A leading Catholic theologian has criticised Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico, calling it a challenge to America's moral values.

The Rev Daniel G. Groody, an associate professor of theology at Notre Dame University in Indiana told RNS: "If more has been given to America, then even more is expected of us, and unless we attend to human insecurity outside our borders we will not have national security inside our borders."

"What Trump fails to see is that state sovereignty is not an absolute privilege but a moral responsibility," he added. Groody said that the wall would hurt the poor the most, and would lead to loss of life as migrants attempt other ways to leave their country and escape their poverty.

"Significant spiritual issues are at stake," he said. "To further close our doors not only deprives the stranger in need but also diminishes who we are as human beings."

Groody has years of experience working with migrants in California and on the Mexican border.

He said of the experience: "I was very inspired by the life of the people, the generosity of the people, but they were also suffering. They were not only poor, they were also dying in the deserts. Many were struggling for a dignified life."

Groody called the proposed wall "political bravado." If a complete border wall is ever completed, he says "people are just going to come in boats. The wall solves nothing."

Trump's border wall with Mexico was a standout promise of his election campaign. Pope Francis had previously said of Trump and his proposal: "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel". He later said that he would "wait and see" how Trump acts as President before judging him.

In his prayer welcoming the President to his new role, Francis said: "Under your leadership, may America's stature continue to be measured above all by its concern for the poor, the outcast and those in need who, like Lazarus, stand before our door."

Groody said that Trump "understands neither the lessons of history, the challenges of immigration, nor the founding spirit of American democracy."