Pope Francis has condemned President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed mass deportations of immigrants, calling them a “disgrace.”
During an Italian television interview, the Pope addressed Trump’s plans to expel undocumented immigrants through a series of aggressive executive orders. He remarked, “If this is true, it’s a disgrace. It punishes the most vulnerable, leaving them to bear the cost of others’ decisions. This is not how problems are resolved.”
Advocacy for migrants has been a central theme of Francis’s papacy. He has consistently urged societies to welcome and integrate migrants, a stance rooted in his personal history.
In his autobiography, he recounted how his paternal grandparents and father narrowly avoided tragedy while emigrating from Italy to Argentina in 1927.
The Pope’s criticism of Trump aligns with the views of other Catholic leaders. Cardinal Robert McElroy, recently appointed as the next Archbishop of Washington, D.C., has denounced mass deportations as incompatible with Catholic teachings.
Similarly, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago has voiced opposition to such measures.
Francis’s critique echoes his earlier comments during the 2016 presidential campaign when he suggested Trump’s anti-immigration stance was “not Christian.”
The interview also highlighted other updates from the Vatican, including the appointment of Sister Raffaella Petrini as president of the commission governing Vatican City, marking another step toward gender inclusivity in Church leadership.
Additionally, the Pope shared that his arm, previously injured in a fall, is recovering well.
