In his first Christmas as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV delivered a series of humble, Gospel-rooted messages about mercy, migrants, and the moral cost of exclusion. But for parts of the American right — especially those who’ve spent years weaponising religion for nationalist ends — Leo’s words struck a nerve.
The backlash to Pope Leo from the beginning has been swift and intense. Some even have accused Leo of betraying the faith.
Pope Leo’s words remind us that a key aspect of following the Jesus way is about making room. Not just in our hearts, but in our politics, our churches, and our priorities.
Matthew 2:13 tells us that
When they [the magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Our world gives Christmas a single day and then rushes on to New Year's Eve and then onto the next thing.
We as the Church refuse that restriction. Christmas is a season - Advent leading up to Christmas Day and then the 12 Days of Christmas. Those from a Catholic persuasion continues until February 2 - Candlemas - 40 days after Bethlehem.
God actually chose to enter a messed up world. Matthew's Gospel tells us that Joseph rose at night, took the child and his mother, and fled into Egypt. Let's call it what it is - forced migration - refugees. Jesus was from an immigrant family. He crossed a border as a toddler because a ruler wanted him dead.
Pius XII said it without flinching:
“The émigré Holy Family…fleeing into Egypt, is the archetype of every refugee family.”
Christmas is not God hovering above human danger. It is God joining it. And exile is not only on maps.
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