Pope Leo XIV criticizes Trump since 2015 for repression of immigrants: ‘Don’t you see the suffering?’

After statements about war, Pope becomes Trump’s target The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated, this Sunday (12), that Pope Leo XIV is weak, after the pontiff said that he feels close to the “beloved Lebanese people” and called for a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict. 📱Download the g1 app to see news in real time and for free In his response to the Republican, the pope stated that he was not afraid of Trump and that he was not making a direct attack against him or anyone else with his general appeal for peace. The pontiff’s lack of affinity with Trump’s speech is not new and began even before the conclave that elected him pope. On social media, before becoming Leo XIV, the religious leader used to position himself indirectly, through republications of posts critical of the Trump administration. In fact, his last publication before the papacy criticized the Republican’s policies. In April 2025, still as Cardinal Robert Prevost, he republished content about the meeting between Trump and the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, which discussed the case of a migrant deported in a way considered improper. The material included questions from Bishop Evelio Menjivar, who criticized the attitude towards the suffering of migrants: “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not moved? How can you remain silent?” Critical since 2015 The now pope’s demonstrations date back to the beginning of Trump’s political rise. In 2015, during the presidential campaign, he shared an article by Cardinal Timothy Dolan that called the then-candidate’s anti-immigration rhetoric problematic. After Trump’s election in 2016, Leo XIV also echoed a homily by Archbishop José Gomez, which highlighted the fear of migrant families and stated that the United States was “better than that”. In 2017, during his first term, he returned to addressing the issue by sharing positions in defense of the so-called “Dreamers” — young immigrants brought to the United States as children — and criticizing Trump’s statements, such as the expression “bad hombres”, associated by religious leaders with encouraging racism and nativism. READ ALSO: President of Iran condemns Trump’s ‘insult’ to Pope Leo The text reposted by the then cardinal stated: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus does not ask us to classify our love for others”, opposing the idea presented by the vice president in an interview with Fox News. *With information from the Associated Press. Montage shows Pope Leo XIV and US President Donald Trump Reuters/Claudia Greco; Reuters/Kent Nishimura

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