Basilica of St. Bartholomew

Pope slammed for likening refugee centers to 'concentration camps'

"I don't know if he was able to get out of that concentration camp, because the refugee camps -- many -- are concentration (camps), because they are so crowded with people," the Pope said in Italian.

The AJC issued a statement asking the pontiff to reconsider his "regrettable" choice of words.

"The conditions in which migrants are currently living in some European countries may well be difficult, and deserve still greater international attention, but concentration camps they certainly are not," said AJC CEO David Harris.