Judge Trump by treatment of the poor, Pope Francis suggests in ‘revolutionary’ interview

November 11, 2016

Pope Francis said that he would judge American president-elect Donald Trump by his handling of the poor and immigrants, in a new interview published by the Italian daily La Repubblica.

When Eugenio Scalfari, the founder of La Repubblica, asked the Poep for his opinion of Trump, the Holy Father replied:

I do not pass judgment on people and politicians, I simply want to understand the suffering that their approach causes the poor and excluded.

(It is important to note that Scalfari interviewed Pope Francis on Monday November 8: the day before the US elections, so the Pope’s comments cannot be interpreted as a comment on the results. Also, the 92-year-old Italian journalist, who has now conducted several interviews with Pope Francis, does not take notes or record the sessions; he relies on his memory to reproduce the conversations. Thus the statements that he attributes to the Pontiff make not be fully accurate.)

In an interview that focused on economic and social problems, when asked to name his most pressing concern, Pope Francis answered: “The question of refugees and immigrants.” He went on to say that immigrants often face hostility from people who are fearful of losing their jobs, and suggested that the problem reflects the injustice of the global economic system. “Money is against the poor as well as against immigrants and refugees,” the Pope said; “but there are also poor people in rich countries who fear the arrival of their fellows from poor countries.” The only solution, he said, is to “break down the walls that divide us.”

The fundamental problem, the Pope said, is inequality, which he called “the greatest evil that exists in the world.” He added: “It is money that creates [inequality] and that goes against those measures that try to make wealth more widespread and thus promote equality.”

When Scalfari—whose political sympathies are strongly leftist—remarked that the Pope’s statement sounded akln to Marxism, the Pontiff replied that he had heard the same comment before, and “my response has always been that, if anything, it is the Communists who think like Christians.”

In an introductory remark preceding the interview in La Repubblica, Scalfari observed: “I have often written that Francis is a revolutionary, but this was beyond revolution.”

 

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Further information:

• Pope Francis: "Trump? I do not judge. I care only if he makes the poor suffer" (Repubblica)
• Pope's concern for immigrants in 'La Repubblica' interview (Vatican Radio)
• When it comes to Trump, Pope says primary concern is about migrants (CNA)
• Asked about Trump, Pope says his concern is for politicians' impact on the poor (AP)