Pope's congratulatory message "Please lead a society without hatred"

Pope Francis sent a congratulatory message to Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated as U.S. president on the 20th local time, asking him to "lead a more just society without hatred, discrimination, and exclusion."

In a congratulatory message sent ahead of President Trump's inauguration, Pope Francis said, "I pray that Almighty God will grant you wisdom, strength, and protection."

"At the same time, I hope that God will guide your efforts to promote peace and reconciliation as our humanity faces numerous challenges, including the scourge of war," he added.

Pope Francis expressed his blessing in the message, but he has been at odds with Trump's anti-immigration policy.

In an interview with Italian private broadcaster Nové the day before, he also expressed concern about the prospect that Trump's No. 1 executive order would be illegal immigrant deportation, saying, "If true, it would be a disaster because poor and poor people who have nothing will pay for it."

Asked about Trump's immigration pledges ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the pope strongly criticized him, saying, "No one wants to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is a Christian."

Even ahead of last year's U.S. presidential election, he criticized right-wing Catholics in the U.S., who remain conservative, denouncing their exclusive attitude toward immigrants as "madness."