Pope Francis describes as “sheer madness” any attempt to close the US southern border with Mexico, in an interview with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell that will air later today.
The Pope sat down to speak with the CBS anchor in a first-of-its-kind interview. No other pope has given an interview to a US news station before.
In a clip released ahead of the interview’s release, O’Donnell asks the Pope what he thinks of efforts to secure the US southern border and prevent migrants from crossing.
“I grew up in Texas, and I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the State of Texas is attempting to shut down a Catholic charity on the border of Mexico that offers undocumented migrants humanitarian assistance. What do you think of that?”
“That is madness,” Pope Francis replies. “Sheer madness. To close the border and leave them there—that is madness.
“The Migrant has to be received. Thereafter you decide how to deal with them. Maybe you have to send them back, I don’t know, but each case ought to be considered humanely.”
Religious charities, including Catholic charities, have come in for significant criticism for their part in the US migrant crisis. They have been accused not just of providing shelter and aid for migrants, but of actively trafficking them across the border and within the US. Catholic groups have hit back by claiming they are receiving “threats” as a result of a “far-right anti-migrant campaign.”
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