Washington Rejects Pope Leo XIV's Criticism: White House Refutes "Inhumane" Immigration Policy Label and Blames Biden Administration

The White House swiftly rejected sharp criticism from Pope Leo XIV, who had labeled the immigration policy of US President Donald Trump's administration as "inhumane," following the administration's initiation of a mass arrest and deportation policy targeting undocumented immigrants.

Responding to a question about the Pope's statement, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters yesterday, Wednesday: "I reject the notion that this administration treats undocumented immigrants in an inhumane manner. This administration is trying to enforce the laws of our country in the most humane way possible." However, Leavitt quickly shifted blame back to the immigrants themselves, saying that "this inhumane treatment is caused by the immigrants who are in the country illegally," and placed full responsibility for border crossings on the previous administration of former President Joe Biden.

Pope's Criticism of Moral "Contradiction"

The American-born Pope, Leo XIV, delivered his scathing statement on Tuesday before journalists, questioning the contradictory morality of some Trump supporters, stating: "Anyone who says 'I am against abortion but I approve of the inhumane treatment of immigrants in the United States' is someone I don't know if they are truly pro-life." This comment came in response to a question about the Archbishop of Chicago – the Pope's birthplace – wishing to award a medal to Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who supports abortion rights, an issue that has caused a deep division among American clergy due to the Senator's position against the Catholic Church's stance.

Vatican Concern Over "Warlike Rhetoric"

On a separate note, the head of the Catholic Church—which commands 1.4 billion followers worldwide—expressed profound concern over the warlike rhetoric adopted by US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth had chaired an unusual meeting on Tuesday that included generals and admirals, during which he delivered a combative speech calling for the restoration of a "warrior" mindset. He promised to grant "absolute authorization to fighters to terrorize our nation's enemies, destroy their morale, hunt them, and kill them." The Pope commented on the speech, saying that "this way of expressing oneself is concerning because it demonstrates a continuous escalation of tensions." The Pope also pointed worriedly to Trump's decision to rename the Department of Defense as the "Department of War," concluding that "we must always work for peace."