Pope Francis' Visit In The US-Mexico Border: Some Highlights

By Jenn Loro - 19 Feb '16 09:16AM

Argentine-born Pope Francis concluded his visit to largely Catholic Mexico by stopping at Ciudad Juarez- a city populated by 1.5 million residents close to the US-Mexican border.

According to a report by USA Today, his trip to the Mexico's border city underscores Juarez's ongoing struggle with narco-fueled gang wars and other violent crimes perpetrated by lawless elements.

The border visit also highlighted his moral crusade against the glaring inequalities as well as the thorny issue of migration that polarizes Mexico's northern neighbor especially during this election season.

"The human tragedy that is forced migration is a global phenomenon today. This crisis, which can be measured in numbers and statistics, we want to instead measure with names, stories, families," the High Pontiff remarked as quoted by Crux Now.

Towards the end of his six-day visit to Mexico, the Pope was also critical at Republican frontrunner Donald Trump for the latter's harsh campaign agenda against immigration.

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," said the Pope in reference to Trump as he boarded the papal airliner on his way back to Rome in a report by the New York Times.

Also, the Pope also made a statement on the current Zika virus that has affected much of Latin America. Departing from Church's usual conservative stance on contraception, Pope Francis indicated a conditional permission for women to use contraception to avoid pregnancy as the Zika outbreak rages on according to a report by The Guardian.

Overall, the Pope's visit was largely successful except for a minor incident which exposed the High Pontiff's human frailty- a slight departure from his usual progressive and often "people person" demeanor.

In his visit to the city of Morelia, Pope Francis apparently lost his cool after being dragged down by an overly excited man.

"We are asking you to be careful. Please contain yourself. Pope Francis wants to greet us, but if we pile up, it will be difficult to do so," an announcer for the Pope said as quoted by CNN.