At least four Republican presidential candidates issued statements on Thursday supporting their rival Donald Trump in his dispute with Pope Francis regarding the GOP front-runner's plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to keep out criminals and possible terrorists.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Catholic, said Pope Francis "should recognise (and I believe he does), how generous America is."
Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper, Rubio said: "We accept close to one million [people] every year as permanent residents of the United States. No other country in the world even comes close."
Rubio pointed out that there should be "a balance ... between compassionate, but also being responsible, especially in a world where radical jihadists are seeking to use the immigration laws of countries to infiltrate killers and fighters into foreign countries."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, also a Catholic, also came to Trump's defence, telling reporters in South Carolina that he supported "walls and fencing where it's appropriate," and did not think it was wise to listen to Pope Francis on "economic or environmental policy," the Associated Press reported.
Dr. Ben Carson, a Seventh Day Adventist, said "enforcing our immigration laws is not in contradiction with love and kindness."
"As Christians, we are called to love our neighbours. But as a nation, we must also defend our sovereignty and security. Ending human trafficking into America can save lives and protect the weakest of society from exploitation; and working with Mexico and other Central and South American nations to improve their own governments and economies is a greater service to others than opening our borders," he said in a statement as reported by the Daily Caller.
At CNN's Republican presidential town hall, Gov. John Kasich, a member of the Anglican Church, said although he was "pro-pope," he believes that "we have a right to build a wall."
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Southern Baptist, opted "not to get in the middle" of any exchange between Pope Francis and Trump. "That's between Donald and the pope," Cruz told reporters.
Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who is also a Southern Baptist, said Pope Francis should know that walls sometimes are commanded by God, according to News Max.
Appearing on Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," Huckabee said he was stunned by the Pope's comment. "I don't remember in my lifetime that a Pope has ever injected himself into the specifics of an American presidential election and specifically calling out of a candidate."
Huckabee said all the Republican candidates have called for a secure border, so Pope Francis should not have singled out Trump.
"I have been to the Vatican," he added. "There is a big wall that surrounds the Vatican. I'm wondering, when the Pope gets back home, is he going to it take that down and say we don't build walls anymore?"
Huckabee also cited that in the Old Testament, Nehemiah built a protective wall around Jerusalem at God's command.
"I don't know what the Pope thinks a country should do if it doesn't protect its borders and protect its people," he said. "A country without a border is not even a country anymore."
Conservative commentators were not as diplomatic as the presidential candidates. "Funny, [Pope Francis] never did that while visiting Cuba to pay tribute to those who died attempting to escape that communist hellhole," author Ben Shapiro wrote for Breitbart News. "[The pope instead] reserved his spite for a nation with one of the most generous immigration policies on the planet."
Radio host Rush Limbaugh wondered why questioning President Obama's faith is off limits while Trump's is fair game.
"Has he questioned the faith of the Castro brothers?" asked Limbaugh. "Has the pope questioned the faith of any communist leaders?
