BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV Denounces Trump-Vance Decision to Block Eucharist from ICE Detainees

After ICE refuses to allow detained migrants to receive the Eucharist, Pope Leo calls on Trump and Vance to respect migrants‘ dignity and religious liberty.

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There he goes again. The first American pope has once again denounced the Trump-Vance Administration’s treatment of undocumented migrants in the United States.

On Tuesday night, in response to ICE’s refusal to allow detained migrants outside of Chicago to receive the Eucharist, Pope Leo XIV called on President Trump and Vice President Vance to respect the dignity and religious liberty of migrants in the United States:

“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,” Pope Leo 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.-born 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.

In reference to the Chicago ICE inmates, he said on Tuesday that the religious rights of detainees need to be considered. “I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people,” he said.

“Many times they’ve been separated from their families for a good amount of time; no one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”

A delegation of clergy, including a Catholic bishop, tried to bring the inmates holy Communion on November 1, the Catholic feast of All Saints, but were denied access to the facility.

Pope Leo’s rebuke also comes on the heels of growing pressure within the American church.

Even Bishop Robert Barron — until now largely silent on the administration’s immigration tactics — made a cautious intervention this week, privately urging the government to allow access to the sacraments for detainees.

Barron’s small step underscores how Leo’s moral leadership is pushing even hesitant clergy to take a stand.

“The Church cannot stay silent before injustice,” Leo XIV reminded bishops last month, a refrain he has repeated as U.S. bishops face mounting moral tests.

Meanwhile, the pope also voiced alarm at President Trump’s increasingly bellicose posture toward Venezuela.

In the impromptu exchange, Leo XIV warned that “with violence we do not win… The way is to seek dialogue, to find a just solution to problems,” implicitly chiding the saber-rattling in Washington.

It’s the latest instance of the pope’s broader appeal for peace and human dignity to guide U.S. policy, from Latin American diplomacy to the treatment of migrants at home.

This is a breaking news story, so I’ll update it as I have more information.

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