Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Donald Trump has received near-universal condemnation for his policy of separating children from their families at the Mexican border, and now it’s coming from the Vatican, too. In an extraordinary intervention, Pope Francis directly criticized the Trump administration and said populism was not the answer to difficulties with immigration in the U.S. and Europe. Speaking to Reuters, the pope said he supported recent statements by U.S. Catholic bishops who called the separation of children from their parents “contrary to our Catholic values” and “immoral,” adding: “It’s not easy, but populism is not the solution.” He went on to say: “I am on the side of the bishops’ conference... Let it be clear that in these things, I respect (the position of) the bishops conference.” Pope Francis also said populists were “creating psychosis” on the issue of immigration, adding: “Populism does not resolve things. What resolves things is acceptance, study, prudence.”
Later, Francis tweeted: