VATICAN CITY (RNS) – This 4th of July, on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, the first American-born pope chose to spend the day in the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a symbol of the immigrant influx polarizing the political debate in Europe.
The same day, Pope Leo XIV also issued a letter to the United States, reminding the country of its duty to uphold religious freedom and the respect of human life, including the unborn and immigrants.
In the letter, Leo described religious freedom as among “the most cherished” of America’s founding principles, allowing people to worship freely, without coercion or fear. He also pointed to “the God-given dignity of every human life” as a guiding principle that “leads to recognizing the importance of safeguarding human life from its beginning at conception until natural death,” including the vulnerable and forgotten.
“Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices and contribution have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning,” Leo write.
The pope recognized the role that immigrants have had in shaping the U.S., writing “to receive them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person.”
Leo and President Donald Trump have been at odds on the questions of immigration and war. In October, the pope criticized the “inhuman” treatment of immigrants in his home country and six months later warned that war “is never blessed by God,” adding that America’s preemptive attack on Iran did not qualif …
