Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in the Catholic Church, said in a detailed interview he had not met or spoken with President Trump.
Pope Leo XIV embraces his brother after the first mass
Pope Leo XIV chatted with his brother after his inauguration mass in the Vatican city.
Pope Leo XIV shared his thoughts on Donald Trump and how the first American clergy of the Catholic Church would work with the president in his first in-depth interview since the election to the Pope See in May.
In an interview released on September 18th, the Illinois-born Pope touched on a wide range of topics, including the political situation in the United States. Once upon a time, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevast Pope was born and raised in the southern suburbs of Chicago. He also retains Peruvian citizenship after spending much of his career there.
Leo, 70, added to religious news outlet Crocs that he doesn’t plan on “partisan politics,” but he “is not afraid to raise the issue.”
The Pope also recalled a conversation with Vice President J.D. Vance, where he told the Republican leader he spoke about the importance of human dignity. Vance, who converted to the first Catholicism to serve as vice president, met personally with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife, with the new Pope, less than two weeks after Leo’s choice.
“Obviously there are a few things going on in the states where I’m concerned,” Leo said. “We’re at least looking for ways to respond and continuing to raise some of the questions we need to ask.”
The Pope said he had not met Trump yet or had not spoken directly with him, but mentioned a headline-grabbing visit to his brother’s oval office.
Louis Prevast and his wife, Deborah, met briefly with the president and vice president and took a photo on May 20th in their oval office.
“One of my brothers has met him and is very frank about his political perspective,” Leo said. “But if there’s a particular problem, if it’s possible to interact with him, I wouldn’t have a problem doing so.”
The Pope also praised the open letter of his predecessor to Catholics in February, criticising Trump’s immigration policies and massive deportation, calling them a dangerous and “major crisis.”
“I recommend every faithful person in the Catholic Church, and every man and woman of good intentions. I will not succumb to a story that discriminates against our immigrants and refugee brothers and sisters, causing unnecessary suffering,” writes Francis.
Leo said it was “very happy” to see an American bishop “who is brave” to pick up Francis’ letters, indicating that he would follow a similar path to American Catholic leaders.
“I’ve met a lot of world leaders, and there are important issues that can be raised,” Leo said when asked about how he works with Trump. “But it is impossible for the Pope to participate in individual countries around the world, and it would be impossible to say, ‘This is what you should do, that’s what you should think about’.”
Kathryn Palmer is a political reporter for USA Today. You can contact her kapalmer@usatoday.com And with x @Kathrynplmr.
