In this photo, imagine Pope Francis saying, “Talk to the hand, Dorito.” As you’ve probably seen the news coverage by now, you know that Pope Francis was on a multi-day trip to Mexico, where he said mass for tens of thousands of people, visited the border and fussed at some dirtbag who basically pulled him onto a dude in a wheelchair. As the Pope was concluding his Mexico trip, he did a press conference for the media outlets trailing him. He was asked about the Church’s stance on birth control, given the outbreak of the Zika virus and the medical recommendations that men wear condoms to avoid infecting their partners. Francis was basically like “I can’t technically tell people that it’s fine to wear condoms, but it’s not really all that sinful in this particular case.” Which, hey, is a good first step. Then Francis got a question about Donald Trump. And the Pope did not hold back. Inserting himself into the Republican presidential race, Pope Francis on Wednesday suggested that Donald J. Trump “is not Christian” because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border. “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis said when a reporter asked him about Mr. Trump on the papal airliner as he returned to Rome after his six-day visit to Mexico. Mr. Trump has staked out controversial positions on immigration, vowing to force Mexico to build a wall and also increase deportations. He has also made inflammatory comments accusing Mexican immigrants of being rapists and criminals. Asked whether he would try to influence Catholics in how they vote in the presidential election, Francis said he “was not going to get involved in that” but then repeated his criticism of Mr. Trump, with a caveat. “I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that,” Francis said. “We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt.” [From The NYT] Sure. And guess who has orange skin, a bouffant wiglet, no self-control and two thumbs? THIS GUY. So of course Donald Trump had to respond. Trump told a crowd in South Carolina that ISIS’s “primary goal is to get to the Vatican. That would be their ultimate trophy.” Is it though? And: “If and when the Vatican is attacked… the pope would only wish and have prayed that Donald Trump would have been elected president. Because this would not have happened.” Will Francis really be praying for that specifically? Trump also said: “No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant.” [From Jezebel] Yeah. So Donald Trump and Pope Francis are boy-beefing. How does that make you feel? For what it’s worth, I don’t think Francis was really questioning Trump’s faith as much as Francis was making a larger plea for understanding and compassion for immigrants. But whatever. BOY BEEF. .@realdonaldTrump responds to #PopeFrancis’ comments on building walls https://t.co/jOTsn7Hopt — CNN (@CNN) February 18, 2016 Photos courtesy of WENN.
