Pope Francis: Donald Trump Goes Unmentioned in a Rebuke of Immigration Exploitation

Pope Francis took on Donald Trump over immigration as he closed his visit to Mexico on Wednesday with a Mass in a field in Ciudad Juarez near the U.S. border, but he never mentioned the name of the Republican presidential candidate, according to Politico.

Before the Pope's trip to Mexico, Trump called him a "very political person," said the Washington Post.

"I don't think he understands the danger of the open border we have with Mexico," Trump said on Fox Business. "And I think Mexico got him to do it because Mexico wants to keep the border just the way it is, because they're making a fortune and we're losing."

Before the Pope's Mass, Rev. Federico Lombardi told journalists that the Pope is concerned about the dignity of migrants and refugees, not politics, according to the website Crux.

"The Pope always talks about migration problems all around the world, of the duties we have to solve these problems in a humane manner, of hosting those who come from other countries in search of a life of dignity and peace," said Lombardi. "Trump would know if he came to Europe."

Pope Francis called for compassion for those crossing the border, said Politico.

"The human tragedy that is forced migration is a global phenomenon today," he said Wednesday. "This crisis which can be measured in numbers and statistics, we want instead to measure with names, stories, families. They are the brothers and sisters of those expelled by poverty and violence, by drug trafficking and criminal organizations. Being faced with so many legal vacuums, they get caught up in a web that ensnares and always destroys the poorest."

"No more death. No more exploitation. There is still time to change, there is still a way out and a chance, time to implore the mercy of God." 

Related Stories:

• Pope Francis: Foot Washing Ritual Now Open to Women
  
• Kim Davis, Pope Francis Secret Meeting Not Denied by Vatican