Pope On Trump: Anyone Who Wants Border Walls Isn't Christian
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (KDKA/AP) - After celebrating Mass on the Mexican-U.S. border and leaving no doubt he stood with migrants, Pope Francis stepped right into the middle of the American presidential campaign.
Asked about Donald Trump's plan to build a wall on the Mexican border, he minced no words:
"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian," said the Pope.
"This is not the gospel."
"As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not getting involved in that. I say only this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt."
That brought an immediate response from the Republican front-runner.
"For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful," said Trump.
Trump said Francis was misled by the Mexican government.
"He didn't see the crime, the drug trafficking. The economic impact is horrendous. People can come into our country but they have to come in legally," said Trump.
While Trump is the most outspoken, most of the other Republican candidates support a border wall, too.
But trump said Francis would really prefer him as president if the Vatican were ever attacked by ISIS.
"If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president. It's true."
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