Leaving Castel Gandolfo for his now customary day of rest on Tuesday, November 18, Pope Leo was again asked questions by a group of journalists who waited for him outside the gates.
Answering in Spanish, then Italian, then English, and then back to Spanish, the Holy Father took questions ranging from his upcoming trips to the situation in Nigeria. He was also asked about the US bishops' statement on immigration, which they released last week from their plenary meeting. Asked if he backed their statement, he said, "Well, I've made some statements about that already."
"I appreciate very much what the bishops have said," he continued, "I think it's a very important statement. I would invite especially all Catholics, but [all] people of good will, to listen carefully to what they said."
The Holy Father reiterated the message of the bishops and his own call: "I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely. Treating people with the dignity that they have. If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that: there are courts, there is a system of justice."
He did acknowledge that there "are a lot of problems in the system"; one of the main points of the bishops' message was a reiteration of their consistent call to immigration reform.
The Pope also stated, "No one has said that the United States should have open borders. I think every country has a right to determine who, and how, and when people enter."
"But," he continued, "when people are living good lives -- and many of them for 10, 15, 20, years -- to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful, to say the least, and there's been some violence unfortunately -- I think the bishops have been very clear in what they said, and I would just invite all people in the United States to listen to them."
You can listen to his answer on immigration in the video below, starting shortly before the 2.30 minute mark. His question on Nigeria was also asked and answered in English, directly following the immigration question.
The text of the bishops' message can be found at the link below the video.
