Pope Francis sent out a chilling warning to the world about the realities of the refugee situation, suggesting members and sympathizers of the terror group, ISIS, could very well be hidden among the thousands fleeing war in Syria.
"The truth is that just [250 miles] from Sicily there is an incredibly cruel terrorist group," Francis said to the Portuguese Radio Renascenca. "So there is a danger of infiltration, this is true."
ISIS has issued death threats against those in Rome and vowed to raise the group's signature black flag above St. Peter's Basilica. The terrorists have also set their sights on Christians, labeling them "infidels" and killing thousands in recent months.
Pope Francis agreed the Vatican is a possible ISIS target. But he also said other nations should not be frightened by ISIS into halting access to refugees.
"Yes, nobody said Rome would be immune to this threat," he said, the New York Post reported. "But you can take precautions."
At the same time, the pope said the reason for the refugees crisis was in part due to a "bad and unjust socioeconomic system," a characterization some would say waters the faith-based roots of the terror group's motivations – to spread the Islamic and Sharia principles around the world.
John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a senior fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, for instance, said on Fox News the pope's comments were outright wrong.
"When respective religious leaders step outside their domain ... the really risk compromising their moral majority," he said. "Those comments bear no relation to reality when it comes to the refugees' situation."
The pope's warning comes on the heels of the FBI's quiet arrest of a 15-year-old boy near Philadelphia a month ago for allegedly plotting a terror attack on Francis while he visited America, a la ISIS style.
"The minor was inspired by [ISIS] and sought to conduct a detailed homeland attack which included multiple attackers, firearms and multiple explosives, targeting a foreign dignitary at a high-profile event," a joint statement from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security from Aug. 14 read.