A Catholic priest in Italy is facing criticism this week after he compared a prominent pro-abortion politician to a notorious mafia boss.
The Rev. Francesco Pieri, of Bologna, Italy, argued that “morally there is no difference” between an abortion activist supporting the killing of unborn babies and a mob boss ordering that people be killed, The Local Italy reports. Pieri said an abortion is an “abominable crime” against an unborn baby in much the same way murder is against born human beings.
He posted the comparison on his public Facebook page just a few hours after news broke about the death of a notorious mafia boss in Italy, according to the report.
Here’s more from the report:
The Bologna priest was quoted by local paper Il Resto del Carlino as saying: “Who has more innocent deaths on their conscience, Totò Riina or Emma Bonino?” referring to a mafia ‘boss of bosses’ who died last week and Bonino, a prominent campaigner for abortion rights.
He went on to say “morally, there’s no difference” between the two.
Riina, a mafia killer nicknamed ‘The Beast’ in reference to his cruelty, died of cancer on Friday. He had been serving 26 life sentences for ordering an estimated 150 murders, including those of anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and a 13-year-old boy.
Former Foreign Minister Emma Bonino is known for her campaigns to legalize divorce and support both religious and sexual freedom. She was jailed for three weeks in 1975 for protesting in favour of abortion rights, and promoted the referendum which led to the legalization of the medical procedure.
Abortion is legal for any reason up to 90 days of pregnancy in Italy and later in cases where the woman has a physical or mental risk or where the unborn baby has a deformity. The country legalized abortion in 1978.
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Abortion rates are dropping in the country, and a growing number of Italian doctors are refusing to abort unborn babies in their practices.
The Catholic Church has been hugely influential in protecting unborn babies’ lives from abortion in Italy and across the world. Catholics believe that every human life is valuable, from conception to natural death, because they are created in the image of God. And killing another human being – no matter what stage of life they are in – is an “abominable” sin against God and humanity.
