Most of Pope Leo's appointments for Catholic bishops in the U.S. have called for better treatment of immigrants in the country, in a trend that may shape how the national Church responds to the Trump administration's divisive anti-immigration policies.
At least ten of the 13 selections made to date by Leo, including the new Archbishop of New York, announced on Thursday to replace the leading conservative Cardinal Timothy Dolan, have spoken publicly on the issue.
In diverse statements, some have called the Trump policies cruel; others have urged the administration to use due process before deporting immigrants.
One of Leo's closest U.S. advisors told Reuters the pope's appointments show that treatment of immigrants is now a firm part of the Church's position that life is sacred from conception until death, one of the 1.4-billion-member denomination's strongest teachings.
"It signals a maturing of our understanding of what it means to be pro-life," said Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, who is part of a Vatican office that advises Leo on which Catholic priests to appoint as bishops.
The U.S. bishops' pro-life agenda focused for decades on ending legal abortion in the country, with their national conference supporting an annual march in Washington, D.C. and lobbying to end the now overturned 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling.
Leo appeared to broaden the pro-life umbrella in September, when he questioned whether U.S. President Donald Trump's policies were in line with the Church's teachings, drawing a heated backlash from some prominent conservative Catholics.
"Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don't know if that's pro-life," the pope said in response to journalists' questions outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, in Italy.
In his first seven months as pope, Leo has appointed new Catholic bishops in cities across the U.S., from San Diego to Austin to Pittsburgh.
Bishop Ronald Hicks, 58, who Leo named on Thursday to replace Dolan in New York in a leadership shake-up, gave his first remarks in Spanish that day at a press conference about his appointment before switching to English.
Hicks, who will lead 2.8 million Catholics in New York, is a former missionary in El Salvador. He reiterated an earlier endorsement of a November statement by the U.S. bishops' conference, which decried Trump's immigration crackdown.
Since Catholic bishops normally only retire for health or age reasons, and can serve until age 80, many of the new bishops appointed by Leo could be expected to stay in their roles for decades.
"Certainly the most lasting legacy of any pope, is the episcopal appointments he makes," said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, a U.S. Church expert and professor at Fordham University. "Every appointment is important, and every one means something."
Trump, who once called the late Pope Francis "disrespectful" for criticizing the president's immigration policies, has not responded directly to Leo's criticisms.
The administration's crackdown has included deployment of National Guard troops in cities across the country and raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at workplaces, businesses and on city streets.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, told right-wing outlet Breitbart in November that he was aware of Leo's comments and said the administration's policies were humanitarian.
"Every nation has the right to control its borders," said Vance.
Four of Leo's choices as U.S. bishops are immigrants themselves. A fifth was born in Texas but spent most of his childhood in Mexico.
San Diego Bishop Michael Pham, a former Vietnamese refugee appointed by Leo in May, has accompanied asylum seekers to court, in an attempt to prevent ICE agents from arresting them as they go to their hearings.
Bishop Ramon Bejarano, who grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico and will soon lead the Church in Monterey, California, took part in a February protest with thousands in downtown San Diego against the immigration crackdown.
Pittsburgh Bishop Mark Eckman, appointed by Leo in June, called immigration policies "cruel and inhumane" in a November open letter.
Imperatori-Lee said the pope "is putting into practice what the Gospel invites us all to do, by appointing men who have … forcefully defended immigrants and stood up for human dignity."
