Pope Warns That Rising Populism Could Produce a New Hitler
“In times of crisis, we lack judgment, and that is a constant reference for me,” the pontiff said.

ROME — Pope Francis has warned against growing populism in Europe, saying such movements could result in the election leaders of like Germany’s Adolf Hitler.

“In times of crisis, we lack judgment, and that is a constant reference for me,” the pontiff said in an in-depth interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais. “The most obvious example of European populism is Germany in 1933. After the crisis of 1930, Germany is broken, it needs to get up, to find its identity, a leader, someone capable of restoring its character, and there is a young man named Adolf Hitler.”

Snip

Pope Francis’ warnings come as a wave of populism washes over Europe, and as voters angry with traditional political elites throw their weight behind nationalist, anti-immigrant leaders.

Snip


When asked about Donald Trump’s proposal to build a wall alongside the U.S.-Mexico border on his way back from a trip to Mexico in 2016, the pope said that a “person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.”