Pope's Christmas service includes 'unexpected gesture' seen as protest to key Trump policy

Pope Leo XIV made an "unexpected gesture" at his Christmas service that is being taken as a dig at Trump's key policy.

The pope, who has been accused of making "pointed remarks" aimed at Trump in the past, gave a Christmas speech largely devoid of political references. But the issue of immigration crept in, as Reuters reports:

"Leo, celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world's cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis, has a quieter, more diplomatic style than his predecessor and usually refrains from making political references in his sermons. In a later Christmas blessing, the pope, who has made care for immigrants a key theme of his early papacy, also lamented the situation for migrants and refugees who 'traverse the American continent'," the report states. "Leo, who has in the past criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, did not mention Trump. In a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday, the pope said refusing to help the poor and strangers was tantamount to rejecting God himself."

He also raised eyebrows when he reportedly stepped out of the church into bad weather to great those in attendance.

"Pope Leo’s Christmas celebrations began with an unexpected gesture of hospitality. Before the liturgy even started, the newly elected pontiff — the first American to lead the Church — walked out into St. Peter’s Square to welcome about 5,000 people standing under a cold downpour," according to another report. "The basilica was filled to its 6,000-person capacity, yet Leo made sure those stuck outside knew they weren’t forgotten. 'I admire and respect and thank you for your courage and your wanting to be here this evening,' he told them, praising their perseverance 'even in this weather'."

It continued:

"It was a small moment, but a telling one: the pope literally stepped beyond the comfortable confines of the church to be with people who had no room inside. That image set the stage for the message he would soon deliver in his homily."

Christopher Hale, a ’20 Democratic nominee for Congress, connected it to immigration.

"Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica was standing-room-only — and thousands stood outside in the cold rain. Before the liturgy began, Pope Leo stepped away from the altar and walked into the square to greet them. It wasn’t just an act of kindness. It was a visible sign of the homily to come: a society that shuts out migrants and the poor shuts out Christ," according to Hale.

That message was also shared by ex-GOP lawmaker and prominent Trump critic Barbara Comstock.