On November 4, 2025, Pope Leo XIV appealed to the Trump administration to reassess its treatment of migrants held in U.S. detention centers. He emphasized the need to respect the spiritual rights of these detainees.
Speaking from his papal retreat, Castel Gandolfo, the Chicago-born Pope expressed his concerns about the availability of religious services in immigration detention facilities. He specifically mentioned the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois. The Pope highlighted the distress caused to migrants by current enforcement policies.
Pope Leo stated, “I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people. 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.”
The Pope’s comments followed reports that local clergy had consistently been denied access to the Broadview facility to administer Holy Communion. Federal authorities, under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, had barred Catholic priests from serving the sacrament to detainees last month.
A group that included Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado of the Chicago Archdiocese was refused access to the facility on All Saints’ Day, a significant day in the Catholic calendar. A DHS spokesperson had previously justified the refusal citing security threats. They painted the protests outside the facility as involving violent crowds and “rioters.”
A federal judge in Chicago, Illinois, later described the Trump administration’s portrayal of disorderly protests outside Broadview as “simply unreliable.”
Pope Leo underscored that the Bible raises an important question about how foreigners are treated, necessitating a serious review of current immigration enforcement strategies.
In a question-and-answer session with reporters, the Pope also discussed wider geopolitical issues, including U.S. military operations near Venezuela and the unstable ceasefire in the Middle East.
Speaking on the Middle East peace process, Leo pointed out the fragility of the initial phase of the agreement between Israel and Hamas. He insisted on finding solutions for future governance that respect the rights of all individuals.
The Pope welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican on November 6. Later in the month, he visited Turkey and Lebanon, marking his first visit as Pope to these conflict-ridden regions facing critical humanitarian issues.
Without a direct meeting, the Pope’s public criticisms of Trump increased through November and December. On December 9, Trump indicated to Politico in an interview that he was “open to meeting with Pope Leo” and responded to the pontiff’s criticism of his immigration policy. However, no meeting was scheduled.
After his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Castel Gandolfo on December 9, Pope Leo escalated his criticism, warning that Trump’s Ukraine peace plan and hostile rhetoric towards Europe could potentially fracture the long-held U.S.-European alliance. The Pope described Trump’s approach as a significant departure from the traditional partnership between Europe and the U.S.
In his first Christmas address on December 25, Pope Leo subtly criticized Trump’s immigration crackdown without explicitly naming him. He urged compassion for migrants “fleeing their homeland to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent.”
On December 20, Pope Leo appointed Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, a pro-immigration pastor known for his support for migrants and opposition to deportations, as the new bishop of Palm Beach, Florida—home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Rodríguez, originally from the Dominican Republic, admitted he was “even a little bit scared” by the sudden appointment. This move was largely seen as a symbolic critique of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.