Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful at a Pentecost prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square, Saturday, June 7, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday urged Catholics to embrace the Holy Spirit as a source of freedom and grace, addressing a crowd of tens of thousands during his first Pentecost as pope and calling on the faithful to adopt "the way of the Beatitudes" to spread the Gospel message.

The pontiff addressed a massive crowd, estimated by the Vatican at around 70,000, in St. Peter's Square on June 7 during a prayer vigil there as part of the festivities for the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities.

He told the faithful that "tonight, we sense the fragrance of the chrism with which our foreheads have been anointed."

"Dear brothers and sisters, Baptism and Confirmation united us to Jesus’ mission of making all things new, to the Kingdom of God," the pope said. "Just as love enables us to sense the presence of a loved one, so tonight we sense in one another the fragrance of Christ.

"This is a mystery; it amazes us and it leads us to reflect," he said.

The pontiff said the concept of synodality "demands that we each recognize our own poverty and our riches, that we feel part of a greater whole, apart from which everything withers, even the most original and unique of charisms."

"All creation exists solely in the form of coexistence, sometimes dangerous, yet always interconnected," the pope said, citing the late Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si’. "And what we call 'history' only takes place as coexistence, living together, however contentiously, but always together."

Leo noted that "where there is the Spirit, there is movement, a journey to be made." The Holy Spirit, he said, "teaches us to walk together in unity."

"We are a people on the move. This does not set us apart but unites us to humanity like the yeast in a mass of dough, which causes it to rise," he said.

Evangelization, the pope said, is "not our attempt to conquer the world;" it is rather "the infinite grace that radiates from lives transformed by the Kingdom of God."

"It is the way of the Beatitudes, a path that we tread together, between the 'already' and the 'not yet,' hungering and thirsting for justice, poor in spirit, merciful, meek, pure of heart, men and women of peace," he said.

To walk this path, the pope said, requires "no need of powerful patrons," or compromises, or "emotional strategies."

"Evangelization is always God’s work. If at times it takes place through us, it is thanks to the bonds that it makes possible," he said.

He urged the faithful to be "deeply attached" to their own parishes and Church communities so that the entire Catholic Church can "work together harmoniously as one."

"The challenges facing humanity will be less frightening, the future will be less dark and discernment will be less complicated, if together we obey the Holy Spirit!" he said.

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful at a Pentecost prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square, Saturday, June 7, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday urged Catholics to embrace the Holy Spirit as a source of freedom and grace, addressing a crowd of tens of thousands during his first Pentecost as pope and calling on the faithful to adopt "the way of the Beatitudes" to spread the Gospel message.

The pontiff addressed a massive crowd, estimated by the Vatican at around 70,000, in St. Peter's Square on June 7 during a prayer vigil there as part of the festivities for the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities.

He told the faithful that "tonight, we sense the fragrance of the chrism with which our foreheads have been anointed."

"Dear brothers and sisters, Baptism and Confirmation united us to Jesus’ mission of making all things new, to the Kingdom of God," the pope said. "Just as love enables us to sense the presence of a loved one, so tonight we sense in one another the fragrance of Christ.

"This is a mystery; it amazes us and it leads us to reflect," he said.

The pontiff said the concept of synodality "demands that we each recognize our own poverty and our riches, that we feel part of a greater whole, apart from which everything withers, even the most original and unique of charisms."

"All creation exists solely in the form of coexistence, sometimes dangerous, yet always interconnected," the pope said, citing the late Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si’. "And what we call 'history' only takes place as coexistence, living together, however contentiously, but always together."

Leo noted that "where there is the Spirit, there is movement, a journey to be made." The Holy Spirit, he said, "teaches us to walk together in unity."

"We are a people on the move. This does not set us apart but unites us to humanity like the yeast in a mass of dough, which causes it to rise," he said.

Evangelization, the pope said, is "not our attempt to conquer the world;" it is rather "the infinite grace that radiates from lives transformed by the Kingdom of God."

