Politics and Philosophy Clash Where the Pope Urges an Embrace of Refugees

Pope Francis challenged Americans last week to accept “the stranger in our midst” and reject a “mind-set of hostility” toward newcomers. But his invocation of the millions of Syrian and other Middle East refugees, a relatively small number of whom have been resettled in the United States, has been met with indifference or resistance by many in the 2016 presidential field.

Some leading Republicans, including Donald J. Trump and Ben Carson, said after the pontiff’s remarks that they continued to oppose accepting refugees in America, a stand that pleases many...