On Friday, Pope Francis denounced Vice President Kamala Harris for her support of abortion rights and former US President Donald Trump for his proposal to deport millions of immigrants.
On his way back to Rome from Singapore, the pope was asked about the U.S. presidential election. He said that it is a “grave” sin to reject migrants and compared having an abortion to a “assassination.”
He made the general statement that American Catholics would have to “select the lesser evil” when casting their ballots in November.
At a news conference with reporters following a strenuous 12-day journey throughout Southeast Asia and Oceania, Francis was addressing.
The pope made explicit reference to the policies and genders of Trump and Harris, even though he did not use their names. He stated Catholics need to vote even if he disapproved of both candidates.
According to the 87-year-old pope, “not voting is ugly.” “It’s not very excellent. Voting is required of you.
The least of two evils must be chosen, he said. Which one is the less bad? That woman, or that man? I’m not sure. Everyone (must) consider and act in this way out of conscience.
Roughly 52 million Catholics in the United States are considered important swing votes. Over 20% of individuals in several battleground states—Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, for example—identify as Catholic.
Leading 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Francis often exercises caution when commenting on national political contests. However, he regularly uses harsh language to denounce abortion, which is against Catholic teaching. Additionally, he has already attacked Trump’s comments toward immigrants. He declared that Trump’s political beliefs were “not Christian” during the 2016 election.
Francis declared on Friday that the platforms of both candidates are “against life.”
The pope declared, “whether it is the one who kills children or the one who is chasing away migrants.” “They’re both against life.”
If elected to a second term as president, Trump has pledged to tighten down on illegal immigration and deport millions of immigrants who are currently in the country. Also, he has not ruled out the possibility of constructing camps for undocumented immigrants to be held.
In order to reinstate national protections for access to abortion, which were overturned by the Supreme Court in its 2022 Dobbs ruling, Harris has pledged to sign any legislation approved by Congress.
In their first debate together, which took place on Wednesday, the two contenders clashed over both topics. According to most surveys, Harris is narrowly ahead in this close contest.
Citing biblical verses that designate strangers, widows, and orphans as three categories of persons that society is obligated to provide for, the pope referred to immigration as “a right.” “It is a sin not to welcome migrants,” declared the pope. “It’s serious.”
Abortion, according to Francis, “is killing a human being.” He declared that there were no justifications for abortions. He declared, “It’s an assassination.” “We must communicate clearly on these issues. Not a “but” or “however,”
With minor revisions, the U.S. bishops have released electoral guidelines every presidential cycle since 2007–08, and they have begun to explore the topic of balancing political agendas.
According to its most recent version, which was published in November 2023 with a revised preface, Catholics place a “preeminent priority” on the “threat of abortion.”
