Ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, the Pope refused to say whether people should vote for Trump or his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, simply urging people to choose the “lesser evil” according to their conscience.
During an interview on Sunday night, Francis also addressed the issue of migration to Europe, saying there is “a lot of brutality” and that everyone has “the right to stay at home and the right to emigrate.”
The Pope also added that some southern European countries, which receive the largest number of migrants, “do not have children and are in need of labor.”
“Some of these countries have entire villages that are empty. A good, well-thought-out migration policy would also help countries like Italy and Spain,” he said.
In another part of the interview, Francis was asked about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and he said he did not know why making peace was so difficult.
“I don’t know why… it’s as if there was an international drive towards self-destruction,” the Pope said.
Francis, 88, has held the post since 2013, when he was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.