Pope Leo XIV says DHS should allow communion at Chicago area ICE facility
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Pope Leo XIV arrives in St. Peter's Square on Nov. 5. Photo: Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Pope Leo XIV has spoken in opposition to the Department of Homeland Security denying a coalition of Catholic priests, nuns and other clergy entry to the Broadview ICE processing facility outside Chicago.
The big picture: For decades, clergy have gathered weekly outside Broadview, notably Catholic nuns, to offer prayers for the immigrants inside. Since the launch of "Operation Midway Blitz" this year, Sister JoAnn Persch told the Sun-Times her relationship with officers at the facility has frayed, despite being welcomed before President Trump took office.
Driving the news: Pope Leo was asked Tuesday about clergy being denied entry into the facility, and he responded that he would like to ask "the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people," Chicago Catholic, the archdiocese's newspaper, reported.
- "Jesus says very clearly that at the end of the world, we're going to be asked, you know, 'How did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not?' And I think that there's a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what's happening," Leo added.
Catch up quick: Members of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) hosted a mass outside Broadview on Saturday, All Saints' Day, and a week before formally requested that eight religious ministers have access to the facility to distribute communion, according to a letter shared with Axios.
- The mayor of Broadview supported the request, but DHS denied the clergy entry.
What they're saying: "We're deeply grateful to Pope Leo XIV for raising his voice in defense of the detained and affirming their right to spiritual care. His leadership gives us strength to keep pressing until the doors of this facility in Broadview are opened," CSPL said in a statement.
The other side: DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin told Axios that religious organizations aren't allowed to provide services in Broadview because it "is a field office, it is not a detention facility."
- "Religious organizations are more than welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities," McLaughlin said in a statement to Axios. "ICE staff has repeatedly informed religious organizations that due to Broadview's status as a field office and the ongoing threat to civilians, detainees, and officers ... they are not able to accommodate these requests at this time."
Zoom out: The Pope and Chicago's Catholic leader, Cardinal Blase Cupich, have been unflinching in their support for immigrants and opposition to the Trump administration's recent enforcement.
- "I speak to you as your shepherd, but also as a fellow pilgrim who shares the pain of many of our immigrant communities. Families are being torn apart. Children are left in fear, and communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The Church stands with migrants," Cupich said in a statement last month.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from DHS.