Pope Leo to speak virtually in Chicago — and it will happen right when Trump military parade rolls out
What message is the Pope sending from Chicago?
Live Events
How different both of the events are?
Has Pope Leo XIV rejected Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies?
FAQs
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
This Saturday, two prominent people will try to garner the Americans attention in very different ways. President Donald Trump will celebrate his birthday with a huge military parade in Washington, D.C. and at the same time, Pope Leo XIV will send a heartfelt virtual message and mass from Chicago The timing couldn't be more symbolic. People are facing the biggest dilemma of now having to decide between attending Pope Leo XIV's special speech and Donald Trump's birthday and military parade on Saturda.The event, which is almost sold out, is all about unity and compassion , which is the opposite of what President Trump is doing with his show of force and nationalism. There are disagreements about values and the direction of leadership.The president's multimillion-dollar party in Washington, D.C., coincides with the pontiff's plans to broadcast a video message and mass in his hometown of Chicago.The event will take place at Rate Field, home of Pope Leo's favorite team, the Chicago White Sox, and tickets are available for $5 each online. The 40,000-seat stadium was nearly completely sold out as of Wednesday, as per a report by The Independent.About 6,600 Army soldiers and military hardware, including a WWII-era B-25 bomber, a P-1 fighter, and Vietnam-era Huey helicopters, along with 25 M1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker armored vehicles, and four Paladin self-propelled artillery vehicles, are expected to participate in Trump's military parade. Thus, the atmosphere in Washington, D.C., will be a little different.Although it hasn't specifically mentioned the president, the pope has also denounced anti-immigrant rhetoric, including remarks made by the Trump administration.In social media posts made while still a cardinal, Leo, who was elected Holy See last month, was known to have expressed disagreement with both the president and vice president, J.D. Vance.During Sunday's mass in St. Peter's Square, Leo prayed for peace and communication while denouncing the rise of nationalist political movements worldwide."Prejudice, 'security' zones that divide us from our neighbors, and the exclusive mentality that, regrettably, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms have no place where love exists," he said.Pope Leo previously expressed disapproval of the treatment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadorian immigrant who the Trump administration accused of being a member of the MS-13 gang, as per a report.The Pope's virtual mass in Chicago coincides with Trump's parade, which could highlight opposing visions of leadership.His speech emphasizes unity, compassion, and a rejection of rising nationalist sentiment around the world.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Too many non-working holidays': Donald Trump on Juneteenth, skips celebration; once claimed to make it 'famous'
President Donald Trump talks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP) US President Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made it "very famous. ' But on this year's Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, the usually talkative president kept silent about a day important to Black Americans for marking the end of slavery in the country he leads again. Juneteenth, the holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States, has been celebrated at the White House each June 19 since it was enshrined into law four years ago. But Thursday, it went unmarked by the president -- except for a post on social media in which he said he would get rid of some "non-working holidays." "Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don't want it either! Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. ," Trump said in mangled syntax, not mentioning Juneteenth by name nor acknowledging that Thursday was a federal holiday. "It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the US after the Civil War — specifically, the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, to inform enslaved African Americans there that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people had been freed. A few months later, the 13th Amendment was ratified, officially abolishing slavery in the remaining four border states that had not been covered by Lincoln's proclamation. and belatedly announced that enslaved people were freed. Earlier Thursday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters during the daily briefing that she was not aware of any plans by Trump to celebrate the day or otherwise officially mark it. "I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today," Leavitt said of the president, who has in the past week signed proclamations commemorating Father's Day, Flag Day and National Flag Week, and the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill -- none of which are among the 11 federal holidays in United States. The lack of revelry at the White House for a holiday that has been cherished by generations of Black Americans was perhaps not a surprise. Trump, in his last term, issued statements on the anniversary of Juneteenth every year for three years, before it was ever a federal holiday. "Melania and I send our warmest greetings to all those celebrating Juneteenth, a historic day recognizing the end of slavery," he wrote in 2017, extolling Maj Gen Gordon Granger, who announced in Galveston in 1865 that "all slaves were free." In 2018 he evoked Granger again, and praised "the courage and sacrifice of the nearly 200,000 former enslaved and free African Americans who fought for liberty." Trump has previously also tried to take credit for making Juneteenth "very famous," saying during his first term in 2020 that, 'nobody had ever heard of it." His comments came while the nation was reeling from ongoing civil unrest after George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. But since returning to office he has moved to purge the federal government of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and sanitize Black history -- or even erase references to it entirely. Juneteenth is the newest US federal holiday, enshrined into law in 2021 by Congress and then-President Joe Biden. Trump cannot undo it without an act of Congress.
