Pope Francis, in a sermon at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, denounced nations (like the U.S., thought they weren’t explicitly called out) that make and sell weapons for wars beyond their borders and then deny admission from refugees fleeing those same places after violence escalates, according to Axios

“Wars only affect some regions of the world, yet weapons of war are produced and sold in other regions which are then unwilling to take in the refugees generated by these conflicts.”

Pope Francis is from Argentina and has always had strong words for those who promote violence and those who don’t show the mercy and love that Francis says Christ and the Bible teaches. 

“being a neighbor to all those who are mistreated and abandoned on the streets of our world, soothing their wounds and bringing them to the nearest shelter, where their needs can be met.”

Again, Trump didn’t explicitly mention Trump or the United States, but it was obvious of who he was primarily speaking of. One could also argue that he was referring to some European nations as well. Nations, that like the United States, have made policies towards refugees harsher and harsher to appease nationalistic interests in their countries. 

The sermon by Pope Francis was part of a larger inauguration of a statue in St. Peter’s Square depicting migrants and refugees from different faiths and different periods of history to mark the Roman Catholic Church’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

The Pope looks on at a statue dedicated to honoring refugees and migrants.

Earlier this year, Pope Francis donated 500,000 dollars to aid migrants coming from various Latino countries in Central and South America. Migrants that were being denied entry into the US under the Trump administrations policies on the southern border. 

The donation was to assist those migrants with food, shelter, and housing as they attempted to flee their countries for the US. Some of those countries are experiencing violence and lawlessness like few have seen before. 

 

Featured image via screen capture from youtube.com