Pope on Trump: Anyone who wants border walls isn’t Christian

“I’m convinced he’s a Christian”.

In the future, a better approach for the Pope would be to forgo the politics and focus on saving souls and preaching the Gospel.

“I have no doubts that he is a man of faith and he is a Christian”, Falwell also stated on Fox’s “Hannity”. He made the remark hours after praying for beleaguered migrants at the Mexican border, where Mr. Trump, who disparaged those migrants as rapists, wants to build a wall. And then, a person who thinks only of building walls, wherever that might be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian. “This is not the gospel”.

“I was a handshake away from him”, he said, describing a wordless interaction with the Pope, who he said exuded a sense of calm, warmth and graciousness.

“There may be circumstances that invite a re-evaluation of the judgment on artificial means of contraception”, Villegas said, adding that once more “the pope has shown his sensitivity to complex human situations” and “allowed the world see the merciful face of the church”. The remarks prompted a swift rebuke from Trump, who called them “disgraceful”.

“For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful”, he said at a campaign stop in SC, which holds a key primary on Saturday.

The Pope ignited a fierce response from U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate hopeful Trump when, without naming him, he questioned his Christian credentials.

The candidate later changed his tone, saying he does not like fighting with the pope, and like’s what the papal leader represents.

“I think he said something much softer than it was originally reported by the media”. He demeaned the pope as a pawn of Mexico’s government and called him a “very political person”. “I have a lot of respect for the pope”.

“I think that’s a relationship they have with their Lord and savior and themselves”.

Now the Vatican’s spokesman Father Federico Lombardi has said the comments were “in no way a personal attack”. He reiterates that it is un-Christian of the presidential candidate to release such statements. “As to whether I am a pawn, well, maybe, I don’t know”. “I don’t think the Pope really understood in terms of the crime problem and the problems of illegal immigration”.

“I said ‘Wow!’ I immediately re-tweeted it”, said Risa Hontiveros, a former congresswoman who co-authored the widely debated legislation.

“But the pope said what we well know, when we follow his teaching and his positions: that one mustn’t build walls, but bridges”, said Lombardi. Flying back to Rome, the pontiff managed to put the Republicans on the defensive by rebuking Donald Trump on a different issue: immigration.

Of course, in his shocking comments, the Pope not only disparaged Trump, but also the millions of Americans who share his views. Will Trump’s intemperate reaction (he invoked ISIS attacking the Vatican) snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? “Fruit that has provided jobs to multitudes of people, in addition to the many he has helped with his generosity”.

Others quickly expressed their own opinions.

Jeffress’ comments stem from a momentary dispute between Trump and the pope on Thursday. Very un-Christian of the Pontiff to say Trump wasn’t a Christian.

But some have expressed concern about Falwell’s actions.