Pope Francis slammed President Donald Trump before his inauguration. he said that Trump’s plan to deport illegal immigrants from the United States is a “disgrace.” In an appearance on Italian national television Sunday night, the Pope said that Mr. Trump’s deportation plan “is not the way to solve things.” Fabio Fazio, the host of Che Tempo Che Fa (“What Weather We’re Having”), summarized the president’s position.
He said, Trump said, “Within two days he will begin his program of expulsion of irregular immigrants from the United States.” The Pontiff stated that he hadn’t spoken with Trump since their last meeting at the Vatican in May 2017, and added he had not congratulated him on his election. The Pope said “But if it’s true, this will be a disgrace, because it makes these poor wretches, who have nothing, pay the price for the imbalance.”
He added: “This isn’t right. This is not the way to solve things.” A few days earlier, on January 9, Francis announced that migrants should not be treated as a “problem to be managed” but should be “welcomed” for their skills and aspirations. He added, “I find it greatly disheartening to see that migration is still shrouded in a dark cloud of mistrust, rather than being seen as a source of empowerment.”
“People on the move are seen simply as a problem to be managed,” he insisted adding that they should not be “treated like objects to be moved about.” He said, that migrants “have dignity and resources that they can offer to others; they have their own experiences, needs, fears, aspirations, dreams, skills, and talents.” Francis says nations need to create “safe regular pathways,” for immigrants.
While the Pope was slamming Trump, he was hypocritically tightening its border. He has added harsh fines for anyone entering its territory. In a recent announcement, people who “enter the territory of Vatican City State with violence, threat, or deception will be punished with imprisonment from one year to four years and a fine from €10,000.00 to €25,000.00.”
The document defines, “deception,” as sneaking into Vatican territory without permission. The decree clarifies, “Entry by fraudulent circumvention of the State’s security and protection systems or by evading border controls shall be deemed to have occurred ‘by deception.’” Earlier this year, we reported on another Papal controversy. The Holy See has endorsed a document allowing those with same-sex attraction to pursue the priesthood in Italy. The Italian Episcopal Conference, the group of Roman Catholic bishops in Italy, released a document in 2023 at their 78th General Conference: “The formation of priests in churches in Italy. Guidelines and standards for seminaries.”
On Dec. 8, 2024, the Vatican’s Office of the Dicastery for the Clergy decreed that the document was in effect. The 2023 document cited a 2005 publication titled “Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders.”
According to the Holy See, “In relation to people with homosexual tendencies who approach the Seminaries, or who discover this situation during training, in line with their own Magisterium, the Church, while deeply respecting the people in question, cannot admit to the Seminary and to Holy Orders those who practice homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture.”
Watch the Interview Here:
“Trump vuole iniziare l’espulsione dei migranti irregolari”
“Se è vero, sarà una disgrazia perché fa pagare ai poveri disgraziati il conto dello squilibrio”.– Papa Francesco a #CTCF pic.twitter.com/HbFMAh1J45
— Che Tempo Che Fa (@chetempochefa) January 19, 2025
However, this new document softened the official stance of the Catholic church. According to this latest ruling, people with same-sex attractions are not banned from pursuing the priesthood in Italy. While the guidelines stress priests have an obligation to “welcome chastity as a gift, to freely choose it and live it responsibly in celibacy,” the new documents still represent a massive shift.
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video.