Leo XIV criticizes ‘nationalist’ groups
VATICAN CITY—Pope Leo XIV criticized the emergence of nationalist political movements as he celebrated his first Pentecost Sunday mass as pontiff.
The pope did not mention a specific country or national leader on Sunday, but US media organizations noted that Leo, the first pope born in the United States, had previously criticized US President Donald Trump.
The report of the pope’s supposed criticism of Trump broke as protests in the multicultural city of Los Angeles again turned to riots. The pope has dual US and Peruvian citizenship.
“There is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,” said the pontiff.
Leo made the remark at a Mass St. Peter’s Square attended by tens of thousands of people.
The pope asked that God would “open borders, break down walls [and] dispel hatred.”
Deactivated X account
Before becoming pontiff, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost was not shy about criticizing Trump, sharing numerous disapproving posts about Trump and Vice President JD Vance on X in recent years.
The Vatican has not confirmed the new pope’s ownership of the X account, which had the handle @drprevost and was deactivated after Leo’s election on May 8.
Other bishops of the Catholic Church, particularly in Europe, have also criticized right-wing nationalists who, like Trump, disapprove of increased immigration and have proposed exclusionary immigration policies.
As Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru for eight years from 2015 to 2023, the pope also criticized the human rights violations of left-wing and communist Shining Path guerillas.
On Saturday, the pope also hosted a Pentecost prayer vigil where he urged Catholics around the world to embrace the Holy Spirit as a source of freedom and grace.
‘Fragrance of Christ’
The official Vatican News reported that the pope told thousands gathered at St. Peter’s that “tonight, we sense the fragrance of the chrism with which our foreheads have been anointed.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, baptism and confirmation united us to Jesus’ mission of making all things new, to the kingdom of God,” the pope said.
“Just as love enables us to sense the presence of a loved one, so tonight we sense in one another the fragrance of Christ,” Vatican News quoted the pope as telling a St. Peter’s crowd of 70,000.
On Friday, the pontiff also spoke on the same theme as part of the festivities for the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities.
He told about 250 leaders of lay associations and charismatic movements during the jubilee to “always keep the Lord Jesus at the center” of their journeys. This, he said, “is the essential thing, and charisms are meant to serve this purpose.”
Both institutional and charismatic foundations, he said, must be understood in relation to grace: “The institution exists so that grace may always be offered, and charisms are given so that this grace may be received and bear fruit.” —WITH REPORTS FROM REUTERS AND VATICAN NEWS
