Donald Trump Hits Back At Pope Francis

Republican frontrunner and business mogul Donald Trump forcefully responded to Pope Francis statement that he was "not Christian" for his seemingly extreme view of erecting a long wall between US and Mexico to fend off illegal migrants from the southern side of the border.

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," the High Pontiff said when pressed about his view about Donald Trump's tirades against undocumented migrants making their way to the US as mentioned in a Sky News report.

In his response to the Pope's scathing comment about him, Trump proudly insisted being a Christian and lashed the Pope for what he called as "disgraceful" remarks from a religious leader.

"If and when the Vatican is attacked by Isis, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened...For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened," replied Trump as quoted in a report by Independent.

However, the Presidential hopeful later said something less ferocious and a more conciliatory remark about the Pope ahead of the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday.

"I have a lot of respect for the Pope. He has a lot of personality and I think he's doing a very good job, he has a lot of energy," said Trump as mentioned by BBC News.

Meanwhile, the billionaire-turned-presidential-candidate appears to have gained a higher ground over his rivals in the South Carolina primary race. A number of polls indicate Trump's large and consistent lead over all other Republican candidates. According to Washington Post, if poll figures prove accurate, Trump would certainly bring home the bacon in the GOP primary contest.