Pope Leo XIV pushed the Trump administration to display respect for every human being in his first interview since assuming the highest position of authority at the Vatican. 

The Chicago-born Leo became history’s first American pope in May. In an interview by the Catholic news site Crux, the pope reiterated concerns that the agenda led by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to deport illegal immigrants undermines respect for human dignity. 

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“One of the last conversations I had with the vice president of the United States — I have not had direct conversations with or have not met the president — I talked about human dignity and how important that is for all people, wherever you’re born, and hopefully to find ways to respect human beings and the way we treat them in the policies and choices we make,” Leo said in interview, during which he praised a letter then-Pope Francis sent to U.S. bishops earlier this year rebuking Vance’s suggestion that Catholic doctrine justified mass deportations of migrants. 

While Leo said he doesn’t “plan to get involved in partisan politics,” he weighed in on the role he believes the U.S. should play in the world, and spoke out against polarization and radicalization some fear is taking over the country in the wake of political influencer Charlie Kirk’s recent assassination. 

“The United States is a power player on the world level, we have to recognize that, and sometimes decisions are made more based on economics than on human dignity and human support, but [we have to] continue to challenge and to raise some questions and to see the best way to do that,” the people said. 

“We have to continue to remind ourselves of the potential that humanity has to overcome the violence and the hatred that is just dividing us more and more,” he continued. “We live in times when polarization seems to be one of the words of the day, but it’s not helping anybody. Or if it’s helping anyone, it’s very few when everyone else is suffering.”

Leo also stressed he would “want to support” Trump in his efforts “promoting peace in the world,” with his comments coming as the president has grappled with bringing an end to wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
The pope is not afraid to “raise issues,” to “continue to challenge” and to engage Trump directly if given the opportunity, he said, adding that unlike his papal predecessor, “the fact that I am American means, among other things, people can’t say, like they did about Francis, ‘he doesn’t understand the United States. He just doesn’t see what’s going on’.”

Members of the Trump administration, including Vance, were among the thousands of delegates and world leaders who attended Leo’s inauguration this spring. 

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Leo addressed the weight of being the 267th pope during the interview released this month. 

“There’s still a huge learning curve ahead of me,” he said. “The totally new aspect to this job is being thrown onto the level of world leader.”