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
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'
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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
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
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.
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.
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