What was that about not casting stones? Pope heads home from Mexican trip and attack on Trump's fence to the WALLED Vatican City
- Trump's supporters have been quick to point out the irony of the Pope slamming his plan to build a wall on the Mexican border
- The director of social media for his presidential campaign highlighted the fact that Vatican City is itself surrounded by a wall
- Pope Francis branded Trump's plans to build his 'huge wall' on the Mexican border to keep immigrants out of America as 'not Christian'
- Trump, a Presbytarian, has called the Pope 'disgraceful' for making the comment
- See more of the latest on Pope Francis' comments against Donald Trump
PUBLISHED: 17:14 EST, 18 February 2016 | UPDATED: 07:21 EST, 19 February 2016
After warning Donald Trump that building a 'huge wall' on the Mexican border is 'not Christian', Pope Francis is returning home to Vatican City.... which is entirely surrounded by an enormous stone wall.
The Pope made a direct dig at The Donald before he left his week-long tour of Mexico today, telling his followers that the idea was 'not in the gospel'.
However,Trump's supporters were quick to point out the irony of the Pontiff's words, as the Vatican is behind a walled enclave that sits within the city of Rome.
Taking to Twitter, the director of social media for his presidential campaign, Dan Scavino said: 'Amazing comments from the Pope - considering Vatican City is 100% surrounded by massive walls'
Scroll down for video
A huge wall: A nun walks along the perimeter wall which stands between Vatican City and Rome, causing many trump supporters to draw similarities between it and the wall Trump plans to build along the Mexican border
Pope says Donald Trump is 'not a Christian'
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Donald Trump's director of social media took to twitter to criticize the Pope for branding trump's idea for a wall surrounding Mexico as 'not Christian'
Donald Trump called the Pope 'disgraceful' for questioning his faith
Pope Francis vs. Donald Trump: The battle of words
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Speaking earlier today in Mexico, the Pope said: 'A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. his is not in the Gospel'.
The idea to build an enormous wall along the border of America and Mexico - and make Mexico pay for it - has been a promise central to the Trump campaign to help combat illegal immigration.
The Republican candidate was furious when told of the Pope's comments.
He said: 'For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful.
'I am proud to be a Christian and, as president, I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current president.'
Mr Scavino was not alone in pointing out the irony of the Pope's comment on Trump's plan for a wall along Mexico's border.
Many Conservative commentators also weighed in on the row with similar views on Twitter.
HOW A RAID BY MUSLIM PIRATES PROMPTED VATICAN OFFICIALS TO BUILD THE WALL
Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world. An enormous stone wall acts as a boundary between the micronation and the rest of Italy.
Nowadays, it serves as a way for the Swiss Guard to control the stream of tourists coming in and out of the Pope's home.
But, just over 1,200 years ago, it was an integral form of protection for the Pope, who was a targeted figure after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire .
The fortification was first built after a raid by Muslim pirates in 846. Arab raiders sacked Rome in a bid to find treasures. They didn't reach St Peter's but the attack forced the Vatican to take precautions.
Watch towers were put in place to watch for would-be intruders.
It also helped to protect Pope Gregory VII around 200 years later when the Holy Roman Emperor besieged Rome.
In the 1640s, Pope Paul III expanded the fortifications, and additional defenses.
In 1870, the Pope's residency in the Vatican was left in flux when Rome was annexed by the Piedmont-led forces which had united the rest of Italy.
They had created the Kingdom of Italy, a change opposed by Pope Pius XIII as it undermined his autonomy in some areas.
Between 1861 and 1929 the status of the Pope was referred to as the 'Roman Question' and the walls served as a way of keeping him isolated from the rest of Italy.
Within the walls, Italian politicians did not challenge the Pope's autonomy. But, in other parts of the country, church items were confiscated.
In 1871, the Palazzo Quirinale, the Papal palace since 1583, was confiscated by the king of Italy and became the royal palace.
Thereafter, Popes resided undisturbed within the Vatican walls.
Certain papal prerogatives were recognized by the Law of Guarantees, including the right to send and receive ambassadors.
But the Popes did not recognise the Italian king's right to rule in Rome, and they refused to leave the Vatican compound until the dispute was resolved in 1929.
Ever since the autonomy of the Vatican within the walls has not been challenged by the Italian government.
Don't question my faith: Trump responds to Pope's comments
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The Vatican's walls were built more than 1,000 years ago at the behest of Pope Leo IV to protect the sovereign state against Muslim pirates.
The fortifications were added to over the following centuries to keep out a legion of threats to the papacy.
The wall is now around two miles long and encloses 109 acres.
Pope Francis gestures during a meeting with the media onboard the papal plane while en route to Rome
The Pope's dramatic intervention came in a freewheeling conversation with reporters on his flight back from a visit to Mexico.
Francis was asked about Trump and some of his statements, such as vowing to build a wall between the United States and Mexico if he becomes president.
'A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,' Francis said in answer to a specific question about Trump's views. 'This is not in the gospel.'
Asked if American Catholics should vote for someone with Trump's views, Francis said: 'I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.
'We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt.'
He added: 'Vote, don't vote. I won't meddle.'
Trump issued a furious response, reading a lengthy statement from the podium on a campaign stop.
He reflected on the seismic impact of crossing swords with the leader of the world's largest religious denomination, and shrugged it off.
'Now it's probably going to be all over the world. Who the hell cares? I don't care!' he said. 'We have to stop illegal immigration ... and crime.'
