A day after an interview the mainstream media used to claim Pope Francis is backing down on the Catholic Church’s pro-life teachings, the Pope condemned abortion in strong terms, saying unborn babies are “unjustly condemned” when killed in abortions.
In the text of a message the Pope delivered to a group of Catholic doctors this morning, as distributed by the Vatican today, Pope Francis soundly condemned abortion.
“Every unborn child, though unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of the Lord, who even before his birth, and then as soon as he was born, experienced the rejection of the world,” he said.
Pope Francis condemned the “throwaway culture” abortion promotes, saying, “Our response to this mentality is a ‘yes’ to life, decisive and without hesitation. ‘The first right of the human person is his life. He has other goods and some are precious, but this one is fundamental –- the condition for all the others’”.
The leader of the Catholic Church described a contradiction whereby scientists pursue cures for diseases but snuff out human life in abortion.
“On the one hand we see progress in the field of medicine, thanks to the work of scientists who passionately and unreservedly dedicate themselves to the search for new cures,” he said. “On the other hand, however, we also encounter the risk that doctors lose sight of their identity in the service of life.”
“While new rights are attributed to or indeed almost presumed by the individual, life is not always protected as the primary value and the primordial right of every human being,” he continued. “The ultimate aim of medicine remains the defense and promotion of life.”
Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life told LifeNews yesterday that the media got it wrong on reporting on Pope Francis’ interview, in which he didn’t back down on abortion but called on the Catholic Church to do more to minister to women who have had abortions and are discounted from God.
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“Upon receiving this request for comment, I was actually in the presence of the pope, because I am speaking at the Vatican conference today precisely on the topic of the priority of the abortion issue in the concerns of the church,” Pavone told LifeNews. “When the pope speaks about context, this obviously includes the context of all the teaching documents of the church, which point out that the right to life is our first and most fundamental right.”
“Context also includes the context of human reason, and the reality that nothing claims more human lives in the world today than abortion,” he said. “Nobody should try to use the words of the pope to minimize the urgent need to preach and teach about abortion. If they do, then it is context that is needed.”
