Trump or Harris? Pope Francis asks Catholic voters to vote for the “lesser evil”

On board the papal plane, Pope Francis said on Friday, September 13, 2024, that Catholics in the United States will have to choose “the lesser evil” in the upcoming elections, referring to the defense of the right to abortion by the Democratic Party candidate, Kamala Harris, and the deportations of millions of immigrants promised by the Republican, Donald Trump.

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“Both (cases) are against life, the one that expels the migrants and the one that kills the children“, Francis said in response to the question of which candidate Catholic voters in the United States should vote for, at a press conference on board the plane returning from his tour of Asia and Oceania.

What did Pope Francis say about Trump’s proposal?

The Pope argued that “expelling migrants, not giving them the ability to work or shelter is a grave sin” and recalled that the Old Testament always says that we must welcome “the foreigner, the orphan and the widow” and reiterated that whoever does not welcome a migrant commits a sin against life.

Francis recalled his Mass at the Mexican border in El Paso, where the shoes of migrants who died trying to cross it were, and said that now “There is a stream of migrants arriving from Central America who are treated like slaves and taken advantage of.“.

What did Pope Francis say about Harris’ initiative?

While about He said that abortion “is killing a human being” and that, “even if they are words that are not liked, It’s a murder“.

“You won’t like this, but it’s murder and this doesn’t mean that the Church is closed. It’s that The Church does not allow abortion because it is murder and we are clear about this.“, he stressed.

And he reiterated: “Expelling immigrants is evil, and throwing a child out of its mother’s womb is murder. And this must be said clearly and without buts. Both things are clear.“.

“I’m not an American and I’m not going to vote, but, between that lady (referring to Harris) or that gentleman (Trump), let each one do it according to his conscience“, he said.

Abortion and immigration issues were among the topics of fierce debate between the two candidates during this week’s televised debate.

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