Pope sends message to Trump on Inauguration Day

As Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 47th US president, Pope Francis expresses prayer that God guide him in promoting peace among peoples.

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Pope Francis sent his best wishes to President Donald Trump on the occasion of his inauguration.

He expressed his hopes that "under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination, or exclusion."

The Holy Father also noted the president's role in foreign policy, and promoting peace among nations.

Here is the message, released by the Vatican in English.

The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington

On the occasion of your inauguration as the forty-seventh President of the United States of America, I offer cordial greetings and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom, strength and protection in the exercise of your high duties. Inspired by your nation’s ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination, or exclusion. At the same time, as our human family faces numerous challenges, not to mention the scourge of war, I also ask God to guide your efforts in promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples. With these sentiments, I invoke upon you, your family, and the beloved American people an abundance of divine blessings.

FRANCIS

Immigration issues

Yesterday, during an Italian television show, the Pontiff publicly deplored Donald Trump's migration policy program. Regarding Trump's plans to start deportations as soon as he comes to power, the Pope said: "If it is true, it will be a shame."

"It will make the poor unfortunates who have nothing pay the bill for the imbalance," he said.

Pope Francis and Donald Trump met at the Vatican in May 2017 during the billionaire's first term.

Trump, Pope Francis — Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump (C) and US First Lady Melania Trump during a private audience at the Vatican on May 24, 2017. US President Donald Trump met Pope Francis at the Vatican today in a keenly-anticipated first face-to-face encounter between two world leaders who have clashed repeatedly on several issues. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Alessandra Tarantino

Asked last September during the presidential campaign about the dilemma of American Catholics in the election, Pope Francis acknowledged the difficulty voters were facing:

He said:

Having an abortion is killing a human being. Whether you like the word or not, it’s murder. The Church is not closed-minded because it forbids abortion; the Church forbids abortion because it kills. It is murder; it is murder!

And we need to be clear about this: Sending migrants away, not allowing them to grow, not letting them have life is something wrong, it is cruelty. Sending a child away from the womb of the mother is murder because there is life. And we must speak clearly about these things. “No, but however..." "No but however.” Both things are clear. The orphan, the stranger, and the widow — do not forget this.

The journalist pressed: In your opinion, Your Holiness, are there circumstances in which it is morally permissible to vote for a candidate who is in favor of abortion?

In political morality, it is generally said that not voting is ugly, it's not good. 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 their own conscience.

Migrants are the children we don’t want to have, says Pope