Pope Francis says both U.S. presidential candidates are ‘against life,’ urges vote for ‘lesser evil’

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Pope Francis laid into Donald Trump and Kamala Harris over the weekend, saying that neither U.S. presidential candidate is really pro-life. Instead, he urged American voters to choose the “lesser evil” in the upcoming election.

Speaking to reporters on his return flight from a historic Asia-Pacific tour, the pope addressed two key issues of concern to the Catholic Church: immigration and abortion, according to the Independent.

Without mentioning names, Francis appeared to single out Mr. Trump, condemning the Republican nominee’s approach to migrants as a “grave” sin. The pope’s comments follow Mr. Trump’s recent claim that Haitian migrants are eating household pets in Springfield, Ohio.

Francis also sharply criticized Ms. Harris’ stance on abortion, equating the Democratic nominee’s position to “assassination.”

“Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants or the one who [supports] killing babies,” Francis said, urging American Catholics to consider these positions carefully when voting, according to the BBC.

While stressing that he is not American and would not be voting himself, he advised, “Not voting is wrong. You must vote.”

“You must choose the lesser evil. Who is the lesser evil? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know. Everyone, in conscience, [has to] think and do this,” he said.

The pontiff’s remarks came as he was asked to offer guidance to the 72 million U.S. Catholics ahead of the Nov. 5 election. His critique of Mr. Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is consistent with past statements, including his 2016 remark that such views were “not Christian.” Similarly, his condemnation of abortion has consistently aligned with longstanding church teachings.