Pope Francis has said that populist politicians were "creating psychosis" on the issue of migration in an interview with Reuters published on Wednesday.
He said that ageing societies like those in Europe face "a great demographic winter" and "will become empty" without migration. The pontiff also criticised the United States administration's policy of separating the children of migrants from their parents at the Mexican border.
"It's not easy, but populism is not the solution," Francis said.
He said he backed statements by bishops in American who called the policy "contrary to our Catholic values" and "immoral".
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