Pope Francis urged President-elect Donald Trump to remember the poor when he takes office next year.
Quoting an Italian daily newspaper, Religion News Service reported today that the pontiff offered no judgment about the reality TV star-turned-commander in chief.
“I do not judge people or politicians,” Francis said in an interview with Eugenio Scalfari of La Repubblica. “I only want to understand what suffering their behavior causes to the poor and the excluded.”
The interview was conducted Nov. 7, and was first published by the newspaper today, RNS said.
The pope throughout the interview reiterated his concern for those who are marginalized. He added his greatest concern is for the well-being of migrants and refugees — and for the poor in wealthy countries who fear the new arrivals.
“These are measures that are opposed by the people who fear losing their jobs and seeing their salaries reduced,” RNS reported.
“It is a perverse vicious circle and it needs to be stopped,” the pontiff continued. “We need to knock down the walls that divide us: try to boost well-being and make it more widespread, but in order to achieve this we need to knock down walls and build bridges that can lessen inequality and boost freedom and rights. … What we want is a fight against inequality, this is the biggest evil that exists in the world today.”