Why are American conservatives clashing with Pope Leo?

Pope Leo XIV enjoyed rapturous support from his fellow American Catholics when he was elevated last spring, but his latest comments on abortion and immigration are revealing a rift with conservatives in the church.

Leo alienated conservatives this week when asked about the backlash to an award planned for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a pro-choice Catholic, said The Associated Press. (Durbin later declined the award.) A politician “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 told reporters. Similarly, he said that politicians who favor the death penalty are “not really pro-life.”

That apparent knock on President Donald Trump’s immigration policies — and seeming defense of a pro-choice politician — suggests Leo’s “honeymoon with conservatives” has come to an end, said Reuters. Leo is creating “confusion” about the “moral clarity of the Church’s teaching,” said former Bishop Joseph Strickland, a conservative Texan who was ousted from his post by the late Pope Francis. Catholic conservative influencers such as Matt Walsh and Jack Posobiec also joined the criticism. The controversy could “detract” from Leo’s mission to “work for unity” in an increasingly polarized Catholic Church, said Reuters.

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‘Morally obtuse’

“Conservatives and traditionalists are going to wince” at Leo’s comments, Michael Brendan Dougherty said at National Review. Leo’s statement was a “weird slur” on Catholics who favor immigration control, “which can be executed humanely or inhumanely.” And where the death penalty is concerned, comparing “aborted children to hardened criminals is morally obtuse.”

Leo made the mistake of “emulating Christ,” Charlotte Clymer said on Substack. The conservative “pro-life” position has often seemed to embrace “only one aspect of the sanctity of life.” They are “laser-focused on abortion” while ignoring a pro-life sensibility when it comes to “immigration, homelessness, mental health” and other issues. The truth is that religious conservatives “cannot reconcile their chosen hierarchy of life with the teachings of Christ.”

The new pope has “shown little interest in wading into the culture wars” that consume American Catholicism, Molly Olmstead said at Slate. Conservatives hoped they had “found a new and powerful ally in Rome” following Francis’ papacy. Leo has instead made clear “he wasn’t interested in joining anyone’s team.”

‘Our teaching is very clear’

Leo’s comments were the “clearest, substantive evidence that his papacy will be in profound continuity with Pope Francis,” Michael Sean Winters said at National Catholic Reporter. The new pope has “obvious” differences with his predecessor where style and personality are concerned but “not so much” where the substance of Catholic teaching is concerned. That means there should be no worries about “confusion” on the church’s pro-life stance: Leo is pro-life but does not side with those who believe “abortion is really the only preeminent issue” that Catholics should weigh. “Is there anyone on the planet who does not know what the church teaches about abortion? Our teaching is very clear.”