Monday 4 July 2022 11:21 AM Pope Francis wades in to Roe vs Wade abortion ruling as he compares termination ... trends now
Pope Francis has strongly condemned abortion and compared terminating a baby to 'hiring a hitman to solve a problem' after the landmark court ruling Roe v. Wade was overturned by Supreme Court justices.
Speaking from his Vatican residence, the 85-year-old pontiff said he respected the Supreme Court's decision to unravel nearly 50 years' worth of precedent by overturning the 1973 landmark decision that granted federal abortion protections under the Constitution.
Francis said he said strongly condemned abortion, comparing it to 'hiring a hit man'. The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at the moment of conception.
He said: 'I ask: Is it legitimate, is it right, to eliminate a human life to resolve a problem?'
Pope Francis has strongly condemned abortion and compared terminating a baby to 'hiring a hitman to solve a problem' after the landmark court ruling Roe v. Wade was overturned by Supreme Court justices
Francis was asked about a debate in the United States over whether a Catholic politician who is personally opposed to abortion but supports others' right to choose should be allowed to receive the sacrament of communion.
House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, has been barred by the conservative archbishop of her home diocese of San Francisco from receiving it there, but is regularly given communion at a parish in Washington, D.C.
Last week, she received the sacrament at a papal Mass in the Vatican.
'When the Church loses its pastoral nature, when a bishop loses his pastoral nature, it causes a political problem,' the pope said. 'That's all I can say.'
Hundreds of abortion rights protesters are gathered outside of the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral to protest returning of Roe vs. Wade during a church session in Manhattan, New York City on July 2
Meanwhile, Francis dismissed reports that he plans to resign in the near future, saying he is on track to visit Canada this month and hopes to be able to go to Moscow and Kyiv as soon as possible after that.
In an exclusive interview in his Vatican residence, Francis also denied rumors that he had cancer, joking that his doctors 'didn't tell me anything about it', and for the first time gave details of the knee condition that has prevented him carrying out some duties.
Rumors have swirled in the media that a conjunction of events in late August, including meetings with the world's cardinals to discuss a new Vatican constitution, a ceremony to induct new cardinals, and a visit to the Italian city of L'Aquila, could foreshadow a resignation announcement.
L'Aquila is associated with Pope Celestine V, who resigned the papacy in 1294. Pope Benedict XVI visited the city
