On Friday, Pope Francis offered his perspective on the choices facing voters in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. During a conversation with reporters on the papal plane, while returning from an extended trip through Asia, the pope indicated that both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, her Republican rival, hold positions that he considers “against life.”
When questioned by CBS News about how a Catholic might decide between a candidate who supports abortion rights and another who advocates for the deportation of 11 million migrants, Pope Francis responded, “They are both against life — one discards migrants, and the other takes the life of children.”
These remarks followed a U.S. presidential debate between Harris and Trump that had taken place earlier in the week. Speaking on a flight from Singapore to Jakarta, Pope Francis was concluding a 12-day, 20,000-mile journey across Asia and the Pacific.
When asked whether it is ever morally acceptable for a Catholic to vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights, the pope explained that voters must exercise political judgment. “One must vote,” he said, before adding, “It often comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils.” On the matter of Harris or Trump, the pope stated, “Who is the lesser of two evils, that lady or that gentleman, I do not know.”
Ultimately, Pope Francis emphasized that Catholic voters must reflect on their own conscience before heading to the voting booth. He reiterated that turning away migrants and denying them opportunities to work is not just a political stance but a moral transgression. “Sending migrants away, refusing them the ability to work, not welcoming them — this is a sin. It is serious,” Francis asserted.
He went on to remind listeners that the rights of migrants extend back to biblical times, noting the Old Testament’s command for the people of Israel to protect “the orphan, the widow, and the stranger — that is, the migrant.”
In discussing abortion, the pope reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s firm stance. “Whether you like the word or not, it is a killing,” Francis said. “It is an assassination, and we must be clear about that.”
As the U.S. faces a crucial election, Pope Francis’s comments offer Catholic voters a challenging moral lens through which to evaluate their choices.
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