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Rubio and Bush weigh in on Pope’s comments about border wall

Posted at 2:50 PM, Feb 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-18 14:50:53-05

Rubio takes issue with Pope comments about border wall

ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) — Marco Rubio says that Vatican City has a right to control its borders and so does the United States.

The comment came in response to Pope Francis’ suggestion Thursday that an American politician who wants to build a border wall is not a Christian. Rubio previously favored a pathway to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally, but now says border security — including expanding the Mexican border wall — is the priority.

Rubio addressed the issue during a press conference in Anderson, South Carolina Thursday afternoon.

“Vatican City controls who comes in when they come in and how they come in as a city state, and as a result the united states has a right to do that as well,” he said.

Rubio, a Catholic, says he has “tremendous respect and admiration” for the Pope. He says, “There’s no nation on earth that’s more compassion on immigration than we are.”

Bush: Building a wall is not ‘unchristian

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jeb Bush says he doesn’t question Donald Trump’s Christianity nor anyone else’s, “because I honestly believe that’s a relationship you have with your creator.”

But he is objecting to any argument that securing the U.S. border with Mexico by a wall is “unchristian.”

Bush is telling reporters in Columbia, “I support walls and fencing where it’s appropriate,” along with other forms of border security measures such as drone aircraft monitoring.

As far as Francis’ weighing in on a political debate, Bush says what he said in June before the Pope weighed in on climate change.

Bush, who is Catholic, says “I think it’s OK to get my guidance as a Catholic from the Pope. But certainly not economic policy or environmental policy.”