"It is the way of the Beatitudes, a path that we tread together, between the 'already' and the 'not yet,' hungering and thirsting for justice, poor in spirit, merciful, meek, pure of heart, men and women of peace," he said.

To walk this path, the pope said, requires "no need of powerful patrons," or compromises, or "emotional strategies."

"Evangelization is always God’s work. If at times it takes place through us, it is thanks to the bonds that it makes possible," he said.

He urged the faithful to be "deeply attached" to their own parishes and Church communities so that the entire Catholic Church can "work together harmoniously as one."

"The challenges facing humanity will be less frightening, the future will be less dark and discernment will be less complicated, if together we obey the Holy Spirit!" he said.

Pope Leo XIV greets participants of the symposium “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity" in Rome, Saturday, June 7, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 11:45 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said the Catholic Church is open to establishing a common date of Easter among all Christian churches, echoing one of the aims of the Council of Nicaea that met 1,700 years ago.

The pope spoke to participants of the symposium “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity,” which took place this week at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

The Holy Father called the 325 Council of Nicaea "foundational for the common journey that Catholics and Orthodox have undertaken together since the Second Vatican Council."

This week's symposium focused on the themes of faith, synodality and "the date of Easter," Leo said. The lattermost issue was "one of the objectives" of the ancient council.

"Sadly, differences in their calendars no longer allow Christians to celebrate together the most important feast of the liturgical year, causing pastoral problems within communities, dividing families and weakening the credibility of our witness to the Gospel," the pope said.

"Several concrete solutions have been proposed that, while respecting the principle of Nicaea, would allow Christians to celebrate together the 'Feast of Feasts'," the Holy Father said.

"In this year, when all Christians have celebrated Easter on the same day, I would reaffirm the openness of the Catholic Church to the pursuit of an ecumenical solution favouring a common celebration of the Lord’s resurrection," the pope said.

On April 20 of this year, Easter landed on the same day for both the East and the West. Easter will fall on April 16, 2028, again for both the East and the West, and again on April 13, 2031, and April 9, 2034.

Leo on Saturday said that Christian unity, when it is ultimately achieved, "will not be primarily the fruit of our own efforts, nor will it be realized through any preconceived model or blueprint."

"Rather, unity will be a gift received 'as Christ wills and by the means that he wills'," he said.

Pope Leo XIV greets participants of the symposium “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity" in Rome, Saturday, June 7, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 11:45 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said the Catholic Church is open to establishing a common date of Easter among all Christian churches, echoing one of the aims of the Council of Nicaea that met 1,700 years ago.

The pope spoke to participants of the symposium “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity,” which took place this week at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

The Holy Father called the 325 Council of Nicaea "foundational for the common journey that Catholics and Orthodox have undertaken together since the Second Vatican Council."

This week's symposium focused on the themes of faith, synodality and "the date of Easter," Leo said. The lattermost issue was "one of the objectives" of the ancient council.

"Sadly, differences in their calendars no longer allow Christians to celebrate together the most important feast of the liturgical year, causing pastoral problems within communities, dividing families and weakening the credibility of our witness to the Gospel," the pope said.

"Several concrete solutions have been proposed that, while respecting the principle of Nicaea, would allow Christians to celebrate together the 'Feast of Feasts'," the Holy Father said.

"In this year, when all Christians have celebrated Easter on the same day, I would reaffirm the openness of the Catholic Church to the pursuit of an ecumenical solution favouring a common celebration of the Lord’s resurrection," the pope said.

On April 20 of this year, Easter landed on the same day for both the East and the West. Easter will fall on April 16, 2028, again for both the East and the West, and again on April 13, 2031, and April 9, 2034.

Leo on Saturday said that Christian unity, when it is ultimately achieved, "will not be primarily the fruit of our own efforts, nor will it be realized through any preconceived model or blueprint."

"Rather, unity will be a gift received 'as Christ wills and by the means that he wills'," he said.

