Silke Jasso
In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais , Pope Francis says he’s reluctant to make predictions about the coming Trump presidency, preferring to “wait and see” what Trump does before taking a stance.
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His aversion to drawing early conclusions is diplomatic, given some of Trump’s previous comments about him.
In February 2016, Pope Francis made a visit to Mexico, stopping at the border where Trump’s proposed wall (that Americans will pay for) would stand. He denounced the wall, saying, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the Gospel.”
And later last year, he said, “Walled citizens, terrified on one side, excluded, exiled, and still more terrified on the other. Is that the life that our Father God wants for their children? […] Dear brothers and sisters — all walls fall. All of them. Do not be fooled.” These comments were widely viewed as a critique of President Trump.
Trump was quick to seize on the comments, writing of the Pope and Mexico:
For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn.
In doing so, he was the first presidential candidate to call the world leader of the Catholic Church “disgraceful.”
Friday, as Trump was sworn in, Francis sent a message to the new president, saying, “I pray that your decisions will be guided by the rich spiritual and ethical values” of the United States, adding, “Under your leadership, may America’s stature continue to be measured above all by its concern for the poor, the outcast and those in need.”
