In a recent statement, Pope Francis has expressed his concerns regarding the stances of both U.S. presidential candidates, describing their policies as “anti-life.” The Pope’s comments were made during an in-flight press conference held as he returned from his trip to Southeast Asia and Oceania, where he addressed issues of abortion and migration, two critical topics in the upcoming election. Without naming them directly, the Pope referred to the candidates’ positions on these matters, suggesting that voters face a difficult decision in choosing between the “lesser evil.”
Alluding to the Republican candidates, Donald Trump and JD Vance, Francis stated, “Sending migrants away, not allowing them to grow, not letting them have life is something wrong; it is cruelty.” He followed this with an indirect reference to the Democratic candidates, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz: “Sending a child away from the womb of the mother is murder because there is life. And we must speak clearly about these things.”
He summarized the two candidates with some harsh words: “Both are against life: the one that throws out migrants and the one that kills children,” Francis said.
In a 2018 document, Francis made it clear that opposing abortion and supporting migrants are equally crucial on a humanitarian scale. They were “holy pursuits”.
The Pope’s warning comes at a time that has become increasingly problematic and disconcerting for Christians in the U.S. An article in The New York Times notes that while the Republican Party has traditionally been the stalwart protector of Christian values, “The country is growing more secular and pluralistic by the year, with regular church attendance declining. Many leaders in the Republican Party, their political home for decades, have gone silent about their opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage.”
Polls indicate that conservative Christians are still supporting Donald Trump and down ticket Republicans as their best hope for the preservation of conservative values, but they also realize that as the post-Roe v Wade backlash continues to mount, politicians who are afraid of losing in November are less inclined to openly oppose abortion, same-sex marriage, IVF, and transgender and LGBTQ+ rights. “And, Mr. Trump, the man once considered to be their strongest champion, is publicly distancing himself from their causes, even as he attacked Democrats in the presidential debate for their support of reproductive rights.”
Given what he sees as the cruelty of the Republican politicians towards immigrants, and the entrenched liberalism of the Democratic candidates who are pro-abortion, what would Pope Francis have a Christian do at the November election?
With sincere humility and pragmatism, Francis avoids prescribing a particular course of action, “One must vote. And one must choose the lesser evil. Which is the lesser evil? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know. Each person must think and decide according to his or her own conscience.”
