ROME, Italy — Pope Francis told reporters Friday that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are both “anti-life” and Americans must choose in their conscience which is the “lesser evil” next November.
During his flight back to Rome from Singapore, the Pope asked What advice would you give to Catholic voters in the upcoming US election who are faced with a choice between a candidate who supports abortion and one who wants to deport 11 million immigrants?
“Both are against life: those that drive immigrants away and those that kill children,” the Pope responded. “Both are against life. I can't decide. I'm not an American and I'm not going to vote there.”
“But let me be clear: denying immigrants the opportunity to work and be welcomed is a sin, a serious sin,” he continued.
“The Old Testament repeatedly speaks of the orphan, the widow and the foreigner – the immigrant,” he said. “These are the three that Israel must care for. To fail to care for the immigrant is a sin, a sin against life and humanity.”
Francis also recalled celebrating Mass at the US-Mexico border near his El Paso parish, where shoes from many migrants who “met tragic ends” were on display.
He noted that there is a flow of migrants within Central America, where often “people take advantage of the situation and are treated like slaves.”
“Migration is a right,” he argued, “and it was already in the Bible and the Old Testament. Foreigners, orphans, widows, let's not forget this.”
The Pope did not stop there, however, addressing the issue of abortion.
“Science tells us that one month after conception, a human being has all of his organs – all of them,” he said. “Abortion is killing a human being.”
“Whether you like the word or not, it's murder,” he declared. “The Church is not bigoted because it forbids abortion. The Church forbids abortion because abortion kills. It's murder. It's murder!”
The Pope said he seemed to be suggesting that killing innocent people and refusing to let migrants into the border are morally equivalent, but that neither should be given priority.
“We need to be very clear about this,” he said. “It's wrong to kick out immigrants, to not allow them to grow, to not give them a chance to make a living. It's cruel.”
“It's murder to take a child out of its mother's womb when there is life in it,” he continued. “We need to speak out about these things.”
“Both are clear: the orphan, the sojourner, the widow, don't forget this,” he said.
Asked whether there are circumstances in which it is morally permissible to vote for a candidate who supports abortion, the Pope demurred.
“Political morality generally says that not voting is ugly, it's bad,” he said. “You have to vote.”
“And one must choose the lesser evil,” he continued. “Which is the lesser evil? That woman or that man? I don't know. Each person must think and decide according to his own conscience.”
