World

Pope Leo praises US history of welcoming immigrants at 250th anniversary

By Reuters Reuters
Pope Leo leads the Angelus prayer from a window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, June 29, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo leads the Angelus prayer from a window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, June 29, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Yara Nardi Reuters

VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo praised the United States' history of welcoming immigrants in his first major address to his home country on Friday, urging in a video appearance that Americans live up to the ideals put forward in the Declaration of Independence.

The first U.S. pope, who has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's hardline anti-immigrant policies as "inhuman", said the word "America" had become a "byword for freedom" across the world because of the way the country welcomed immigrants.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 8:46 AM.

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