As news about the row between the Pope and The Donald seeped out this afternoon, other candidates were forced to respond.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told reporters this afternoon at a press conference in Anderson, South Carolina, that he had not seen the Holy Father's full statement and was loathe to comment until he had.
But he defended the Republican line on immigration, and said, 'There's no nation on earth that's more compassionate about immigration than we are.'
The United States takes in a million migrants a year, Rubio said. 'Mexico doesn't do that. No other country in the world does that.'
'We're a sovereign country. We have a right to control who comes in, when they come in and how they come in,' he added. 'Vatican City controls who comes in, when they come and how they come in, as a nation-state, or a city-state. And as a result, the United States has a right to do that as well.'
The U.S. 'has not just a right but an obligation' to control who comes and goes, the U.S. Senator said.
Pressed to respond to Trump's characterization of the spiritual leader's comments as a disgrace, the practicing Catholic again claimed ignorance of the situation, which unfolded more than half an hour before he addressed the press.
Rubio instead noted the Pope's standing in his religion and said he has 'tremendous respect and admiration for him.'
The other Catholic in the race, Jeb Bush, came to Trump's defense in the area of religion.
'I think his Christianity is between he and his creator – don't think we need to discuss that,' Bush told reporters in Columbia, South Carolina, according to CBS News.
'I respect and love the pope': Trump sings a different tune
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Refugee Resettlement Watch One of the great mysteries of our times is how the Jewish leaders of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the J.M Kaplan Fund don’t get it—frankly, a large percentage of the world’s Muslims want them dead and facilitating Muslim migration to America is not going to make that Islamic imperative go away.
Bringing in the “vulnerable” (and costly) ‘refugees’ (medical care for US taxpayers to pay for!):
It is maddening to know that, according to USA Spending.gov, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society received over $134 million from you since Obama took office, and HIAS, Inc. (its new name) has raked in another $58 million in that same time frame. Are they lobbying on Capitol Hill on your dime? I bet they are!
More about this seditious Jewish group of left wing bleeding hearts:
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society says we may have to admit 200,000 Syrian refugees
This is how they work! They constantly raise the ceiling so that the 65,000 they have been demanding looks small in comparison to the 200,000 they would really like to drop off in your towns and cities. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, one of nine major resettlement contractors being paid to resettle refugees, is at the forefront of a coalition of “multifaith” groups to bring in tens of thousands of Syrian Muslims and to increase our annual quota of 70,000 (from all countries) to 100,000 each year.
Experts anticipate that by the time the refugee evaluation process is completed, some 400,000 will be recognized as needing resettlement. This will present America with a request to absorb 200,000 Syrian refugees.
But U.S. resettlement quotas, which have not been updated in years, now stand at 70,000 people total, from all over the world, per year. HIAS and Jewish groups are asking to increase this quota to 100,000 per year, a level the United States maintained in the 1980s. “It’s not a huge number for a country the size of the United States,” Nezer said.
If you think this is too outrageous to even consider, it isn’t. Remember HIAS has helped resettle over 100,000 (mostly Muslim) Iraqis and over 100,000 Muslim Somalis to America. Nothing would make them happier than to see 200,000 Syrians (90% will be Sunni Muslims) for you to care for where you live. And, the Christian ‘charities’ will be right there with them!
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society at it again: this time lobbying for lawyers for the “children”
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) is one of nine major federal refugee resettlement contractors (aka lobbyists) which live off of your tax dollars.***
They have been busy, busy, busy lobbying for everything from amnesty (S. 744, Gang of Eight bill), to more Syrian (mostly Muslim) refugees for America, for an expansion of the refugee program and now for more bucks for the Unaccompanied Alien Children.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society launches petition drive to increase this year’s refugee quota from 70,000-100,000
Citing the crisis in Syria and Iraq, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, one of nine major federal contractors has launched a drive to petition the Obama Administration to increase the Fiscal Year 2015 admissions to the US.
Always keep in mind that the contractors are paid by the head to resettle refugees to your towns and cities. Readers will remember it was Nezer who earlier this year said we should take 75,000 Syrians over 5 years.
Although she says they are trying to save Christians and religious minorities, interested readers should call them and ask how many Muslims they resettled in recent years and ask what percentage of the Syrians in the pipeline for America right now are Muslims.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society hires grassroots organizer to get American Jews’ minds right
Rabbi Rosenn’s job is to try to bring around the American Jewish community to support Muslim refugee admission to the US. The article says that some Jews (understandably!) got skittish after the Paris and San Bernardino terrorist attacks. Her job is to organize the American Jewish community to “welcome the stranger,” in this case Muslims from the Middle East and Africa.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society action alert to thwart “fear and hate campaign”
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) has put out an alert to its followers to tell Congress to ignore the ‘haters’ and do not suspend the refugee resettlement program (presumably a reference to the Babin bill although they never mention his name).
It is no surprise that HIAS is apparently out in front (ahead of the other eight federal refugee contractors) on this, on calling anyone who has legitimate concerns about the cost and scope of our present Refugee Admissions Program ‘haters.’
Refugee contractor Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society re-brands, drops the “Hebrew” ….
…and moves its headquarters closer to Washington so as to be closer to the federal money it depends on for survival. It will also boost its advocacy role with Congress and federal agencies.
They will go by the name HIAS, Inc instead of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society which is probably better anyway since they have so many Muslims to resettle (who probably got skittish when they heard the word “Hebrew”). According to Mark Hetfield: The word “Hebrew” is so outdated, like using the word “colored” to refer to African Americans.