Lois McLatchie Miller and Chris Elston were arrested by Belgian police this week while advocating for child protection from transgender medical treatments, June 5, 2025. / Credit: ADF International

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

The demonstrators were surrounded by an angry mob as they held signs that read: “Children are never born in the wrong body” and “Children cannot consent to puberty blockers.” 

Lois McLatchie Miller and Chris Elston were arrested by Belgian police this week while advocating for child protection from transgender medical treatments, June 5, 2025. / Credit: ADF International

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Police in Brussels arrested pro-life activist Lois McLatchie Miller and child protection advocate Chris Elston on Wednesday for peacefully displaying signs that advocated for the protection of children against transgender medical treatments. 

The incident occurred when Miller, a Scottish senior legal communications officer with ADF International, and Elston, a Canadian pro-child activist known as “Billboard Chris”, were surrounded by an angry mob as they held signs that read: “Children are never born in the wrong body” and “Children cannot consent to puberty blockers.” 

The pair were in the EU capital engaging members of the European Parliament about the dangers of puberty blockers for children. 

Belgian police arrested the duo amid the nonviolent demonstration. Officers took them to separate police stations, where they were ordered to remove their clothes and subjected to searches. 

They were released after several hours in custody with no charges filed, though police informed them that their signs would be destroyed.

Elston said police initially told them they needed a permit and were later told they would be charged with “disturbing the peace.”

“I just can’t believe that we live in a world where we were the bad guys in this situation,” Miller said in a video posted to social media after her release.

Speaking of the police, she said: “They saw that we were the minority, that we were being attacked … Instead of standing up for our rights … they took us away, and let the mob go free.”

On June 6, Miller’s husband and fellow pro-life advocate Calum Miller told EWTN News Nightly that Europe needs to “wake up” and that Americans have a “profound role” in helping Europeans preserve their basic freedoms. 

He also called for the sanction of politicians and authorities involved in the assault on free speech in Europe.

Paul Coleman, the executive director of ADF International, condemned the arrests, stating: “The Belgian authorities not only failed to uphold the fundamental right to speak freely, they turned the power of the state against those who were peacefully exercising their rights at the behest of a mob.” 

Coleman described the incident as a disturbing display of authoritarianism in the heart of Europe, emphasizing that ADF International is exploring all legal options to defend free speech rights in Belgium. 

“We are grateful our colleague has been safely released, but we are deeply concerned by her treatment at the hands of the police in Brussels,” he added.

After his release, Elston said activists “are not going to stop” talking about the dangers of puberty blockers for children. “We are going to keep having these conversations.” 

The arrests come amid tensions over free expression in Belgium. Just a year ago, a Brussels mayor attempted to shut down the National Conservatism Conference, citing ideological disagreements with its speakers. 

ADF International intervened with emergency legal action that allowed the event to take place. The organization is vowing to challenge the recent arrests as well.

“We will not stand by while peaceful citizens are criminalized for speaking out on vital issues – especially when it’s the safety and wellbeing of children at stake,” Coleman said.

Pastor Rick Warren speaks to EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser on "EWTN News Nightly," Friday, June 6, 2025 / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren this week said the upcoming 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus highlights the Lord's "unanswered prayer" of unity in the Christian world, a unity which he said will help bring the message of salvation to the world.

Warren, the founder of the Baptist Saddleback Church in California, spoke to EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser in Rome on attending a gathering of Global 2033, a Catholic evangelization initiative working to spread the Gospel message ahead of the two-thousand-year observance of Christ rising from the dead.

Asked by Thonhauser why he was speaking at a Catholic event, the Protestant minister claimed that "no single denomination can complete the Great Commission on their own."

"There are 2.5 billion people in the world who claim to believe in Jesus Christ," Warren said. Of those, "1.3 billion are Catholic. About half of the Christian Church is Catholic."

Dismissing potential criticisms that his intent is to convert Catholics to Protestantism, Warren pointed to Christ's prayers in John 17, in which he prayed to God: "Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one."

