The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has openly criticized United States President-elect, Donald Trump’s proposed immigration policies, calling the plan to deport undocumented immigrants a “disgrace.”
During an interview on Italian television, the pontiff addressed Trump’s aggressive agenda of executive orders targeting undocumented immigrants.
Trump, who is set to be inaugurated on Monday, has faced growing concerns over the potential human cost of his policies.
“If it is true, it will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing to pay the unpaid bill. It won’t do. This is not the way to solve things,” Francis remarked during the Sunday interview.
Migration has been a central theme of Francis’ papacy, with the Pope consistently advocating for the acceptance and integration of migrants.
This stance is deeply personal for Francis, who recently reflected on his family’s migration experience in his new autobiography.
He recounted how his father and paternal grandparents narrowly avoided a tragic fate in 1927 when they switched their travel plans from the ill-fated Principessa Mafalda, which sank en route from Italy to Argentina.
The Pope’s criticism of Trump’s immigration policies aligns with the views of key Catholic leaders in the U.S.
He has appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy as the next Archbishop of Washington, DC, a move that signals a potentially critical stance toward the incoming administration.
McElroy has previously condemned mass deportations, describing them as “incompatible with Catholic doctrine.”
Similarly, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago voiced his opposition to Trump’s deportation plans on Sunday.
Francis’ current comments echo his earlier criticism from 2016 when he suggested that Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric was “not Christian.”
The Pope made these remarks during an appearance on the talk show Che Tempo Che Fa, broadcast on Nove, a network owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
In the same interview, Francis announced a historic appointment: Sister Raffaella Petrini will become the president of the commission governing Vatican City State, succeeding a cardinal in the role.
Her appointment, set for March, follows the Pope’s recent decision to name the first female leader of a Vatican department.
Addressing concerns about his health, Francis also shared updates on his recovery from a fall that left his arm in a sling. “It is moving better,” he assured.
