Pope Francis and President Trump have been engaged in a war of words, with the pontiff declaring that Trump is “not a Christian“, while the president of the US claims that after the Vatican is attacked by ISIS the Pope will be “wishing and praying that Donald Trump would have been his President“.
Francis slammed President Trump for “wanting to defend Christianity in the West,” while at the same time being “against refugees and other religions,” according to the Catholic News Service.
“This is not something I’ve read in books, but I see in the newspapers and on television every day,” Pope Francis said, expressing shock that President Trump is fulfilling all of the campaign promises he was talking about for the last 18 months.
“The sickness or, you can say the sin, that Jesus condemns most is hypocrisy, which is precisely what is happening when someone claims to be a Christian but does not live according to the teaching of Christ. You cannot be a Christian without living like a Christian,” he said.
“It’s hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help,” said Pope Francis.
Trump issued a blistering response to Pope Francis, saying it is “disgraceful” for the Catholic leader to question his faith and calling the pontiff “a pawn” for the Mexican government.
“No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith,” Trump said.
“If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been his President because this would not have happened,” Trump said in a press release.
