VATICAN CITY (RNS) – Pope Leo XIV marked the United States’ 250th anniversary by calling his home country back to its founding ideals, during a speech in which he defined liberty through protecting human life, welcoming immigrants and supporting religious freedom and interfaith cooperation — themes that cut across some of the country’s most divisive debates.
The pope delivered a pro-life and pro-immigrant message, stating that the strength of a country “is deeply tied to the value it affords to human life in every form and condition,” during his live virtual remarks to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Friday (July 3).
The first U.S.-born pontiff, born in the suburbs of Chicago, acknowledged his roots “as a son of this great country.” He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Villanova University, about 12 miles west of Philadelphia.
Leo, who spoke from the Vatican, was honored at the event with the annual Liberty Medal, in recognition of his work in advancing religious liberty and freedom of conscience. He addressed the gathering alongside figures including Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez and some of the city’s Muslim, Jewish, Black Protestant and Latino Christian leaders.
In his speech, he said the right to life was the first to be enshrined by the U.S. founders and must continue to be cultivated today. Leo said that reverence for God’s gift of life is what “sways the hearts of individuals and inspires laws that recognize and safeguard this gift from the moment of conception to natural death.”
Leo’s remarks come four years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the federal constitutional right to abortion and returning the issue to the states. Abortion is currently banned in 13 states and remains a contested political and moral debate.
But the pope offered a vision for the respect and protection of life wherever it is vulnerable, which he said includes unborn babies as well as migrants, refugees and elderly, sick and disabled people.
“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to support, protect and cherish the lives of all, especially the most vulnerable and those whose worth is questioned,” he said.
A descendant of immigrant families, the pope spoke of the U.S. as a nation shaped by successive waves of immigration. In his speech, Leo tied the country’s love of freedom to it becoming a destination for immigrants from all over the world and its defense of freedom abroad.
As of 2025 data, about 51.9 million immigrants live in the U.S., representing nearly 15.4% of the population, according to Pew Research Center. Migration remains one of the most polarizing debates in the U.S. Days before Leo’s address, the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship, which sought to add new exceptions to citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrant parents.
The U.S. has long championed religious freedom, the pope said, and enshrined it in its First Amendment. “It is this freedom that holds sacred the inner sphere of the person where convictions are formed and where conscience can guide the decisions made in the intimacy of the human heart,” he said. “This same freedom also ensures the right of every person to worship according to one’s own belief, and of individuals, communities and associations to give public expression to their faith.”
Leo praised the American tradition of interfaith dialogue and interreligious cooperation, which has led to “enriching the debates on the great moral and ethical issues that have faced the nation and shaped the course of its history.”
He said he hopes this will continue in the future, calling for a “public discourse marked by moderation, respect for the views of others and an ongoing effort to find common ground in promoting the cause of peace and reconciliation, at home and abroad.”
Leo’s remarks also came amid renewed debate over Islam and religious liberty in the U.S. In June, 119 congressional Democrats condemned the newly formed GOP Sharia-Free America Caucus as discriminatory toward Muslims. The caucus, launched last December, claims that Islamic religious law poses a growing threat in the U.S., and has backed bills critics say could infringe on Muslims’ rights to free speech and religious freedom.
The pope acknowledged that building a society based on protecting life, religious freedom and the pursuit of happiness “was not always easy and, in many respects, is still a work in progress.”
Drawing from the principle of unity — which has defined his young pontificate so far — Pope Leo reminded his native country that “to flourish, it must be truly united” and urged Americans to see the country’s 250th anniversary not merely as a celebration of the past, but as a recommitment to its founding ideals.
