FRANCE, April 19, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen of the National Front party criticized Pope Francis and the French Catholic bishops for involving themselves in political issues while ignoring “what [they] should really be concerned with.”
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's,” Le Pen told La Croix. “The Conference of Bishops of France sometimes gets involved in what does not concern it: in particular, giving political directions. I don’t get involved with what the Pope should say to his followers. I don’t think religions should tell the French people how to vote.”
Le Pen was addressing the role of religion in the public sphere. She supports banning “conspicuous religious symbols” in public places because “the Muslim religion has arrived in our country like a tidal wave and radical Islam has begun to apply pressure by means of the veil.”
“I have a strong faith and I am fortunate in that I have never doubted it,” said Le Pen. “However, I admit that I am angry with the Church because I think that it interferes in everything except what it should really be concerned with.”
She said if she's elected, she'll invite Pope Francis to France “with great pleasure” and “will tell him exactly what I have just told you.”
“It does not surprise me that he appeals for charity and the welcoming of migrants,” Le Pen continued. “Charity, however, is up to each individual. He asks that states go against the interests of their own people by not placing conditions on the acceptance of significant numbers of migrants. To me, this falls within the realm of politics and even interference, since he is also a head of state.”
Le Pen is an outspoken critic of the European Union and its liberal refugee resettlement plans. She is popular with young people in France, as is her slightly more socially conservative niece Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. Le Pen's victory would be a defeat for globalists, as was Brexit and Donald Trump's election. The first round of voting is on April 23, the second round on May 7. It has been called “the most unpredictable French election in decades.” Emmanuel Macron and Le Pen are the frontrunners, followed by Francois Fillon and hardcore leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Le Pen is supportive of abortion but says she'll replace same-sex “marriage” with civil partnerships – which existed in France from 1999 to 2013 – if she's elected. She has also pledged to restrict the use of artificial reproductive technology to give children to same-sex couples.