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Pope Francis is Willing to Confront Trump on Border Wall and Separating Families

Pope Francis is Willing to Confront Trump on Border Wall and Separating Families
Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY 2.0
The pontiff is a consistent Trump critic

In an interview with a Televisa, Pope Francis came down heavily on United States President Donald Trump, declaring that he will personally tell the American President it will be wrong to construct any border wall[/tweetit]. The pope also warned President Trump to desist from the resumption of his controversial policy of separating the migrant families. The pontiff reminded the reporter about the new defunct Berlin Wall and the immense suffering it bred. The pope was puzzled as to how building walls can be a solution to the problems faced by the United States. The head of the Catholic Church is a vocal opponent of many policies adopted by the Trump administration.

Pope Francis is Willing to Confront Trump on Border Wall and Separating Families [/tweetthis]

Pope Francis, who has been at odds with Trump on migration issues, discussed the U.S.-Mexican border situation with Valentina Alazraki, a reporter doing the Vatican beat and a Mexican citizen. The pontiff said, “Separating children from their parents goes against natural law, and those Christians … you can’t do it. It is cruel. It is among the greatest of cruelties. And to defend what? Territory, or the economy of a country or who knows what.”

For Pope Francis, locking horns with Trump has now become a matter of habit. He commented prisoners on March 31, the same weekend the Trump administration announced its intentions of slashing all aid to Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. This action was taken to punish their respective governments to stop the influx of unauthorized migrants at the United States-Mexican border. Francis’ response to the threat made by the U.S. President to close the border was the advice that migration “must be resolved differently, humanely, not with razor wire.”

The Vatican announced on April 27 that Pope Francis had donated $500,000 as an aid to migrants presently stranded in Mexico who want a better future in the United States but found the border shut. The money donated by the pontiff will be distributed to a total of 27 projects scattered all over Mexico to assist the funding of food, housing, and other necessities to the Central American migrants. The pope has consistently criticized the immigration policy adopted by the Trump administration. In 2016, Francis said any individual who thinks of building walls and not bridges could not be considered a Christian.

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