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By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
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Supporters of President Donald Trump have attacked Pope Francis after the pontiff spoke against the Republican's mass deportation plans.
Newsweek has contacted the Vatican for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The fallout highlights a potential growing ideological divide between conservative Catholicism and Trump's MAGA base. Pope Francis has frequently shown support for immigrants and refugees, while the president has vowed to carry out the largest mass deportation of immigrants in U.S. history during his second term.
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What to Know
Pope Francis issued an open letter on Monday to U.S. Catholic bishops condemning Trump's mass deportation program, describing it as a "major crisis."
The leader of the Catholic Church said that deporting people from the U.S.—some of whom escaped "extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment" in their own land—"damages the dignity" of these men, women and children.
Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, rebuked the pope for his comments attacking the administration's immigration plan. Homan, who is Catholic, said the pope should "stick to the Catholic Church and fix that and leave border enforcement to us."
Homan also said that Vatican City, the tiny sovereign state located in the middle of Rome, has a wall that is protected by the Swiss Guard.
A number of other Trump supporters attacked the pope on social media for speaking out against the former president after the letter was shared online.
Many also suggested that the pope should be prepared to allow immigrants into Vatican City if he is criticizing Trump's proposals.
Pope Francis has condemned Trump's hard-line immigration policies in the past. In February 2016, the pontiff spoke out against Trump's proposal to build a wall across the entire U.S.-Mexico border, saying anyone who "wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian."
Trump had strong support among evangelical Christians in all three of his presidential campaigns.
The president received the backing of about eight out of 10 white evangelical Christian voters in the 2024 election, according to an AP VoteCast analysis. And just over half of Latino evangelicals and about six in 10 white Catholics supported him.
What People Are Saying
Pope Francis in Monday's open letter: *"*I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations... one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival. That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness."
Border czar Tom Homan, speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday: "I'm saying this as a lifelong Catholic, he ought to fix the Catholic Church and concentrate on his work and leave border enforcement to us. He wants to attack us for securing our border? He has a wall around the Vatican, does he not? So he has a wall to protect his people and himself, but we can't have a wall around the United States?"
MAGA supporter Leesa B. Sarcasm wrote:"Quit pretending that you are not the most biased, woke, pope, that we've ever had. You will never be loved as much as Pope John Paul II."
FedUpMajority, an "America First" Christian, posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Fine, please tell us Americans when you're ready to do your part and open the Vatican up to millions of illegal immigrants, including tens of thousands of gang members, rapists, human traffickers, and drug dealers. When you're ready to do your part, we can have a conversation. Until then, mind your own business."
Pro-Trump X user Conservative Dude added: "Great! How many migrants are you taking into the Vatican? We'll fly them over."
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, told Vatican News: "I deeply appreciate the prophetic witness of Pope Francis. The Holy Father has clearly identified for the U.S. bishops and Church the protection and advocacy for the dignity of migrants as the preeminent urgency at this moment."
What Happens Next
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) appears set to continue carrying out large-scale immigration detentions amid Trump's deportation plans.
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