That plea "is still the unanswered prayer of Jesus," Warren said.

"We're never going to have cultural unity. We're never going to have structural unity," Warren pointed out.

"We're never going to have unity in doctrine," he further claimed. "But we can all agree on one thing. Every Christian understands we're called to go [and evangelize]."

On praying alongside Catholics in Rome, Warren said: "I pray with anybody who believes Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life. These are brothers and sisters in Christ."

Looking forward to 2033, Warren said: "What the world needs now is hope."

The Baptist pastor further shared that EWTN has been a "great ministry in [his] life." He pointed to the 2013 death of his son, who took his own life that year after struggling with mental illness.

"It was the worst day of my life," Warren said. "One of the things that helped me through was on EWTN, they were praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. And the Chaplet of Divine Mercy ministered to me and to my wife."

"It was a healing balm in my heart," he said.

Pastor Rick Warren speaks to EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser on "EWTN News Nightly," Friday, June 6, 2025 / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren this week said the upcoming 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus highlights the Lord's "unanswered prayer" of unity in the Christian world, a unity which he said will help bring the message of salvation to the world.

Warren, the founder of the Baptist Saddleback Church in California, spoke to EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser in Rome on attending a gathering of Global 2033, a Catholic evangelization initiative working to spread the Gospel message ahead of the two-thousand-year observance of Christ rising from the dead.

Asked by Thonhauser why he was speaking at a Catholic event, the Protestant minister claimed that "no single denomination can complete the Great Commission on their own."

"There are 2.5 billion people in the world who claim to believe in Jesus Christ," Warren said. Of those, "1.3 billion are Catholic. About half of the Christian Church is Catholic."

Dismissing potential criticisms that his intent is to convert Catholics to Protestantism, Warren pointed to Christ's prayers in John 17, in which he prayed to God: "Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one."

That plea "is still the unanswered prayer of Jesus," Warren said.

"We're never going to have cultural unity. We're never going to have structural unity," Warren pointed out.

"We're never going to have unity in doctrine," he further claimed. "But we can all agree on one thing. Every Christian understands we're called to go [and evangelize]."

On praying alongside Catholics in Rome, Warren said: "I pray with anybody who believes Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life. These are brothers and sisters in Christ."

Looking forward to 2033, Warren said: "What the world needs now is hope."

The Baptist pastor further shared that EWTN has been a "great ministry in [his] life." He pointed to the 2013 death of his son, who took his own life that year after struggling with mental illness.

"It was the worst day of my life," Warren said. "One of the things that helped me through was on EWTN, they were praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. And the Chaplet of Divine Mercy ministered to me and to my wife."

"It was a healing balm in my heart," he said.

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat speaks to "EWTN News in Depth" Anchor Catherine Hadro on Friday, June 6, 2025 / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Americans could be on the cusp of a religious revival. according to Ross Douthat, an author, Catholic convert, and New York Times columnist. 

Douthat, who often writes on the intersection of faith, culture, and public life in his column, shared his thoughts on all things American and Catholic, from Pope Leo XIV to Vice President JD Vance to the American religious landscape, in an interview with Anchor Catherine Hadro on “EWTN News in Depth” on Friday.

Douthat described the U.S. religious situation as a “a very unsettled but curious landscape,” particularly after a years-long decline in religious interest that plateaued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It's not that America is having a religious revival. It's more that we're considering whether to have a religious revival,” he said.

Interest in religion has moved beyond the hardline atheism of the early 2000s characterized by figures like Richard Dawkins, Douthat said. He observed that there has been “a surge of interest in religion,” especially among Generation Z. 

Sometimes the interest is traditional, as reflected in rising numbers of converts to Catholicism in some dioceses, from Los Angeles to Dublin. Other times it takes on an alternative tone. 

“You have a surge of interest in religion, and some of that shows up in traditional faith. Some of it shows up in anything from UFOs to psychedelics,” Douthat said. 

