======
Pope Leo also addressed the issue of workers’ rights ahead of the upcoming Jubilee of the World of Work, in comments that came a day after a 66-year-old worker died in the partial collapse of Rome’s Torre dei Conti.
“It's a human right to have dignified work that allows one to provide for one’s family," the Pope stressed.
"The Church can only do so much," he noted, adding however that the upcoming Jubilee would be an opportunity “to offer some hope and to try to unite our efforts to find solutions, not just to comment on problems".
=======
Ongoing Rupnik case
Before returning to the Vatican, the Pope answered a final question about Marko Rupnik, the ex-Jesuit priest and artist accused of abusing numerous women, whose case is currently under investigation by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Responding to questions about Rupnik’s artwork, which is still displayed in many churches worldwide, the Pope said that “in many places … the artwork has been covered up, artwork has been removed from websites. That issue is certainly something that we're aware of.”
He confirmed that a Vatican trial against the ex-Jesuit “has recently begun”.
“Judges have been appointed, and judicial processes take time,” Pope Leo said. "I know it is very hard for victims to be asked for patience, but the Church must respect the rights of all individuals. The presumption of innocence until proven guilty applies in the Church as well. We hope this process will bring clarity and justice for everyone involved.”
Pax.
Mark Thomas
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