CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday strongly backed U.S. bishops who condemned the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, as he urged the American people to listen to them and treat migrants humanely.

History's first American pope was asked about the “special message” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted during the bishops' general assembly last week. The text criticized the Trump administration's mass deportation of migrants and the “vilification” of them in the current migration debate. It lamented the fear and anxiety immigration raids have sown in communities, and the denial of pastoral care to migrants in detention centers.

Leo, who has previously urged local bishops to take the lead on speaking out on matters of social justice, said he appreciated the

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