Former top White House strategist Steve Bannon accused the Catholic Church of opposing President Trump’s decision to end a program that protects young​ undocumented​ immigrants from deportation because “they need illegal aliens to fill the churches.”

In an excerpt of an interview​ for​ CBS’ “60 Minutes” ​released Thursday, ​Bannon said the “bishops have been terrible about this.”

“By the way, you know why? You know why? Because unable to really — to — to — to come to grips with the problems in the church, they need illegal aliens, they need illegal aliens to fill the churches. That’s — it’s obvious on the face of it,” Bannon ranted during the interview that will air Sunday. “That’s what — the entire Catholic bishops condemn him. … They have — they have an economic interest. They have an economic interest in unlimited immigration, unlimited illegal immigration.”

The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered the phasing out of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that shielded young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US illegally by their parents and gave Congress six months to fix the problem.

About 800,000 people are now in limbo over the decision.

​Bannon, who returned to the website Breitbart News after he left the White ​House in August, said Trump “struggled” with the decision.

“Okay, I don’t agree with that DACA decision, but I understand how he struggled with it, I understand how he’s giving the possibility of a legislative thing. And he said even last night in a tweet — even in a tweet, he would rethink it. Trust me, the guys in the far right, the guys on the conservative side are not happy with this,” Bannon said.

​He also said the DACA action was about national security, not religious doctrine.

​”​As much as I respect Cardinal Dolan and the bishops on doctrine, this is not doctrine. This is not doctrine at all. I totally respect the pope and I totally respect the Catholic bishops and cardinals on doctrine. This is not about doctrine. This is about the sovereignty of a nation. And in that regard, they’re just another guy with an opinion​,” Bannon said.