Pope Slams Salvini Over Italy’s Closed Borders

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Pope Francis let fly a thinly veiled attack on Italy's interior minister Matteo Salvini Monday, comparing him to the biblical character of Cain who murdered his brother Abel.

In an address to participants in a meeting of aid agencies to the Oriental Catholic Churches (ROACO), the pope seemed to fire a shot across Mr. Salvini's bow, accusing the populist minister of closing his ports to migrants while opening them to arms dealers.

Since Mr. Salvini is the only political leader to have closed the nation's ports in an effort to curb illegal migration, it is difficult to interpret the pontiff's words as applying to anyone else.

"Here we can recognize the cry of Abel rising up to God," the pope added, a biblical reference to the second son of Adam and Eve, who was killed by his elder brother Cain. The pope often references Cain's defensive question "Am I my brother's keeper?" when speaking of the duty to welcome migrants.

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