Pope Francis on Friday, September 13, slammed both US presidential candidates for what he called anti-life policies on abortion and migration, and he advised American Catholics to choose who they think is the "lesser evil" in the upcoming US elections. "Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants or the one who [supports] killing babies," Francis said. "Both are against life."
The Argentine Jesuit was asked to provide counsel to American Catholic voters during an airborne news conference while he flew back to Rome from his four-nation tour through Asia. Francis stressed that he is not an American and would not be voting. Neither Republican candidate Donald Trump nor the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, was mentioned by name.
But Francis nevertheless expressed himself in stark terms when asked to weigh in on their positions on two hot-button issues in the US election – abortion and migration – that are also of major concern to the Catholic Church.
Francis has made the plight of migrants a priority of his pontificate and speaks out emphatically and frequently about it. While strongly upholding church teaching forbidding abortion, Francis has not emphasized church doctrine as much as his predecessors. Francis said migration is a right described in Scripture and that anyone who does not follow the Biblical call to welcome the stranger is committing a "grave sin."
He was also blunt in speaking about abortion. "To have an abortion is to kill a human being. You may like the word or not, but it's killing," he said. "We have to see this clearly." Asked what voters should do at the polls, Francis recalled the civic duty to vote.
"One should vote, and choose the lesser evil," he said. "Who is the lesser evil, the woman or man? I don't know. "Everyone in their conscience should think and do it," he said.
Separately, Francis deplored a lack of progress in negotiations to end the war in Gaza. "Forgive me for saying so but I don't see any progress being made towards peace," said the 87-year-old pope, speaking to journalists aboard the papal plane on his return to Rome from Singapore.
He also said that he would not attend the reopening of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris in December, denying reports announcing his arrival. Asked by a French journalist aboard the papal plane returning him to Rome after his long tour of the Asia-Pacific, Francis replied: "I will not go to Paris. I will not go to Paris," without giving further explanation.