Pope Leo decries 'grave crime' of mistreatment of immigrants

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo decried mistreatment of immigrants as a "grave crime" on Thursday, pressing ahead with a message of welcome for migrants weeks after criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies.

Leo, the first U.S. pope, did not mention Trump or the United States specifically at a Vatican meeting with international grassroots organizations, but said governments had a "moral obligation to provide refuge" to migrants in need.

"With the abuse of vulnerable migrants, we are witnessing, not the legitimate exercise of national sovereignty, but rather grave crimes committed or tolerated by the state," the pope said.

"Ever more inhuman measures are being adopted – even celebrated politically – that treat these 'undesirables' as if they were garbage and not human beings," he said.

Leo, elected in May to replace the late Pope Francis, has been ramping up his disapproval of the Trump administration's treatment of migrants, drawing a heated backlash from some prominent conservative Catholics.

In his first major document, issued October 9, he made a plea for the world to help immigrants and invoked one of Francis' strongest criticisms of Trump.

In September, Leo criticised the "inhuman" treatment of immigrants in the U.S. and questioned whether Trump's policies were in line with the Catholic Church's pro-life teachings.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Gavin Jones)