Pope Francis warned against politics of fear, urging the world to stand against "physical and social walls," in a speech at the Vatican just days before the U.S. Election Day —without referencing it directly —according to America, The National Catholic Review.
"Because fear — as well as being a good deal for the merchants of arms and death — weakens and destabilizes us, destroys our psychological and spiritual defenses, numbs us to the suffering of others,” he said Saturday. “In the end, it makes us cruel.”
The pope called the refugee crisis in the Middle East, Mediterranean and Europe "a problem of the world," caused by "an unjust socio-economic system and wars," urging political leaders to do more, according to the online Catholic magazine.
The pope's speech, three days before Nov. 8's election, touched on many of the issues Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have campaigned on, as America's Michael O'Loughlin wrote.
The pope said "no one should be forced to flee their homeland" and condemned "physical and social walls" which "close in some and exclude others," according to the report.
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