In a thinly veiled statement this week Pope Francis called out Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his stance against illegal immigration.
On the plane ride back to the Vatican after visiting Mexico, reporters asked Pope Francis about Trump’s plans to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico to stop the influx of illegal aliens.
The Pope responded, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.”
Mr. Trump, not one to take criticism lying down, responded to the Pope’s comments. “I don’t think he understands the danger of the open border that we have with Mexico,” he said. “I think Mexico got him to do it because they want to keep the border just the way it is. They’re making a fortune and we’re losing.”
What the presidential hopeful should have pointed out is that the Pope, who resides in Vatican City, is surrounded by a massive stone wall. In 852 A.D. a wall was built around Vatican City to protect it from Muslim invaders. Throughout the centuries the Vatican has reinforced the wall and enlarged it to its current size covering more than 100 acres.
Perhaps Trump could have responded with the ancient Christian proverb “Those that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
Instead Trump took the high road and told Fox Business Network, “I think the Pope is a very political person. I think he doesn’t understand the problems our country has.”
Trump hit right to the core of the issue with his retort to the Pope. The Pope, who is known for being a kind gentle soul who cares for the poor and exploited, overstepped his bounds with these comments. He inferred that the American people should take in any one who comes to the country, illegally or not.
But the church does not have the authority or should even suggest what a leader of any country should do. That is best left up to the voters.
I wonder if the Pope would change his tune if we dropped the myriad of Mexican illegals that flood our great nation everyday asking for free healthcare, money and food stamps on the Vatican’s doorstep. Let him try to figure out how to feed and house these illegal aliens and see if he doesn’t try to stop more of them from coming to his city after a time.
What America’s next president needs to do is offer real solutions to the problem of illegal immigration. The American taxpayers simply cannot afford to feed, house, educate and provide jobs for the millions of refugees from Mexico and other countries. It’s just not feasible!
But before the Pope calls me a “non-Christian” for asserting that I and other Americans cannot take care of all of these illegal immigrants. I would remind him that in fact we do care.
America has an immigration policy that allows thousands of refugees in each year. We are not bad people or bad Christians because we simply want people to enter our country the legal way.
