Lampedusa, Italy —
Pope Leo XIV marked July 4 with an appeal to Americans to receive immigrants with “compassion and generosity” as he made a visit to the frontlines of the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.
In a letter released soon after he arrived on the southern Italian island Lampedusa, the pope said that protecting human life meant “welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants,” whose “hopes, sacrifices and contribution” had formed part of the history of the United States.
The first American pontiff began his visit at the “Door to Europe,” an artwork that stands as a memorial to the thousands of migrants who have died or…