A senior leader of the Roman Catholic Church appealed to the president-elect Donald Trump implement a “wise policy” on immigration The Republican plans to carry out mass deportations.

Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in question In Rome on Thursday, the church offered good wishes and “much wisdom” to Trump as he prepares to take office again in January.

The cardinal was asked about the president-elect’s immigration plans, which include tighter restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border. Deportation of at least 11 million undocumented immigrants.

“It seems to me that the position of the Pope and the Vatican on this issue is very clear,” he told reporters at the Gregorian University. “We are in favor of a wise policy towards immigrants and therefore we should not go to these extremes.”

news week He reached out to the president-elect’s team for comment via email Thursday afternoon.

in October, faith leaders told news week Closing the border to refugees and asylum seekers was against the country’s Christian values.

Christian refugee advocacy groups World Relief and Open Doors said one in seven Christians worldwide live under threat of persecution, including in countries such as the United States, North Korea, Iran and China.

In fiscal year 2024, which ended September 30, approximately 29,500 Christian refugees from 50 countries were admitted to the United States.

To talk news week On Thursday, Matt Soerens, World Relief’s vice president of advocacy and policy, said he was concerned about undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States for decades.

“Many of them have U.S.-born children, so if President-elect Trump means deporting all undocumented immigrants by mass deportation, that would mean deporting the parents of 4 to 5 million children as well,” Soerens said. he said.

“This would be deeply troubling for us at World Relief and for the vast majority of evangelical Christians, 91 percent of whom say immigration policy should protect family unity.”

Immigrant churches in the U.S. are concerned their members could face mass deportation if the program goes into effect, Soerens said.

On Thursday Cardinal Parolin said: Pope Francis Giving precise and clear indicators on migration, he said, “This is the only way to address and solve problems in a humane way.”

The pope has been speaking out on the issue of migration around the world since his election in 2013; Since then, the number of people displaced by conflict and extreme weather has been increasing. Speaking in August, the Pope criticized those who stood in the way of immigrants finding asylum.

“There are those who systematically use every means to remove immigrants, and when this is done knowingly and deliberately, it is a great sin,” he said.

Soerens said World Relief will work in the coming months to encourage the Biden administration to protect Those who are covered by programs such as Temporary Protected Status and Humanitarian Parole in the USAHe is also calling for reform of penalties for undocumented immigrants when Trump takes office, such as those from Haiti, Venezuela and Cuba.

“If Congress “They can then take action, which in some cases could be a fine rather than deportation to a country they haven’t seen in 30 years and their U.S.-born children have never seen,” he said.