By Emily Cahn From Mashable

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis criticized Donald Trump on Thursday, saying the GOP front-runner is “not Christian” for his stance on immigration.

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis told a reporter in Italian while on a plane back to the Vatican after a six-day trip to Mexico.

Trump has made building a wall between the United States and Mexico a cornerstone of his presidential bid. He repeatedly says that Mexico will pay for the wall, as well.

Trump immediately fired back at the pope’s comments, calling Francis “disgraceful” for questioning his faith.

Speaking at a campaign event in South Carolina shortly after the pope’s comments, Trump also blamed the Mexican government for poisoning Francis’ thoughts on his character.

“He said very negative things about me because the Mexican government convinced him that Trump is not a good guy,” Trump said.

The dueling statements come just days before the South Carolina Republican primary, where evangelical Christians will have an outsized impact on who wins. Trump currently leads by a wide margin in state polls.

Last week, Trump criticized the pope’s plans to pray at the U.S.-Mexico border. Francis did just that on Wednesday, paying tribute to migrants who had died trying to cross the Rio Grande.

Asked if he felt he was being used as a pawn of Mexico, Francis said he didn’t know. “I leave that judgment to you, the people,” he said.

Building border walls is “not in the Gospel,” Pope Francis told reporters aboard his flight from Mexico to Italy on Thursday.

But he seemed quite pleased to hear that Trump had called him a “political” figure, noting that Aristotle had described the human being as a “political animal.”

Trump himself had heaped praise on the pontiff Thursday morning in an interview with Breitbart’s Stephen K. Bannon on SiriusXM radio.

“I love the pope in many ways. I love what he stands for and I like his attitude. He’s very independent and he’s very different. He’s sort of a modern day pope if you think about it,” Trump said on the program.

But after the pope and The Donald began their verbal scuffle in the afternoon, a Trump adviser couldn’t resist another jab at Francis:

IMAGES:

ALESSANDRO DI MEO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

MAGE: JAE C. HONG/ASSOCIATED PRESS

For more on this story and video go to: http://mashable.com/2016/02/18/pope-francis-donald-trump-christian/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#pnVddneEkgqC

Related story:

Disgraceful’: Donald Trump blasts Pope Francis for taking a shot at his faith

By Allan Smith From Business Insider

Donald Trump fired back at Pope Francis in a rally Thursday afternoon in South Carolina, saying the pope would wish for a President Trump “if and when” the Islamic State were to attack the Vatican.

“For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful,” Trump said in a lengthy statement.

Trump was responding to a comment from the pope earlier in the day that questioned Trump’s faith because of the Republican presidential front-runner’s caustic approach to illegal immigration.

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” the pope said after his six-day visit to Mexico, according to The New York Times.

After being asked whether he would try to persuade American Catholics to vote for a different candidate, the Catholic leader said he “was not going to get involved in that.”

“I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that,” the pope added, again referring to Trump’s continued promises to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Trump often touts his Presbyterian faith while making his pitch to evangelical voters on the campaign trial.

Trump read his statement Thursday at his campaign rally at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina. Trump warned that the Islamic State terrorist group, also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh, was planning to attack the Vatican.

“If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president,” Trump said. “Because this would not have happened.”

He also reminded his audience that he is “a very nice person.”

“The pope is being told that Donald Trump isn’t a nice person,” he said. “Okay. Donald Trump is a very nice person — I am a very nice person. And I’m a very good Christian.”

In an earlier Thursday interview with Breitbart News on Sirius XM Radio, Trump was asked about the pope’s statement from Wednesday during a mass near the US-Mexico border. The Times reported then that the pope spoke broadly about “the humanitarian crisis which in recent years has meant the migration of thousands of people.”

Trump said in the radio interview that he respected the pope.

“I heard the pope and I respect the pope and I love the pope in many ways,” Trump said earlier Thursday. “I love what he stands for and I like his attitude. He’s very independent and he’s very different. He’s sort of a modern-day pope if you think about it.”

Trump then went into discussing what he thought to be “tremendous” crime happening in Mexico, with drugs “pouring” through the border.

“It’s not coming from us — it’s coming from the other side,” he said. “And I made a pretty strong argument and I talked about the wall very quickly and it got picked up. And he could have been persuaded. I don’t know. But I really respect the fact that he sees both sides. You know a lot of people are inflexible — they won’t change.”

“The Pope isn’t bring told that. The Pope is bring told that Donald Trump isn’t a nice person. Okay. Donald Trump is a very nice person and I am a very nice person, and I’m a very good Christian.

Here’s Trump’s full Thursday statement responding to the pope:

If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians.

The Mexican government and its leadership has made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope, because they want to continue to rip off the United States, both on trade and at the border, and they understand I am totally wise to them. The Pope only heard one side of the story — he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States. He doesn’t see how Mexican leadership is outsmarting President Obama and our leadership in every aspect of negotiation.

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. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant.

IMAGE: Samantha Lee/Business Insider

For more on this story and video go to: http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-pope-francis-isis-vatican-2016-2?utm_source=feedburner&amp%3Butm_medium=referral&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+%28Business+Insider%29