Pope Francis on Wednesday compared having an abortion to "hiring a "hit man" to eliminate a problematic person, in comments sure to be welcomed by conservative Catholics who have accused the pontiff of not speaking out enough on "cultural war" issues.
Pope Francis on Wednesday compared having an abortion to "hiring a "hit man" to eliminate a problematic person, in comments sure to be welcomed by conservative Catholics who have accused the pontiff of not speaking out enough on "cultural war" issues.
Abortion is a raging political battle in a number of countries, including the United States, where many conservatives hope the Supreme Court will eventually overturn the landmark 1973 ruling known as Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion.
Francis made his off-the-cuff comments on abortion, some of his toughest to date, in an address to tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square for his weekly general audience.
The pope denounced what he called the contradiction of allowing "the suppression of human life in the mother's womb in the name of safeguarding other rights".
"But how can an act that suppresses an innocent and helpless life that is germinating be therapeutic, civilized or even simply human?" he said.
"I ask you: 'Is it right to 'take out' a human life to solve a problem? What do you think? Is it right? Is it right or not?" he said in unprepared remarks.
Abortion is a raging political battle in a number of countries, including the United States, where many conservatives hope the Supreme Court will eventually overturn the landmark 1973 ruling known as Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion.
Francis made his off-the-cuff comments on abortion, some of his toughest to date, in an address to tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square for his weekly general audience.
The pope denounced what he called the contradiction of allowing "the suppression of human life in the mother's womb in the name of safeguarding other rights".
"But how can an act that suppresses an innocent and helpless life that is germinating be therapeutic, civilized or even simply human?" he said.
"I ask you: 'Is it right to 'take out' a human life to solve a problem? What do you think? Is it right? Is it right or not?" he said in unprepared remarks.