POPE FRANCIS has said Catholic voters in the US must decide for themselves who is 'the lesser evil' between the two candidates vying to become President.
Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump is competing against his Democratic counterpart Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the United States.
Referring to Trump's stance on immigration and Harris' plans for abortion law reform, the pontiff said: "Both are against life: the one that throws out migrants and the one that kills children."
'Decide according to conscience'
The Pope was responding to a question from Anna Matranga from CBS News on how US Catholics should vote in such circumstances.
Without naming either candidate, he described the denial of rights to immigrants as 'a grave sin' and said abortion was 'murder'.
"Science says that at one month after conception, all the organs of a human being are present. Everything," reports Vatican News.
"Having an abortion is killing a human being. Whether you like the word or not, it's murder."
He added: "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."
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday (Image: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)Pope Francis was speaking to reporters on Friday aboard a flight from Singapore to Rome following a 12-day Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania.
While he suggested he was not in favour of abstaining, he conceded voters faced a difficult choice.
"One must vote. And one must choose the lesser evil," he said.
"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."
Policies
One of Mr Trump's key policies is to secure the borders and halt what the official Republican 2024 platform terms the 'migrant invasion'.
"We will end the invasion at the southern border, restore law and order, protect American sovereignty, and deliver a safe and prosperous future for all Americans," it reads.
Meanwhile, Ms Harris has pledged to sign a bill to restore nationwide reproductive freedom after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
"As President, she will never allow a national abortion ban to become law," reads Ms Harris' website.
Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, November 5. With Mr Trump bidding for a second term in office and Ms Harris hoping to become the first female President of the United States.