The Hindu
32 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Despite deportations and visa denials, Indians stand by Donald Trump
Indians continue to hold a relatively high opinion of U.S. President Donald Trump and his ability to handle immigration policies, even though confidence in his leadership has declined sharply or remained low among people of other countries. This strong support comes despite incidents of forced deportations of Indians and a rise in visa denials for Indian students. Pew Survey data also shows that a smaller share of Indians considers him 'dangerous' or 'arrogant' compared to those of other countries. In the survey conducted between February and April, only 27% of Indians said that they had 'no confidence' in Mr. Trump to handle the country's immigration policies. This is the third lowest share among the 24 countries surveyed (Chart 1). Notably, 29% of Indians declined to offer an opinion on this issue — the highest such share by a wide margin. The remaining 45% expressed confidence in Mr. Trump's handling of immigration policies. Chart 1 shows the % of respondents who have confidence/no confidence in Trump to handle immigration policy The opinions in India were recorded in the same month as well as in the months following the deportation of about 1,000 Indians by the U.S. In fact, in February, the first month of Mr. Trump's presidency, U.S. visas issued to Indian students declined by 30%. This drop was much steeper than what was recorded for Chinese, Vietnamese, or Japanese students. In the survey, 59% of Japanese respondents expressed no confidence in Mr. Trump's ability to handle immigration policies, while 87% of Mexicans believed so. More recently, the Trump administration paused the scheduling of new visa interviews globally and expanded its vetting of foreign students' social media accounts. The U.S. government also terminated or revoked the visas of more than 1,000 international students — many of them Indians. In the survey, 53% of Indians expressed confidence in Mr. Trump's ability of handling climate change issues. This was the third highest share among the 24 countries surveyed, behind Kenyans and Nigerians (Chart 2). This answer came a month after Mr. Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. Chart 2 shows the % of respondents who have confidence/no confidence in Trump to handle climate change Only 34% of Indians described Mr. Trump as 'arrogant' — the second lowest share among the 24 countries surveyed, and well below the 24-country median of 80% (Chart 3). Similarly, only 36% of Indians considered him 'dangerous'. This was again the second lowest share; the median was 65%. Half the Indian respondents said Mr. Trump is 'able to understand complex problems'. This was among the highest shares across the countries surveyed. The share of Indians who described him as 'honest' was 50% — the third highest share after Nigerians and Kenyans; the median was 28%. Chart 3 shows the % who say Trump is... Over 90% of people in Canada, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Spain considered Mr. Trump 'arrogant' and over 70% of them said he was 'dangerous'. In Sweden, only 19% of people said that he understands complex problems and only 20% in Germany said that he is honest. Also, 52% of Indians have confidence in Mr. Trump of doing the right thing in world affairs. This is the fourth highest share behind Israelis, Nigerians, and Kenyans. Just 23% of Indians said they have no confidence in Mr. Trump to do the right thing; this is the second lowest share behind Nigerians (Chart 4). Chart 4 shows the % of respondents who have confidence/no confidence in Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs In the Netherlands and France, only 22% of the respondents said they had confidence in Mr. Trump's ability to do the right thing. In Sweden and Mexico, over 85% of respondents said they had no confidence in him to do the right thing. Source: Pew Research Center vignesh.r@ Also Read: Impacts of the U.S.' crackdown on foreign-born students : Data
Mint
41 minutes ago
- Mint
‘Dictator approved' sculpture smashing Statue of Liberty in DC baffles internet: ‘Trump should take a selfie with it'
In another turn of events, the artists behind last year's controversial 'poop statue" are back with another masterpiece. This time, it is called 'Dictator Approved', a mocking nod to US President Donald Trump. The statue stands tall in the same spot on the National Mall near Third Street NW. The 8-foot-tall sculpture of a gold-painted hand gives a thumbs-up while crushing the seafoam green crown of the Statue of Liberty. According to a permit from the National Park Service, the artists created Dictator Approved as a response to the military parade held on June 14. 'Will feature imagery similar to autocratic, oppressive regime, i.e. N. Korea, Russia, and China, marching through DC, " the application penned by the sculpture's architects states. According to the parade, the purpose of this artistic masterpiece is to bring to notice the 'the praising these types of oppressive leaders have given Donald Trump.' An all four sides of the artwork's base, quotes from world leaders are inscribed. One is from Russian President Vladimir Putin that states, 'President Trump is a very bright and talented man.' Another from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban which states, 'The most respected, the most feared person is Donald Trump.' The third side features a quote from former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, 'We do have a great deal of shared values. I admire President Trump.' The fourth quote is from no other than North Korea's Kim Jong Un, ''Your Excellency.' A 'special' relationship. 'The extraordinary courage of President Trump.'' The permit lists Mary Harris as the applicant which allows the artwork to be in place until 5:00 PM of June 22, The Washington Post reported citing permit documents. Its placement was authorised from 7:00 AM of June 16. Social media users were in a frenzy on seeing the 'Dictator Approved' artwork and flooded the internet with hilarious reactions. A user stated, 'This is more beautiful than the statue of liberty itself.' Another user remarked, 'Trump is dictator-approved.' A third user stated, 'This is hilarious!' A fourth user quipped, 'Trump needs to do a selfie next to it.' A fifth user remarked, 'Art as protest—love it. A bold statement against authoritarianism right on the Mall.'
