Pope Francis criticized family separations before policy's reversal

[sandensea]

Source: New York Times

Before President Trump’s about-face on Wednesday, Pope Francis criticized the administration’s separation of migrant children from their parents, saying in an interview earlier this week that “populism is not the solution” to a migration crisis that is transforming global politics.

In a rare sit-down interview, Francis told Reuters that “I am on the side” of the United States’ Catholic bishops’ conference, which called taking children from their parents “immoral” and “contrary to our Catholic values.”

In the face of mounting outrage, Mr. Trump had been sticking to a “zero-tolerance” policy intended to deter illegal immigration by prosecuting all adults apprehended crossing the United States border and putting their children in separate government-run shelters, including behind chain-link cage fencing.

By some counts, the government has separated nearly 2,000 children from their families in the past six weeks. But on Wednesday, Mr. Trump signed an executive order to prevent children from being taken from their parents.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/world/europe/pope-francis-trump-child-separation.html

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Pope Francis on Trump's child separation policy: Taking children from their parents “immoral” and “contrary to our Catholic values.”

[truthisfreedom]

1. But it's not really reversed. The babies are still caged.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/trump-children-immigration-no-changes-planned?utm_term=.ng3YJ8m7ZX#.ibP8eBj9xM

[sandensea]

2. True. I hope Pope Francis makes note of that next Wednesday (if not sooner).

As a former parish priest in a southside Buenos Aires slum inhabited mostly by immigrants and their children (similarly despised by the right), I'm sure this issue hits close to home for him.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Thanks for the background information on the Pope. Didn't know this before today! n/t

[sandensea]

12. Sure, Judi.

Here's an interesting article on his work in Buenos Aires slums before becoming pope; "Villero" means slum-dwelling or pertaining to the slums.

The Archdiocese of Buenos Aires had refused to recognize slum churches as official parishes before Bergoglio became archbishop (in 1998); the were simply "chapels."

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.quepasa.cl%2Farticulo%2Factualidad%2F2014%2F02%2F1-13835-9-el-papa-villero.shtml%2F&edit-text=



Francis (left), as Archishop Bergoglio, around 2010 following one of his many masses at the Virgin of Caacupé Church, in Buenos Aires' largest slum. Most of its 45,000 people are Paraguayan, or their children.

[Crash2Parties]

3. To the Catholic Church and Evangelicals: You own this.

For a decade you illegally gave sermons, posted to YouTube, penned OpEd's and sent home weekly bulletins telling your Believers that if they did not vote Republican they would suffer for all eternity.

You own this.

[sandensea]

4. Francis himself is more like Bernie on economic issues at least - but yes: Churches are right-wing

The Catholic Church in particular is still dominated by hard-right medievalists like the Opus Dei - who are said to hate Francis with a passion.

Rethugs, as you know, have openly courted Opus Dei since at least the Reagan years - and until Benedict, they certainly reciprocated in exactly the way you described above.

Francis was bold in criticizing top GOP figures during his first couple of years as pope - but the Vatican has pretty much shut him up since then.

[Kingofalldems]

9. Not in my church.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Love the expression on Pope Francis' face. Trump's face reveals he's lying to the Pope.

He's trying to sell him on what a great man he is.

The Pope is seeing him as he actually is.

Jesus. Trying to con Pope Francis.

He deserves a heavenly hard kick in his roomy butt.

[sandensea]

7. When Francis likes you, you know it:

And when he doesn't, he certainly shows it too:

[Judi Lynn]

8. Perfect! Absolutely love the photo taken with Pope Francis and Pres. Obama. So good.

It's genuine. You can tell they enjoy each other's presence. Very rare kind of moment, isn't it?

No doubt Pope Francis is keenly aware that Argentina's President Macri publicly has acknowledged he supports the Dirty War military dictatorship which terrorized Argentina during Pope Francis' younger days, and claimed over 30,000 suspected "leftist" political prisoners, after relentless torture, and murder, many of them thrown out of weekly flights, the Death Flights, over the Atlantic and the great river.

That war included sending military personnel as spies into groups, like the women whose children had been kidnapped and murdered who met to protest, along with Catholic nuns, and other supporters, who named them as subversives and got them tortured and murdered, as well.

The Pope is being very self-contained next to a Dirty War supporting President, but it certainly shows he doesn't care for their politics.

What a contrast!

Pope Francis, and Barack Obama. Friends for life.

Thank you.

[Honeycombe8]

6. This Pope is the most interesting Pope ever. He's got quite a personality & is outspoken...

but still acts with decorum.

[sandensea]

10. That he is.

Which is why I wish he wouldn't let the curia shut him up as much as they do. Remember his first couple of years, when he openly slammed GOP figures?

I wish he could see that Pope Francis, the more outspoken one from 2013-15.

[Honeycombe8]

13. No, I don't remember specifics of what he said. Just that he was very outspoken.

I'll have to look that up.