{"id":4147,"date":"2026-05-29T19:39:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/29\/thanked-him-for-his-courage-chicago-mayor-hails-pope-leo-as-powerful-ally\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T19:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:39:54","slug":"thanked-him-for-his-courage-chicago-mayor-hails-pope-leo-as-powerful-ally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=4147","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Thanked him for his courage\u2019: Chicago mayor hails Pope Leo as powerful ally"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"472bd5ad-c6d4-434f-993b-ef6121bd6a05\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A composite image of a man in a suit and a man in religious vestments.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/74ecae53de86dbeef5ae844879d38214374a7672\/0_0_1500_1200\/master\/1500.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Brandon Johnson, the Chicago mayor, and Pope Leo XIV<\/span> Composite: AP, SOPA Images via Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"472bd5ad-c6d4-434f-993b-ef6121bd6a05\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Brandon Johnson, the Chicago mayor, and Pope Leo XIV<\/span> Composite: AP, SOPA Images via Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">\u2018Thanked him for his courage\u2019: Chicago mayor hails Pope Leo as powerful ally<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Brandon Johnson, a progressive Democrat, applauded the pope for pushing back against Trump\u2019s policies in meeting<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Brandon Johnson, the Chicago mayor, cast <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/pope-leo-xiv\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Pope Leo XIV<\/a> as a powerful global ally on social justice, migration and reparations after meeting the Chicago-born pontiff at the Vatican, saying their shared roots and priorities could help amplify efforts to protect vulnerable communities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe are incredibly elated and proud of him,\u201d Johnson told the Associated Press in an interview on Friday, a day after the meeting with the American pope in a private audience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The mayor said it was comforting to know that someone who comes from the city of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/chicago\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Chicago<\/a> \u201ccan speak to justice\u201d and defend \u201cthe most vulnerable among us\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"4acc93eb-83ff-4af3-8223-31a46199af34\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-ak3j0c\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/oct\/01\/pope-leo-trump-immigration-policies\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">Pope Leo criticizes Trump\u2019s hardline immigration policies: \u2018I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s pro-life\u2019<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Johnson, a first-term progressive Democrat leading the third-largest US city, traveled to Rome with a delegation of about 50 local officials. He is a leading critic of Donald Trump and has applauded the pope for pushing back against the war in Iran and the US president\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/usimmigration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">immigration policies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/pope-leo-xiv\/2026\/05\/28\/mayor-brandon-johnson-pope-leo-vatican-visit-meeting\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">According to<\/a> Johnson, the first thing Pope Leo asked him was: \u201cHow\u2019s Chicago?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI was able to say that Chicago is strong and that we are transforming \u2026 He gave, I think, a great sort of pastoral nod, a pleasure to hear the incredible progress that \u2026 we\u2019ve made,\u201d the mayor said in a press conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cFirst of all, I thanked him for his courage,\u201d Johnson said, adding: \u201cI thanked him for his moral stance against these endless wars, and certainly talked about the vote that I took in city council a couple of years ago, calling for a ceasefire [in Gaza] and the releasing of hostages and our continuous stance on ending these illegal wars. We also talked about just elevating the awareness of the conditions that many people are living through, whether that\u2019s in Chicago or Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He noted the meeting underscored areas of alignment between Chicago\u2019s policy agenda and the pope\u2019s emphasis on social justice, particularly on the legacy of slavery and the treatment of migrants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Johnson said the pontiff\u2019s apology for the Catholic church\u2019s role in slavery reinforced his administration\u2019s push for reparations, including efforts to fund a task force examining the lasting impact on Black Americans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe fact that the pope made a very clear declaration apologizing for the church\u2019s role in slavery \u2026 is an affirmation to the work that we\u2019re doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Johnson stressed the visit reflects an effort to position Chicago within a broader international push for human rights, with the pope\u2019s global influence lending weight to the city\u2019s agenda on justice, migration and reparative policies \u2013 and potentially extending that message well beyond the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Migration was also central to their discussion. Johnson said Pope Leo asked directly about conditions in Chicago following a US immigration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/nov\/13\/chicago-fight-ice-raids\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">crackdown and efforts<\/a> to deport migrants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cHe wanted to know the conditions on the ground in Chicago \u2026 how we were responding,\u201d Johnson said, adding the pontiff was aware of \u201cthe mass effort to deport immigrants from the city of Chicago and really around the country\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Last year, Johnson signed an executive order <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/aug\/30\/chicago-mayor-executive-order-trump-immigration-raids\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">directing <\/a>the city to resist Trump\u2019s immigration raids, including ordering all city departments to guard the constitutional rights of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/nov\/13\/chicago-fight-ice-raids\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Chicago residents <\/a>\u201camidst the possibility of imminent militarized immigration or national guard deployment by the federal government\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Among the gifts brought to the pope were letters from families of detained immigrants, a Southwest community ICE watch pin, as well as an \u201cImmigrants Make America Greater\u201d hat from the Chicago sister cities international program, the Chicago Tribune <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/05\/28\/pope-leo-chicago-gifts\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">reported.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Other gifts presented to the pontiff \u2013 a notable White Sox fan \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/05\/28\/pope-leo-chicago-gifts\/?clearUserState=true\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">included<\/a> a White Sox hat adorned with the Italian flag, his parents\u2019 diplomas from DePaul University, a Pope Leo Cubs jersey, and a range of memorabilia from community organizations and educational institutions throughout the city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Since being elected last May, Pope Leo has gained widespread backing across the US particularly because of his refusal to acquiesce to the Trump administration and his criticism of the US-Israel war on Iran, which he said was being fueled by a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/apr\/11\/pope-leo-us-israel-iran-war\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">delusion of omnipotence\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Trump, meanwhile, has personally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/19\/republican-senator-criticizes-trump-pope-feud\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">attacked<\/a> the pontiff, describing him as \u201cweak on crime and terrible for foreign policy\u201d earlier this year. Pope Leo dismissed the remarks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/apr\/13\/donald-trump-pope-leo\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">responding:<\/a> \u201cI\u2019m not afraid of the Trump administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In the wake of these exchanges, the pope has won over many Americans \u2013 Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/08\/pope-leo-american-support-in-trump-clash\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">hailed<\/a> him as a \u201cbreath of fresh air\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Earlier this week, Pope Leo used his first encyclical \u2013 a major papal text \u2013 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/25\/pope-leo-encyclical-ai-artificial-intelligence-slavery\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">denounce<\/a> artificial intelligence and \u201cnew forms of slavery\u201d tied to the digital economy, calling for the \u201cdisarming\u201d of AI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He also warned of \u201ca troubling revival of war as an instrument of international politics\u201d, saying the technology was helping to facilitate the \u201cnormalisation of war\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/chicago\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Chicago<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/pope-leo-xiv\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Pope Leo XIV<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/illinois\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Illinois<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/democrats\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=%E2%80%98Thanked%20him%20for%20his%20courage%E2%80%99:%20Chicago%20mayor%20hails%20Pope%20Leo%20as%20powerful%20ally&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/29\/chicago-mayor-pope-leo?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F29%2Fchicago-mayor-pope-leo&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/29\/chicago-mayor-pope-leo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brandon Johnson, the Chicago mayor, and Pope Leo XIV Composite: AP, SOPA Images via Shutterstock View image in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}