Following a long week of criticism of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) controversial video advocating for illegal aliens’ so-called rights to remain in the country, Pope Leo XIV appears to have moderated the USCCB’s position.
During an impromptu Q&A session with reporters outside the Castel Gandolfo papal villa last Tuesday, the pontiff reiterated his support for the message that illegal aliens should be treated with dignity and respect while also adding that the U.S. does have a right to control who enters the country:
If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts, there’s a system of justice. I think there are a lot of problems in the system. Nobody has said that the United States should have open borders. Every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter.
For many U.S. conservatives, this new statement provides clarity on the Vatican’s past statements on immigration. Pope Leo has been sharply critical of the Trump administration’s immigration policies ever since his papal election, such as in his October statement to reporters condemning the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States.”
Catholic users on X (formerly Twitter), like Greg Price, express frustration with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on immigration — noting they may have a profit motive, as almost half of the USCCB’s annual budget comes from federal grants for migration and refugee services.
Other Catholic commentators on X, like Pax Tube, point to the Catechism to correct American prelates. It explicitly outlines that the state has full authority to regulate or deregulate immigration — contrasting the USCCB’s message that demands illegal aliens remain.
Amid accusations of confusion during Pope Francis’ pontificate on immigration issues, Pope Leo XIV appears to be deferring to the Catechism’s teaching that political authorities maintain the right to enforce borders and determine who immigrates to the U.S. while continuing his calls to treat illegal aliens with dignity in the process — providing nuance to the perceived one-sided statements from the U.S. bishops.
