Pope Leo XIV and His Immigration Gaffe

The Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo is located in the Alban Hills, 15 miles southeast of Rome, and offers stunning views of Lake Albano. The estate – built on the site of an ancient Roman villa – includes the Apostolic Palace, the historic Villa Barberini, exquisitely maintained gardens, an observatory with five telescopes, and a small museum that contains moon rocks among other valuable curiosities.

The Apostolic Palace itself boasts one-of-a-kind Renaissance interiors and breathtaking frescoes, a private chapel, and a portrait gallery. Meanwhile, the expansive gardens are spread over 135 acres and consist of meticulously crafted mazes, marble statues, and flowering trees, shrubs, and plants of various kinds.

It was from this serene setting that Pope Leo XIV recently chose not only to escape from Rome’s summer heat, but also to criticize America’s immigration policies.

Traditionally, pontiffs remain silent about political matters, especially ones 4,380 miles away, which is the distance from Rome to Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, Pope Leo couldn’t resist following in the footsteps of his immediate predecessor Pope Francis, who was an outspoken critic of the Trump administration.

“Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhumane treatment of immigrants in the United States,” Pope Leo told reporters last week, “I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”

And with that single sentence, Pope Leo fired a shot across the bow of President Trump. By doing so, he also somehow equated arresting and deporting illegal immigrants with murdering innocent preborn babies.

I suppose Pope Leo has the right to speak his mind just like any other person, whether they be a public figure or a private citizen. However, the problem I have with his statement is this: exactly how many illegal immigrants have taken up residence in the Vatican City this year?

If you guessed zero, you would be right.

Once the temperatures start to cool and Pope Leo returns home from his summer sabbatical, he will once again reside within the fortified enclave known as the Vatican City, which is surrounded by 39-foot-high walls and protected by the legendary Swiss Guards. I think it’s safe to say that not a single illegal immigrant has ever managed to scale those walls or make his way past the 135 guards that protect the pope.

On a somewhat related note, Chicago Cardinal Blasé Cupich recently announced plans to present a lifetime achievement award to retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), despite the fact that Durbin has supported “abortion rights” throughout his 28 years in the U.S. Senate (and his 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives before that).

When reporters asked Pope Leo about the glaring contradiction, the pontiff chose to dodge the question, saying that he wasn’t “very familiar with the case”, but that the award was in recognition of Durbin’s “overall work” during his more than 40 years in Congress.

Cardinal Cupich’s decision – and Pope Leo’s deflection – did not sit well with Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, where Durbin lives. Bishop Paprocki condemned the award in no uncertain terms because of the senator’s pro-abortion position and has denied him communion since 2004.

Atta boy, Bishop Paprocki! Finally, a man with strong convictions and an even stronger spine.

Amidst the blowback, Sen. Durbin announced that he was declining the award, leaving Cardinal Cupich with egg on his face but no remorse in his heart. “While I am saddened by this news, I respect his decision,” the cardinal wrote in an official statement, adding that the award was in recognition of Durbin’s “unwavering support of immigrants, which is so needed in our day.”

So, I guess it’s O.K. to murder preborn babies as long as you turn a blind eye to aliens crossing illegally into our country.

“Total condemnation is not the way forward,” Cardinal Cupich added, “for it shuts down discussion.”

Am I missing something here? What’s to discuss? Abortion – which stops a beating human heart – is murder… and a mortal sin, according to the Catholic Church. (Disclaimer: The Catholic Church – as do most Protestant denominations – teaches that those who have had an abortion can receive forgiveness through confession and true repentance. See I John 1:9, et al.)

Meanwhile, official Church teaching bars honoring politicians who support policies contrary to Catholic doctrine. No problem, Cardinal Cupich said, because according to him no officeholder consistently embodies Catholic social teaching.

If that’s the case, maybe clerics should stop giving out awards to politicians period, instead of trying to pound a square peg into a round hole to advance their personal – and very radical – political agendas.