Pope Leo XIV visits Argentine care home, urges protection of the vulnerable

Senate to consider disability benefits as Milei’s administration resists implementing disability-care law

Pope Leo XIV made a pilgrimage to the Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole, south of Buenos Aires, on his first full day in Argentina, renewing his call for the country to protect its weakest and most vulnerable residents. The Associated Press described the visit as “a symbolically powerful rebuke of President Javier Milei’s austerity measures.” Leo’s visit came days before Argentina’s Senate is due to consider setting aside money for disability benefits in next year’s budget.

Founded by an Italian priest in 1935, Cottolengo houses more than 400 people with disabilities on its 123-acre (50-hectare) grounds and is known as the “city of charity.” Milei’s austerity measures have affected the center, health care and social services. His administration has frozen payments for specialized therapy programs that for decades have served many of Argentina’s estimated 5 million people with disabilities.

Some residents and employees wept as Leo arrived. Leo embraced people in wheelchairs, chatted with them, blessed them and told them their lives were a blessing, not a burden on society.

In the center’s chapel, Leo said, “You can help us to remember the foundation of the dignity of every human being and what is truly important in life.” He said he dreamed that Argentines would be inspired to replace the pursuit of economic success and the “cult of outward appearances” with “great works of charity” like the Cottolengo home. “A nation’s progress is also measured by how it welcomes all people with disabilities and particular needs,” he said.

Argentina’s Congress overrode Milei’s veto last year to pass a law increasing funding for disability care. His administration has resisted implementing the law, citing concerns that it would undermine the government’s fiscal balance. Care homes such as Cottolengo are still owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Senate is due to consider legislation setting aside money for disability benefits in next year’s budget, and Milei opposes the measure.

Given the circumstances, it was deeply significant that Leo chose to start his visit to Argentina by meeting with the Cottolengo guests, said Kuyen Rolon Rey, a volunteer at the home. “The people here deserve this grace,” Rolon Rey said. “Choosing such a small place, but big if measured with love, makes us very happy.”

Milei took office in late 2023. The Associated Press reported that his austerity agenda has made him an icon of the global conservative backlash against the liberal establishment. His government has portrayed the cuts to disability programs as part of a reform process aimed at eliminating fraud and waste in the federal bureaucracy, and allies of his government in the Trump administration have used the same framing.

The visit kicked off a busy day for Leo. The Associated Press characterized the American pope’s visit as “fulfilling the unfinished legacy of Argentine Pope Francis” and said it emphasized Catholic social teaching that calls for putting the weakest and most vulnerable at the center of economic policy. Leo arrived in Argentina on Sunday with Milei at his side and, in his first speech in the country, cited Francis’ frequent refrain that money must serve and not rule: “The economy must serve the person, not the person the economy.” Leo was expected to repeat the message later Monday when he meets with business leaders, union representatives and leaders of popular movements at the Catholic University of Argentina.

Among those invited are domestic manufacturers affected by cheap imports since Milei scrapped long-standing trade barriers, and members of Argentina’s largest labor confederation, who took their worries over job losses and shrinking wages to the Vatican in September.

For many Argentines, the day’s highlight was to be Leo’s late-morning Mass at the Monumento a los Españoles, which was expected to draw as many as 2 million people. The same site hosted the last papal Mass in Argentina, celebrated by St. John Paul II nearly 40 years ago. Thousands arrived at midnight to secure a good spot for Leo’s first Mass in Argentina.

Isabel Martín, 73, came with her parish group from San Andrés Avelino. She said she was praying for Leo to “touch the heart” of Milei, whose spending cuts have also affected pensioners. “The pope was very specific in his message yesterday,” she said, referring to Leo’s inaugural speech to Milei. “The weakest cannot be the ones carrying the burden of the adjustment, especially poor retirees. If anyone can make him reconsider, it’s the pope.” Argentina’s minimum pension is approximately $300, about a quarter of what an older adult needs to cover medicine, housing and food.

Leo’s message was also resonating with younger Argentines, who have shown the sharpest decline in Catholic practice of any age group. Margarita Lanús celebrated her 16th birthday Monday while waiting for Leo’s Mass, sharing a cake on the sidewalk with her large family. “I really like that he says things as they are; he goes straight to the point,” she said.

Leo has been welcomed by huge crowds in Buenos Aires, the second stop of his three-nation tour of South America that ends later this week in Peru, his second homeland. Late Sunday, groups of faithful chanting “Pope Leo, Pope Leo” and “Long live the pope” gathered in front of the Vatican’s embassy, or nunciature, where Leo is staying. A smiling Leo stepped outside to greet them and offered his blessing.

AP reporter Isabel DeBre contributed. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for the content.