Pope Francis Criticizes Kamala Harris And Donald Trump About Deportation Of Immigrants And Abortions

Pope Francis/DOK via Instagram @franciscus

JAKARTA - Pope Francis criticized former United States (US) President Donald Trump for his plans to deport millions of immigrants and Vice President Kamala Harris for their stance in favor of abortion rights.

The Pope said refusing migrants was a "heavy" sin, and likened abortion to "murder".

Pope Francis said Catholics in America should "choose what is not too bad" when they vote in November.

Reported by Reuters on Saturday, September 14, Pope Francis spoke at a news conference with journalists after a 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania. Although the Pope did not use the names Trump and Harris, he referred specifically to their policies and gender. Despite criticizing the two candidates, he said Catholics should vote.

"Not choosing is a bad thing," said the 87-year-old whale.

"That's not good. You have to choose," he added.

"You have to choose smaller crimes," he said.

"Who is more evil? That woman, or that man? I don't know. Everyone, in conscience, (must) think and do this," said the Pope.

Catholics in America, which number around 52 million people across the country, are often considered to be an important voter.

In some of the states on the battlefield, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, more than 20 percent of adults are Catholic.

Pope Francis, a leader of about 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, is usually careful in considering national political elections.

But he often criticizes abortion, which is prohibited by Catholic teachings, sharply. The Pope also previously criticized Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric.

During the 2016 elections, the Pope said Trump was "not a Christian" in his view.

On Friday, Pope Francis said the policies of the two candidates were "contrary to life".

"Is it people who expel migrants, or people who kill children," the Pope said. "Both are against life."

Trump promised to crack down on illegal migrants and deport millions of immigrants already in the US if elected to a second term as president. He also refused to rule out the construction of an undocumented detention camp for immigrants.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris pledged to sign any law passed by Congress to restore national protection of access to abortion, which was canceled by the Supreme Court in a 2022 decree.

The Pope called immigration a 'right' by quoting Bible verses that refer to orphans, widows, and foreigners as three types of people that the public must pay attention to.

"Not welcoming migrants is a sin," the Pope said. "This is serious," he said.

Pope Francis said abortion "kills humans". He said there was no reason to have an abortion. "It was murder," he said.

"Regarding this, we have to speak clearly. There is no word 'but' or 'however'," he added.