Pope Leo says countries have right to control their borders, advocates for humane treatment of migrants

Pope Leo XIV rejected the idea that he or the Catholic Church supports “open borders,” but nonetheless agreed with Catholic bishops that the United States is not treating immigrants properly.

As he met reporters outside his villa in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo was asked his thoughts on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ recent “special pastoral message on immigration”

In this special announcement, the conference argued that immigrants, like all humans, are made in the image of God, and therefore are entitled to human dignity. At the same time, however, they argued that “We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good.” They added further that “Without such processes, immigrants face the risk of trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks.”

The Bishops also noted, “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.”

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Pope Leo echoed this sentiment and called for compassion for immigrants and a level of respect for nations’ laws. 

“I would invite, especially all Catholics, but people of good will to listen carefully to what they said. I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” he said. “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.”

“But 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,” he added. 

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CatholicVote praised what the Pope said, arguing that it was a concise restatement of Catholic teaching in both that immigrants’ humanity must be respected and that immigrants must respect the laws and culture of nations they move to. 

The same organization also released an essay about the bishops’ initial statement, noting that “Despite what some Church leaders in America have indicated, a faithful Catholic can support strong and humane immigration law enforcement — by means such as physical barriers, detention and deportation — without violating the teaching of the Church.”

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