C onflicting SIGNALS are reaching the new American administration from Rome. And some carry a whiff of incense. While Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, was preparing to fly to Washington to schmooze President Donald Trump and his chums, a leader on the other side of the Tiber was communicating stark disapproval of their plans.

"If it is true, it will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing to pay the unpaid bill," Francis said.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis said Donald Trump’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants would be a “disgrace,” as he weighed in on the incoming U.S. president’s pledges nearly a decade after calling him “not Christian” for wanting to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Pope Francis sent “cordial greetings” and “assurance of my prayers” to Donald J. Trump on Jan. 20, the day of his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.

Pope Francis said Donald Trump’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants would be a “disgrace,” as he weighed in on the incoming U.S. president’s pledges nearly a decade after calling

The comments provided the latest indication of a potential renewal of friction between the Vatican and the next Trump White House.

Pope Francis is not expected to veto President Donald Trump's choice of a high-profile critic of his papacy as the next U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, according to two senior Vatican officials, despite misgivings about his stance on many issues.