{"id":140,"date":"2026-07-05T13:11:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T08:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=140"},"modified":"2026-07-05T13:11:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T08:11:29","slug":"pope-leo-issues-letter-for-americas-250th-birthday-calling-for-welcoming-immigrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=140","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo Issues Letter For America\u2019s 250th Birthday Calling for \u2018Welcoming\u2019 Immigrants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<section>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.time.com\/v3\/assets\/bltea6093859af6183b\/bltd24de896d63de2f7\/6a493f2e3ca03cf403044b7d\/GettyImages-2284025007.jpg?branch=production\"><figcaption>Pope Leo XIV is seen greeting local families in Lampedusa, Italy, on July 04, 2026. \u2014Valeria Ferraro\u2014Anadolu via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7298083\/pope-leo-xiv-robert-prevost-american\/\">first American-born Pope<\/a> marked his home country&#8217;s 250th birthday by urging it to continue its tradition of &#8220;welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/collection\/100-most-influential-people\/2026\/pope-leo-xiv\/?filters=Leaders\">Pope Leo<\/a> commemorated America\u2019s Independence Day with a letter and a visit to the Italian island of <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7380294\/pope-leo-july-4-trump\/\">Lampedusa<\/a>\u2013\u2013a gateway for migrants crossing the Mediterranean to European sanctuaries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/leo-xiv\/en\/letters\/2026\/documents\/20260625-lettera-anniversario-usa.html\">letter<\/a>, titled \u201cLetter of his Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the United States of America,\u201d the Chicago native cited the \u201cGod-given dignity of every human life,\u201d asserting that each person is \u201cendowed with an inherent worth that calls for reverence, protection and care,\u201d which calls for \u201csafeguarding human life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefending human life,\u201d Leo added, \u201calso includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices and contribution have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since his appointment in May of last year, Leo has been a <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7284221\/pope-trump-jd-vance\/\">vocal advocate<\/a> of migrant rights, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7325641\/pope-leo-immigrants-migrants-chicago-trump\/\">persistent critic<\/a> of the Trump Administration\u2019s immigration crackdown, which he has called \u201cinhumane.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He continued that effort in his July 4th letter, saying that to welcome \u201cthose who have arrived seeking freedom, opportunity and a place to belong \u2026 is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leo also used the letter to praise America\u2019s longstanding encouragement of \u201creligious freedom,\u201d describing it as \u201ccentral to the American promise, protecting both individual dignity and the peaceful coexistence of a diverse people.\u201d The Trump Administration has recently undermined that sentiment, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/trump-administration\/religious-commission-urges-bridges-church-state-sweeping-draft-report-rcna352015\">elevating<\/a> officials who have challenged the longstanding idea of a separation of church and state.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his letter, Leo gave a speech on Saturday in Lampedusa in which he made a similar appeal to European leaders to address immigration &#8220;in a comprehensive manner, integrating immediate relief efforts into a long-term strategic plan capable of receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Vatican <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7380294\/pope-leo-july-4-trump\/\">announced<\/a> in February that Leo would spend the Fourth of July on the island, Italy\u2019s southernmost port, where thousands of migrants each year stop on their perilous and often deadly expedition across the Mediterranean and north to European countries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Many migrants gathered on Saturday to hear the pontiff, who also called on European leaders to improve conditions in the countries immigrants come from to reduce migration.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Leo\u2019s Saturday pleas to European and American leaders are not unprecedented.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In May of last year, Leo said the dignity of migrants must be respected, speaking to world diplomats and invoking his own immigrant background. &#8220;My own story is that of a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate,&#8221; he said before ambassadors at the Vatican.<\/p>\n<p>Then in October, while meeting with migrant advocates visiting the Vatican from the U.S., Leo was <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7325641\/pope-leo-immigrants-migrants-chicago-trump\/\">moved to tears<\/a> after viewing videos of people expressing their fear over <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7291757\/trump-deportation-ice-el-salvador\/\">Trump\u2019s deportation campaign<\/a>, according Dylan Corbett, an executive director of the Hope Border Institute, who was part of the visiting U.S. delegation and spoke to TIME.<\/p>\n<p>As Trump was <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7327636\/chicago-trump-ice-immigration-national-guard\/\">cracking down<\/a> on Chicago\u2019s immigrant community, Leo also met with union leaders in his home town and urged them to stick up for those most vulnerable populations in the city.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile recognizing that appropriate policies are necessary to keep communities safe, I encourage you to continue to advocate for society to respect the human dignity of the most vulnerable,\u201d Leo said to the union leaders.<\/p>\n<p>While many of Leo\u2019s comments have not specifically targeted Trump, he has at times directly <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/article\/2026\/04\/13\/trump-pope-leo-war-iran\/\">responded to<\/a> the President\u2019s attacks. In June, after Trump called Leo \u201cWEAK on Crime\u201d and \u201cterrible for Foreign Policy\u201d in response to the Catholic Church criticizing the <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/article\/2026\/06\/21\/the-toll-of-the-u-s--iran-war-by-the-numbers\/\">U.S.-Israel war<\/a> with Iran, Leo said that he had \u201cno fear of the Trump \u200bAdministration, or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pope Leo XIV is seen greeting local families in Lampedusa, Italy, on July 04, 2026. \u2014Valeria Ferraro\u2014Anadolu via Getty Images The first American-born Pope marked his home country&#8217;s 250th birthday by urging it to continue its tradition of &#8220;welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants.&#8221; Pope Leo commemorated America\u2019s Independence Day with a letter and a visit&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.time.com\/v3\/assets\/bltea6093859af6183b\/bltd24de896d63de2f7\/6a493f2e3ca03cf403044b7d\/GettyImages-2284025007.jpg?branch=production","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}