Trump supporter Falwell attacks Pope over election comments

Reverend Jerry Falwell Jr, a leader of the religious Right and one of Donald Trump’s chief promoters, has accused Pope Francis of "losing credibility" over his failure to criticise Democrat policies after the US election, reports the Religion News Service.

Rev Falwell, a Baptist minister, delivered a pithy and pointed critique of the Pontiff via Twitter on Monday night. 

“Pope Francis lost all credibility when he failed to call out US Left for policies that impoverished inner cities 4 Dem politicalgain,” he tweeted.

The tweet was almost immediately deleted.

Reached by phone on Tuesday by RNS, Rev Falwell said his wife, Becki, and 16-year-old daughter, Caroline, had made him take it down, something he said happens “every now and then.”

But he stood by the tweet and said it was prompted by the Pope’s comments in an interview published on Friday by Italian daily La Repubblica.

Asked what he thought about the President-elect, Francis said: “I do not judge people or politicians. I only want to understand what suffering their behaviour causes to the poor and the excluded.”

Rev Falwell said his tweet should be read less as “critical” and more “thinking out loud.”