Pope Francis condemned Donald Trump’s deportation plans as a ‘disgrace’ revisiting his criticism of the incoming US president nearly a decade following calling him “not Christian” for proposing a wall at the US-Mexico border. During an appearance at an evening talk show, Francis made the comments and then followed up Monday with an official telegram of congratulations to Trump on the day of his inauguration. Francis said he prayed that America would live up to its ideals of being a “land of opportunity and welcome for all.”
He wrote in the Telegram, “It is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion”. History’s first Latin American pope was asked Sunday night about the Trump administration pledges of deportations during an appearance on a popular Italian talk show, Che Tempo Che Fa.
Francis said, “If true, this will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill” for the problem”. “This won’t do! This is not the way to solve things. That’s not how things are resolved.” he added.
Trump, who is being sworn in on Monday, made mass deportations a signature issue of his campaign and has promised a raft of first-day orders to remake immigration policy. During his first campaign for the presidency, in 2016, Francis was asked about Trump’s plans to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. Speaking following he celebrated Mass along the border, Francis said anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants is “not Christian.”
Many US bishops have firmly opposed Trump’s deportation plan, with the incoming archbishop of Washington D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy, saying such policies were “incompatible with Catholic doctrine.” It was a reference to the Biblical call to “welcome the stranger.” Another cardinal close to Francis, Chicago Cardinal Blasé Cupich, said the reports of mass deportations targeting the Chicago area are not only profoundly disturbing but also wound us deeply.
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