Pope Francis urges Catholic voters to 'choose the lesser evil' between Trump and Harris

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Pope Francis on Friday urged Catholic voters to "choose the lesser evil" between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The pope criticized Harris’ support of abortion rights as being an "assassination," while he also chastised Trump, saying "not welcoming migrants is a sin." 

"You must choose the lesser evil," Francis told reporters in a press conference held from his papal airplane following a 12-day tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. "Who is the lesser evil? That lady, or that gentleman? I don't know. Everyone, in conscience, [has to] think and do this."

But he also said, "Not voting is ugly. It is not good. You must vote."

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Pope Francis urged Catholic voters on Friday to "choose the lesser evil" between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Reuters)

Harris has said that she wants to codify Roe v. Wade into law if elected, and Trump has promised the "largest mass deportation in American history of our country." 

The pope didn’t specify which candidate, if either, he personally prefers. 

On abortion, he said, "It is an assassination. On these things we must speak clearly. No 'but' or 'however.'" 

On Trump’s deportation plans, the pope said: "Not giving welcome to migrants is a sin. It is grave."

"Whether it is the one who is chasing away migrants, or the one who that kills children, both are against life," he claimed. 

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Trump and Harris made their positions on immigration and abortion a focus of their debate on Tuesday. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump previously sparred with the pope in 2016, after the pontiff claimed that his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border was "not Christian." 

"I’m a very good Christian," Trump responded at the time in a news conference, "He’s questioning my faith. I was very surprised to see it." 

Pope Francis accused both Harris and Trump of being "against life" in their stances on abortion and illegal immigration. (Reuters/Yara Nardi    )

Trump called questioning a person’s faith "disgraceful," claiming that the pope was being used as a "pawn" by the Mexican government. 

The pope has also previously criticized President Biden’s stance on abortion. Biden is a Catholic, but supports a woman’s right to choose, which Francis called an "incoherence" in a 2022 interview, saying that he would leave it to Biden’s "conscience." 

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There are more than 50 million Catholics in the U.S., including a sizable number of voters in swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Reuters contributed to this report.