Most of Pope Leo’s nominations for Catholic bishop positions in the United States have called for better treatment of immigrants in the country, a trend that could shape how the American Church responds to the anti-immigration policies of Donald Trump’s administration.
At least ten of the 13 choices made so far by Leo 14, including the new archbishop of New York, announced Thursday (18) to replace the conservative Timothy Dolan, have spoken publicly on the subject.
In several statements, some called Trump’s policies cruel; others urged the government to use due process before deporting immigrants.
One of Leo 14’s closest American advisers told the Reuters news agency that the pope’s appointments show that the treatment of immigrants has become an integral part of the Church’s position that life is sacred from conception to death, one of the strongest teachings of the 1.4 billion-member denomination.
“It speaks to a maturation of our understanding of what it means to be pro-life,” said Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, who is part of a Vatican office that advises the pope on which Catholic priests to appoint as bishops.
Leo 14 broadens the meaning of “pro-life” teachings
The U.S. bishops’ pro-life agenda has focused for decades on ending legal abortion in the country, with their national conference supporting an annual march on Washington and pushing to end the now-overturned 1973 Supreme Court decision allowing the procedure nationwide.
Leo 14 appeared to broaden the pro-life umbrella in September when he questioned whether Trump’s policies were consistent with Church teachings, provoking a sharp reaction from prominent conservative Catholics.
“Someone who says he’s against abortion but agrees with the inhumane treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life,” the pope said in response to journalists’ questions outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
During his first seven months as pope, Leo 14 appointed new Catholic bishops in cities across the United States, from San Diego to Austin to Pittsburgh. Bishop Ronald Hicks, 58, appointed Thursday to replace Timothy Dolan in New York, made his first comments at a press conference that day, preferring to speak in Spanish and then switching only to English.
Hicks, who will lead 2.8 million Catholics in New York, is a former missionary to El Salvador. He reiterated his support for a November statement from the U.S. bishops’ conference that condemned Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
Bishop appointments are the popes’ most enduring legacy
Since Catholic bishops generally only retire for reasons of health or age and can serve up to 80 years, many of the new bishops appointed by Leo 14 could remain in office for decades.
“Surely the most enduring legacy of any pope is the episcopal appointments he makes,” said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, a professor at Fordham University. “Every nomination is important and each one means something.”
Trump, who once called the late Pope Francis “disrespectful” for criticizing the president’s immigration policies, did not respond directly to Leo 14’s criticism.
The government crackdown included the deployment of National Guard troops to cities across the country and raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on workplaces, businesses, and city streets.
US Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, told the right-wing Breitbart newspaper in November that he was aware of the pope’s comments and said the Trump administration’s policies were humanitarian. “Every nation has the right to control its borders,” Vance said.
Bishops participate in protests and accompany immigrants to court
Four of the American bishops chosen by Leo 14 are themselves immigrants. A fifth was born in Texas but spent most of his childhood in Mexico.
San Diego Bishop Michael Pham, a former Vietnamese refugee appointed by the pontiff in May, accompanies asylum seekers to court to try to prevent ICE agents from arresting them when they attend their hearings.
Bishop Ramon Bejarano, who grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico, and will soon lead the Church in Monterey, California, participated in a protest in February with thousands in downtown San Diego against the immigration crackdown.
Pittsburgh Bishop Mark Eckman, appointed by the pope in June, called immigration policies “cruel and inhumane” in a November open letter.
Imperatori-Lee said Leo 14 “puts into practice what the Gospel calls everyone to do, naming men who stood firm for immigrants and defended human dignity.”
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