Atheism, he indicated, has failed to keep its promises. In the early 2000s “there was a sense that once we get rid of these hidebound Bronze Age superstitions, everyone will get along better: Politics will be less polarized, science will be held in higher esteem and sociologically people will be happier. Kids won't be afraid of going to hell, things like that.” 

“And obviously none of that has happened.”  

Douthat cited rising division, polarization, and “existential angst” in the nation in recent years as setting the groundwork for a resurgence of religion.  

“You have a lot of people, some of whom are coming into the Church, others who are exploring around the edges, who are reacting to that environment,” he said. 

First impressions of Pope Leo: a unifying figure  

When asked to describe the new pope, Douthat called him “unifying,” “charming,” and “mildly inscrutable.”  

Douthat says that inscrutability is “part of the reason he was elected pope in the first place.” 

“There is still a hint of mystery to who the pope definitively is and what he definitively thinks,” he said. “And there may be a long period of time where that mystery gradually unfolds in the life of the Church.” 

Douthat noted that Leo was a “dark horse” figure “who's very good at making different groups of people feel heard and understood.” 

Leo’s episcopal motto is one of unity: “In Illo Uno Unum,” meaning “in the One, we are one.” Douthat said he hopes Leo will bring about this unity. 

“Obviously there were a lot of conservative and traditionalist Catholics who were frustrated or anxious at various moments in the era of Pope Francis,” he said.

“[Leo] hasn't really done all that much — it's been one month — but there's so far this sense of just sort of relief at a feeling of kind of stability and normalcy in the papal office,” Douthat said.  

Pope Leo XIV chose his name because the last pope with that name, Pope Leo XIII, “was pope at a time of huge industrial and technological transformation and offered a distinctively Catholic witness for that age,” Douthat noted. 

“There is this landscape that people live in online, disconnected or connected in new ways,” he said. “That is, I think, clearly perilous to the soul in various ways.” 

The digital and AI realms have “deep effects on family and marriage and community,” especially for parents raising kids in this environment. 

“There are fundamental questions of morality and spirituality that are bound up in how you relate to your phone,” he continued. “And I think it is really important for the Church to figure out what to say about it.”

JD Vance interview

Douthat recently interviewed Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, about how faith shaped his politics, among other topics. 

Reflecting back on a part of the interview where he asked Vance about the Church’s teachings on immigration, Douthat said that he was “pressing” the vice president because he believed there were “real tensions” in the dispute, citing deportations by the Trump administration.   

Vance and Pope Francis had publicly disagreed on politics earlier in the year. In February, Pope Francis sent a pastoral letter to the U.S. bishops calling for the recognition of the dignity of immigrants after Vance, a Catholic convert, publicly advocated applying “ordo amoris,” or “rightly-ordered love,” to the immigration debate. 

“[A]s an American leader, but also just as an American citizen, your compassion belongs first to your fellow citizens,” Vance said at the time, while acknowledging that the principle “doesn’t mean you hate people from outside of your own borders.”

In the letter, Francis tacitly rebuked Vance’s remarks, arguing in part that “the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution, or serious deterioration of the environment damages the dignity of many men and women.”

Douthat noted that Vance’s situation is a “tremendous challenge,” especially because he is vice president, not president.   

“There’s always a certain kind of tension between being an elected politician in a pluralist, non-Catholic society and trying to be faithful to the teachings of the Church,” he said. 

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat speaks to "EWTN News in Depth" Anchor Catherine Hadro on Friday, June 6, 2025 / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, Jun 7, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Americans could be on the cusp of a religious revival. according to Ross Douthat, an author, Catholic convert, and New York Times columnist. 

Douthat, who often writes on the intersection of faith, culture, and public life in his column, shared his thoughts on all things American and Catholic, from Pope Leo XIV to Vice President JD Vance to the American religious landscape, in an interview with Anchor Catherine Hadro on “EWTN News in Depth” on Friday.

Douthat described the U.S. religious situation as a “a very unsettled but curious landscape,” particularly after a years-long decline in religious interest that plateaued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It's not that America is having a religious revival. It's more that we're considering whether to have a religious revival,” he said.

