Pope Francis believes American voters must choose “the lesser of two evils” when it comes to picking between presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump this November.
When asked Friday how he would advise Catholics to vote in the U.S. election — given Harris’ support for abortion rights and Trump’s position on immigration — the pope firmly stated, “They are both against life.”
“The one who throws away migrants and the one who kills children,” the 74-year-old pontiff told CBS News reporters on the papal plane traveling in Asia.
Pope Francis said it’s morally important for people to vote, but declined to endorse either candidate: “Who is the lesser of two evils, that lady or that gentleman, I do not know.”
The Catholic leader said being unwelcoming to migrants has always been a “grave” sin, noting the Bible speaks of Israel’s duty “to take care of the orphan, the widow and the stranger — that is, the migrant.”
Trump is famously tough on immigration issues. His call for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico is regularly heard at campaign rallies. On Tuesday, during his presidential debate with Harris, he baselessly claimed that unruly Haitian immigrants in Ohio have been stealing and eating people’s pets.
But Pope Francis also emphasized the Church’s position that abortion is “killing,” equating it to “assassination.”
Vice President Harris is an outspoken supporter of women’s reproductive rights and has hammered Trump for putting three anti-abortion justices on the Supreme Court when he was the nation’s president.
Trump said in 1999 that he hates the “concept of abortion,” but identified as pro-choice. In 2011, he described himself as “pro-life.” His evolving position on abortion has led him to now claim each state should decide what’s right for its citizens.
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