Stephen Bannon rips the Catholic Church for 'needing illegal aliens' to fill the pews

There was no doubt that Stephen Bannon exited the White House last month with guns blazing, and the former adviser had no reservations skewering President Trump's Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) decision or the Catholic Church in an interview with 60 Minutes' Charlie Rose.

Airing in full on Sunday, early clips from the interview aired on CBS This Morning on Thursday see Bannon dubbing himself a "street fighter" and pointedly threatening that "the guys on the far right" aren't happy with Trump's recent decision to "give the possibility of a legislative thing" to individuals known as DREAMers, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

"May I remind you, a good Catholic, that Cardinal [Timothy] Dolan is opposed to what's happening with DACA," Rose challenged. Dolan has recently joined demonstrations in support of DACA, calling DREAMers "our people," and claiming that "to demonize them as threats or terrorists contradicts … the Bible, America, New York, and human decency."

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Bannon, though, dismissed the church entirely. "The Catholic Church has been terrible at this," he said. "The bishops have been terrible about this. By the way, you know why, because, unable to come to grips with the problems in the church, they need illegal aliens. They need illegal aliens to fill the churches … They have an economic interest in unlimited immigration."

The answer clearly surprised Rose. "Boy, that’s a tough thing to say about your church," he said.

"As much as I respect Cardinal Dolan and the bishops on doctrine, this is not doctrine," said Bannon. Watch below. Jeva Lange