Interest in religion has moved beyond the hardline atheism of the early 2000s characterized by figures like Richard Dawkins, Douthat said. He observed that there has been “a surge of interest in religion,” especially among Generation Z. 

Sometimes the interest is traditional, as reflected in rising numbers of converts to Catholicism in some dioceses, from Los Angeles to Dublin. Other times it takes on an alternative tone. 

“You have a surge of interest in religion, and some of that shows up in traditional faith. Some of it shows up in anything from UFOs to psychedelics,” Douthat said. 

Atheism, he indicated, has failed to keep its promises. In the early 2000s “there was a sense that once we get rid of these hidebound Bronze Age superstitions, everyone will get along better: Politics will be less polarized, science will be held in higher esteem and sociologically people will be happier. Kids won't be afraid of going to hell, things like that.” 

“And obviously none of that has happened.”  

Douthat cited rising division, polarization, and “existential angst” in the nation in recent years as setting the groundwork for a resurgence of religion.  

“You have a lot of people, some of whom are coming into the Church, others who are exploring around the edges, who are reacting to that environment,” he said. 

First impressions of Pope Leo: a unifying figure  

When asked to describe the new pope, Douthat called him “unifying,” “charming,” and “mildly inscrutable.”  

Douthat says that inscrutability is “part of the reason he was elected pope in the first place.” 

“There is still a hint of mystery to who the pope definitively is and what he definitively thinks,” he said. “And there may be a long period of time where that mystery gradually unfolds in the life of the Church.” 

Douthat noted that Leo was a “dark horse” figure “who's very good at making different groups of people feel heard and understood.” 

Leo’s episcopal motto is one of unity: “In Illo Uno Unum,” meaning “in the One, we are one.” Douthat said he hopes Leo will bring about this unity. 

“Obviously there were a lot of conservative and traditionalist Catholics who were frustrated or anxious at various moments in the era of Pope Francis,” he said.

“[Leo] hasn't really done all that much — it's been one month — but there's so far this sense of just sort of relief at a feeling of kind of stability and normalcy in the papal office,” Douthat said.  

Pope Leo XIV chose his name because the last pope with that name, Pope Leo XIII, “was pope at a time of huge industrial and technological transformation and offered a distinctively Catholic witness for that age,” Douthat noted. 

“There is this landscape that people live in online, disconnected or connected in new ways,” he said. “That is, I think, clearly perilous to the soul in various ways.” 

The digital and AI realms have “deep effects on family and marriage and community,” especially for parents raising kids in this environment. 

“There are fundamental questions of morality and spirituality that are bound up in how you relate to your phone,” he continued. “And I think it is really important for the Church to figure out what to say about it.”

JD Vance interview

Douthat recently interviewed Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, about how faith shaped his politics, among other topics. 

Reflecting back on a part of the interview where he asked Vance about the Church’s teachings on immigration, Douthat said that he was “pressing” the vice president because he believed there were “real tensions” in the dispute, citing deportations by the Trump administration.   

Vance and Pope Francis had publicly disagreed on politics earlier in the year. In February, Pope Francis sent a pastoral letter to the U.S. bishops calling for the recognition of the dignity of immigrants after Vance, a Catholic convert, publicly advocated applying “ordo amoris,” or “rightly-ordered love,” to the immigration debate. 

“[A]s an American leader, but also just as an American citizen, your compassion belongs first to your fellow citizens,” Vance said at the time, while acknowledging that the principle “doesn’t mean you hate people from outside of your own borders.”

In the letter, Francis tacitly rebuked Vance’s remarks, arguing in part that “the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution, or serious deterioration of the environment damages the dignity of many men and women.”

Douthat noted that Vance’s situation is a “tremendous challenge,” especially because he is vice president, not president.   

“There’s always a certain kind of tension between being an elected politician in a pluralist, non-Catholic society and trying to be faithful to the teachings of the Church,” he said.