VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Insisting that the dignity of all people, including immigrants, must be respected, Pope Leo XIV asked U.S. Catholics and "people of goodwill" to read and listen to the U.S. bishops' recent pastoral message on the topic.

"When people are living good lives -- and many of them (in the United States) for 10, 15, 20 years -- to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful, to say the least," is not acceptable, the pope said Nov. 18.

Meeting reporters outside his villa in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo was asked what he thought of the "special pastoral message on immigration" approved overwhelmingly by members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Nov. 12. 

"We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement," the bishops said. "We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care. We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status."

The bishops also said, "We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people," and they prayed "for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement."

Pope Leo told reporters in Castel Gandolfo that the pastoral message is "a very important statement. I would invite especially all Catholics, but people of goodwill, to listen carefully to what they said." 

"No one has said that the United States should have open borders," the pope said. "I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter." 

However, he said, in enforcing immigration policy "we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have."

"If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that," he said. "There are courts. There's a system of justice," but the system has "a lot of problems" that should be addressed.

Pope Leo also was asked about what he does in Castel Gandolfo. 

Tuesdays traditionally are the one day a week when popes have no official audiences or public events. When his schedule permits, Pope Leo goes to Castel Gandolfo late Monday afternoon and returns to the Vatican Tuesday night.

Pope Leo said he uses the day for "a bit of sport, a bit of reading, a bit of work," specifying that at Castel Gandolfo he plays tennis and swims in the pool.

Having a break during the week "helps a lot," the pope said. And it is important to take care of the body as well as the soul.

As he prepares for his first trip outside Italy as pope -- a visit to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27-Dec. 2 -- he also was asked when he thought he would get back to Peru where he served as a missionary and as a bishop.

Pope Leo said he likes to travel, but the events of the Jubilee year kept his 2025 calendar full. The challenge for 2026 will be finding a way to schedule the trips he would like to make, including to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico and then a trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, "of course."
 

Bishop and martyr, the father of St. Isaac the Great. A native of Armenia, he studied in Cappadocia and wed a princess who gave birth to Isaac. After she died, he served as a chamber lain in the court of King Arshak of Armenia. In 353 he was made Catholicos of the Armenians. Nerses devoted much effort to reforming the Armenian Church, including convening a synod in 365 based on the principles he had studied under St. Basil at Caesarea. Though he established hospitals and monasteries, his ...

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While "creation is crying out" and millions of people suffer the effects of climate change and pollution, politicians are failing to act, Pope Leo XIV said.

As the U.N. Climate Conference, COP30, began its final week of meetings Nov. 17, the pope sent a video message to Christian representatives and activists from the global south who were holding a side event to the conference in Belem, Brazil.

The Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 at COP21 "has driven real progress and remains our strongest tool for protecting people and the planet," Pope Leo said in the video.

"But we must be honest: it is not the agreement that is failing, we are failing in our response," he said. "What is failing is the political will of some." 

While Pope Leo did not specify which nations were at fault, the U.S. government was not represented at COP30 because U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement.

"True leadership means service, and support at a scale that will truly make a difference," the pope said. "Stronger climate actions will create stronger and fairer economic systems. Strong climate actions and policies -- both are an investment in a more just and stable world."

"Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat," Pope Leo said.

"One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes," he added. "To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to ignore these people is to deny our shared humanity."

As government representatives from most of the world's countries -- more than 190 nations registered delegations -- struggled to finalize agreements on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing reliance on fossil fuels, Pope Leo told the Christian activists he believed "there is still time to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius, but the window is closing."

"As stewards of God's creation, we are called to act swiftly, with faith and prophecy, to protect the gift he entrusted to us," the pope said.

In safeguarding creation as a gift of God, he said, "we walk alongside scientists, leaders and pastors of every nation and creed."

"We are guardians of creation, not rivals for its spoils," the pope said. "Let us send a clear global signal together: nations standing in unwavering solidarity behind the Paris Agreement and behind climate cooperation."

Despite the challenges, Pope Leo told the activists, "you chose hope and action over despair, building a global community that works together."

The efforts have made a difference, he said, "but not enough. Hope and determination must be renewed, not only in words and aspirations, but also in concrete actions."
 

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