If Pope Leo XIV wants his first international trip to send a message across the Americas, he should start in the United States — and begin in Miami to set the right tone.
Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski has already said he hopes the new pope will visit Miami and has warmly welcomed him. And the reasons to accept the invitation are compelling: more than 1 million Catholics call South Florida home and, more significantly, Miami is ground zero for some of the country’s most aggressive anti-immigration policies — the same policies Leo XIV criticized on social media before becoming pope.
Although his views on immigration aren’t yet entirely clear, many Church insiders expect Leo XIV to follow Pope Francis in speaking up when human lives are used as political bargaining chips. That should be a mandate of his papacy…