(ANSA-AFP) - WASHINGTON, MAY 20 - Pope Francis made a foray
into the US election season with a rare television interview
Sunday, calling harsh anti-migrant attitudes "madness" and
criticizing right-wing US Catholic figures for overly
conservative stances against his social teachings. Speaking in
his native Spanish through a translator for more than an hour,
Francis told CBS News program "60 Minutes" that the closing by
the state of Texas of a Catholic charity offering humanitarian
assistance was absurd. "That is madness. Sheer madness. To close
the border and leave them there, that is madness. The migrant
has to be received," the pope said. "Thereafter you see how you
are going to deal with him. Maybe you have to send him back, I
don't know, but each case ought to be considered humanely,"
Francis said. Record numbers of migrants have been seeking to
enter the United States, largely from Central America and
Venezuela, as they flee poverty, violence and disasters
exacerbated by climate change. The matter has emerged as a top
political issue in the November US election, with President Joe
Biden's Republican challenger, former president Donald Trump,
pushing the topic front and center. "The globalization of
indifference" on migrants, Francis said, "is a very ugly
disease." (ANSA-AFP).
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