Pope Leo just met with Illinois’ radically pro-abortion, pro-LGBT Gov. JB Pritzker

Pope Leo just met with Illinois’ radically pro-abortion, pro-LGBT Gov. JB Pritzker

It would seem that the Vatican these days is willing to meet with any public figure, no matter how much they oppose the Church's moral and doctrinal teachings.

Illinois Gov. JB PritzkerShutterstock

 

Charles
Richards

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Wed Nov 19, 2025 - 2:48 pm EST

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(LifeSiteNews) — The stream of liberal clergy and scandalous public figures who are given audiences with Pope Leo XIV seemingly never comes to an end.

Earlier this year dissident Jesuit priest James Martin spent time with the Holy Father. He emerged from that meeting claiming that he believes Leo will ensure that “LGBT Catholics” are welcome in the Church.

So far, his prediction is correct, especially after the sacrilegious LGBT pilgrimage that took place inside St. Peter’s Basilica this summer.

Now comes news that pro-abortion Democratic Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois spoke with Leo for around 40 minutes at the Vatican during a private meeting Wednesday.

In the past, Pritzker has designated Illinois a “sanctuary state” for women seeking abortions, expanded access to chemical abortion pills, and approved policies LGBT activists have long desired. He may sign a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide.

According to a Pritzker spokesman, the audience with Leo Wednesday was arranged by – who else? – pro-LGBT Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, a man with whom he has had a long and rather chummy relationship.

Pope Leo meets with abortion and euthanasia lover Democrat Gov Pritzker pic.twitter.com/VyEgSDJk64

— John-Henry Westen (@JhWesten) November 19, 2025

During COVID-19, for example, Cupich worked closely with Pritzker’s office to coordinate the shutting down of churches in his archdiocese. Cupich has also amplifiedtalking points that echo Pritzker’s own remarks condemning the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

While Pope Leo has no doubt previously met with conservative clergy and laity — U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, for instance — the purpose of the Pritzker meeting seems to be overtly political.

Last week the U.S. bishops’ conference issued a “special pastoral message” for the first time in 12 years. The last time they released such a message was not to denounce the Biden administration’s mendacious spying on Catholics who attend the Latin Mass, or his backing of mutilation surgeries for gender-confused persons, but President Obama’s contraception mandate.

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This week Tuesday outside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo expressed support for the USCCB’s message.

READ: Pope Leo lends support to USCCB statement criticizing Trump’s immigration policies

“I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity they have,” he said. “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts, there’s a system of justice. I think there are a lot of problems in the system.”

So the timing of Pritzker’s audience Wednesday is rather beneficial, politically speaking.

Indeed, the Chicago Tribune has reported that the two spoke about “their shared concerns about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices in Chicago.”

And there you have it.

It would seem that the Vatican these days is willing to meet with any public figure, no matter how much they oppose the Church’s moral and doctrinal teachings. So long as they support Leo’s views on immigration, they are given the green light for a photo-op with the pope.

Such debasement of the office of the papacy was unimaginable for those holy men who in centuries past were always careful to guard the dignity of the office they occupy. Not every one of them did this to perfection, of course, but it cannot be said that the scandal being caused today has precedent in the Church’s illustrious past. A new low is being reached seemingly every day now.

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