Pope And Trump Go To War Over Mexican Wall

Pope Francis drew the battle line with Donald Trump after labeling the U.S Presidential not Christian because of his views on immigration on his way back to Rome from Mexico. The Pope added that he did not want to advise American Catholics on whether or not to vote for Trump.

The Pope's dramatic intervention came in a freewheeling conversation with reporters on his flight back from a visit to Mexico. Francis was asked about Trump and some of his statements, such as vowing to build a wall between the United States and Mexico if he becomes president and the Pope said “a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian, this is not in the gospel”

Asked if American Catholics should vote for someone with Trump's views, Francis said “I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.  We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt. Vote, don't vote. I won't meddle”. The Pope had used his visit to highlight immigration by celebrating mass in Ciudad Juarez, which sits directly on the border with El Paso.

The final day on Wednesday was the most symbolic and politically bold moment of Francis' trip, with hundreds of thousands gathering for Mass at a Ciudad Juarez fairground while an estimated 30,000 more watched via simulcast at a football stadium just across the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. Francis also aimed a message north of the border at a time of increasingly tough presidential campaign rhetoric on immigration in the United States. The pope appealed for governments to open their hearts to the 'human tragedy' of forced migration. No more death! No more exploitation! he implored.

Francis stopped short of calling outright for the U.S. to open its borders, but he urged recognition that the multitudes fleeing gangland killings and extortion in their homelands are victims.