Attorney General Jeff Sessions is defending his use of the Bible to justify a Trump administration policy that separated immigrant children from their parents at the U.S./Mexico border.

Speaking to CBN News, Sessions said he didn't believe his views on the biblical position related to government were "extreme."

"I just simply said to my Christian friends, you know the United States has laws and I believe that Paul was clear in Romans that we should try to follow the laws of government of which we are a part," Sessions said.

The former Alabama Senator provoked controversy last week when he cited Apostle Paul and Romans 13 and advised people to "obey the laws of government because God had ordained them for the purpose of order."

The comments drew rebukes from many in the religious community, including members of Sessions' own Methodist faith.

Sessions clarified his statements to CBN, saying he did not say "that religion requires these laws on immigration."

Sessions said he had not anticipated the backlash generated by the "zero tolerance" immigration policy and the anger over moving as many as 2,000 immigrant children into detention centers without their parents.

"It hasn't been good and the American people don't like the idea that we are separating families," Sessions said. "We never really intended to do that. What we intended to do, was to make sure that adults who bring children into the country are charged with the crime they have committed."

He also addressed his critics in the faith community.

"It is painful," Sessions said. "I am pretty well resolved that we try to consider the concerns that people have if they're legitimate."

"I have critics from a lot of different areas. I think our church people are really concerned about children - that's what I'm hearing," he added. "I feel it. I think there's a legitimate concern there and I'm pleased to work with the president to address those concerns."