Immigration was one of the defining issues of the pontificate of Pope Francis (2013–2025). Pope Leo XIV has now publicly broken with his predecessor’s vision.
During the press conference held last week aboard the plane returning him from Africa to Rome, the new pope acknowledged that states have the legitimate right to control their borders, as he had already stated. Above all, he called on wealthy countries to help poorer nations so that their populations can live with dignity where they grew up. At the same time, he urged countries of the Global South—firmly and repeatedly, as he did throughout his African trip—to take responsibility, notably by tackling state “corruption,” which benefits only a minority while often leaving the wider population in poverty.
Finally, the American pope reaffirmed the need to respect migrants as human beings, regardless of their status. He was responding to a question from a Spanish journalist about his upcoming visit to Spain and the Canary Islands in mid-June…
