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VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo criticized the emergence of nationalist political movements on Sunday, calling them unfortunate, without naming a specific country or national leader.
Leo, the first pope from the US, asked during a Mass with a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter鈥檚 Square that God would 鈥渙pen borders, break down walls (and) dispel hatred.鈥�
鈥淭here is no room for prejudice, for 鈥榮ecurity鈥� zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,鈥� said the pontiff.
Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected on May 8 to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.
Before becoming pontiff, Prevost was not shy about criticizing US President Donald Trump, sharing numerous disapproving posts about Trump and Vice President JD Vance on X in recent years.
The Vatican has not confirmed the new pope鈥檚 ownership of the X account, which had the handle @drprevost, and was deactivated after Leo鈥檚 election.
Francis, pope for 12 years, was a sharp critic of Trump. The late pope said in January that the president鈥檚 plan to deport millions of migrants in the US during his second term was a 鈥渄isgrace.鈥�
Earlier, Francis said Trump was 鈥渘ot Christian鈥� because of his views on immigration.
鈥淎 person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,鈥� Francis said when asked about Trump in 2016.
Leo was celebrating a Mass for Pentecost, one of the Church鈥檚 most important holidays.