Trump: Pope’s comments about me disgraceful

Donald Trump, frontline presidential candidate of the US Republican Party, has accused Pope Francis of making disgraceful comments about his faith.

Speaking at the end of his recent trip to Mexico, the Pope had questioned Trump’s Christianity over his call to build a border wall with Mexico.

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel,” the Pope had said.

“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 I will give him the benefit of the doubt.”

But addressing a rally in South Carolina, Trump responded to the Pope’s comments.

“For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith,” Trump said.

“[The pope] said negative things about me. Because the Mexican government convinced him that Trump is not a good guy.”

He also said the Vatican is the so-called Islamic State’s “ultimate trophy”, and “if and when” the group attacks it “the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened.”