Appearing at a conference on Friday,
Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics,
compared homophobic, anti-Semitic politicians to Adolf Hitler.
“It is not coincidental that at times
there is a resurgence of symbols typical of Nazism,” Francis said,
Reuters
reported.
“And I must confess to you that when
I hear a speech [by] someone responsible for order or for a
government, I think of speeches by Hitler in 1934, 1936.”
“With the persecutions of Jews,
gypsies, and people with homosexual tendencies, today these actions
are typical [and] represent 'par excellence' a culture of waste and
hate. That is what was done in those days and today it is happening
again,” he said.
Francis made his remarks during an
international conference on criminal law held in Vatican City.
The Nazis sent millions of Jews, gays,
and gypsies to extermination camps.
The pope did not explicitly name any
politicians.