OAN Staff Blake Wolf
8:26 AM – Thursday, October 2, 2025
Pope Leo XIV recently announced his opinion that individuals who support the death penalty are “not really pro-life.”
The first-ever American pope spoke on U.S. politics on Tuesday, proclaiming: “Someone who says that I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life.”
Pope Leo also criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, suggesting the treatment of illegal aliens is “inhumane.”
“And 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,” he added.
The pope’s remarks were in response to questions by reporters outside of his residence in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the pope’s comments on Wednesday, rejecting his framing of the treatment of illegal immigrants.
“I would reject there is inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States under this administration,” Leavitt stated.
“There was, however, significant, inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the previous administration as they were being trafficked and raped and beaten, in many cases killed over our United States southern border,” she added.
Another reporter questioned the Catholic Church’s plans to honor Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) with a lifetime achievement award — despite his support for abortion rights.
“I understand the difficulty and the tensions. But I think as I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to consider many issues related to the teaching of the church,” Leo stated in response, adding that Durbin was receiving the reward for his “defense of immigrants.”
Despite Pope Leo’s support, ten American bishops criticized the move to award Durbin over his support for legalized abortion. Additionally, Pope Leo has been criticized as “woke” after recently blessing a block of ice at a climate conference.
Leo spoke on the 10th anniversary of former Pope Francis’s ecological encyclical, which argued the need for advocacy on climate change. At the event, Leo told the roughly 1,000 representatives from environmental and indigenous groups that they need to pressure governments to push harder in their efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Leo added that he hoped the upcoming United Nations climate conference “will listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.”
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