CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Pope Leo called on Tuesday for “deep reflection” about the way migrants are being treated in the United States under President Donald Trump’s administration and said the spiritual needs of those in detention needed to be respected.
Speaking to reporters in Castel Gandolfo, his residence outside Rome, the pope was asked about immigrants detained at a federal facility in Broadview, near Chicago, who have been refused the opportunity to receive holy Communion, an important religious obligation.
Leo, originally from Chicago, cited Matthew’s gospel, chapter 25.
“Jesus says very clearly at the end of the world, we’re going to be asked, you know, how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not? And I think that there’s a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what’s happening,” the pontiff said.
“Many people who’ve lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what’s going on right now,” he added. Leo, the first U.S. pope, has previously decried the federal government’s treatment of immigrants caught up in a hard-line crackdown that has roiled cities across the country.
