October 11-12, 2025
Dear parishioners,
Within the last few weeks, many news outlets across the country were drawing attention to some very brief comments that Pope Leo recently made to journalists. These were responses to spontaneous questions that he received as he was leaving an event in Rome. The particular question, in English, that raised eyebrows in the United States requested that the Holy Father comment on Cardinal Cupich’s plan to offer a lifetime achievement award to pro-abortion senator Richard Durbin of Illinois.
In the pope’s response, also in English, he began by stating, “I’m not terribly familiar with the particular case. I think that it’s very important to look at the overall work that a senator has done” in his entire time in office. The Holy Father then added, “I understand the difficulty and the tensions, but I think, as I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues that are related to what is the teaching of the Church.” He proceeded to explain further: “Somone who says, ‘I’m against abortion’ but says ‘I’m in favor of the death penalty,’ is not really pro-life. Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life. So, they are complex issues, and I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them. But I would ask, first and foremost, that there be greater respect for one another and that we search together both as human beings, and in that case as American citizens and citizens of the State of Illinois, as well as Catholics, to say that we need to look really closely at all of these ethical issues, and to find the way forward as the Church. The Church’s teaching on each one of these issues is very clear.”
Let the media spin begin… and indeed it did! Many media sources inserted their own loaded opinions into Pope Leo’s words, making bold claims about his intentions. News sources aligned with the political left and political right claimed that this was “an intervention” in U.S. ecclesiastical matters. Others claimed that the pope was wading into political waters. Other networks, who are usually opposed to the Church’s moral teachings, praised Pope Leo’s statement as some sort of justification of their own social-political views. A number of outlets made the claim that Pope Leo was specifically speaking out against the Trump administration’s current policies. One news source, which misleadingly claims to be Catholic, claimed: “wading into the Durbin controversy, Pope Leo shows himself attuned to U.S. debates” (despite the Holy Father’s own claim of not being very familiar with this case). A headline on the website Politico even read, “Pope Leo Speaks Up On Dick Durbin’s Behalf Amid Abortion Rift.”
The problem with all of the media claims above is that none of them are actually what Pope Leo said or did. Without any further context from the pope himself, we have to take him at his word, without jumping into a patchwork of guesses as to his intentions. I recognize that I am in the minority, especially if compared to the plethora of voices online, but I personally contend that Pope Leo was simply stating what the Catholic Church teaches, and was not necessarily trying to intervene or enter into the political arena. Put another way, Pope Leo was simply trying to make the point that we need to be consistent in the application of the Church’s pro-life moral principles. He was correct to speak against the death penalty and against the inhuman treatment of migrants. But please note well that he did not wade into the issue of immigration policy itself in the United States.
In fact, taking his statement at face value, I think he was calling out both sides of the U.S. political spectrum. I say this based on his own statements: “it’s important to look at many issues that are related to what is the teaching of the Church.” Further, “they are complex issues, and I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them.” Again, “we need to look really closely at all of these ethical issues, and to find the way forward as the Church. The Church’s teaching on each one of these issues is very clear.” As such, just as senator Durbin should not be receiving a Catholic lifetime achievement award because of his pro-abortion stance, so too, a politician who supports the death penalty also should not receive the same or similar award.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this or related issues.
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
