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2w ago

Pope Leo XIV Centers Poor and Migrants in First Major Text, Presses U.S. Bishops on Enforcement

The apostolic exhortation Dilexi te casts economic injustice as a moral failing, elevating welcome for migrants as a test of Christian credibility.

Pope Leo XIV arrives in St. Peter's Square for his weekly general audience, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
FILE - Pope Leo XIV blesses a child at the end of a Mass for the Jubilee of Migrants and Missionaries in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
A group of children of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy of Chicago pose after attending the Pope Leo XIV weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Bishop of El Paso Mark Joseph Seitz talks with the Associated Press about the situation at the US border with Mexico during an interview at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Stellacci)

Overview

  • Leo’s apostolic exhortation, released Thursday, urges Catholics to confront structural inequality and declares that in every rejected migrant the Church sees Christ.
  • Cardinal Michael Czerny said the text was begun under the late Pope Francis but is now Leo’s own, with the document signed on Oct. 4 and presented as his first major teaching.
  • In back-to-back Vatican meetings this week, Leo heard letters and a video from fearful U.S. immigrant families and told advocates and bishops that the Church “cannot be silent.”
  • Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich said Leo wants U.S. bishops to “speak with one voice” on immigrant dignity, and he expects the USCCB’s November meeting to prioritize the issue.
  • The push comes as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement, drawing conservative criticism of Leo’s stance and a White House defense of deportation policies.