Pope Francis has been heralded as a pro-life champion — having consistently spoken out on pro-life issues and condemning abortion since his installation as the head of the Catholic Church. In his annual Christmas message, the pontiff remembered the plight of aborted babies as the world celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
During his Christmas message, Pope Francis hearkened back to the days of King Herod, who tried to kill Jesus by having his agents kill newborn boys in infanticides.
Brietbart reports on the Pope’s message:
“Baby Jesus,” Francis began, “my thoughts go to all children who are killed and abused today.” First among these, the Pope spoke of those destroyed “before they ever see the light of day, deprived of the generous love of their parents and buried in the selfishness of a culture that does not love life.”
In Thursday’s message, Francis continued in a similar vein, expanding his discourse to children who are victims of wars and exploitation. He expressed his sympathy, for instance, to “those children displaced because of wars and persecution, abused and exploited under our eyes and our silent complicity.”
The Pope also mentioned children “massacred in bomb raids, even in the place where the Son of God was born.” Even today, Francis said, “their helpless silence cries out from under the sword of countless Herods.”
Click here to sign up for daily pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
Just a month ago, the Pope spoke of abortion as “a sin against the Creator,” and denounced the fiction that “supporting abortion somehow helps women.” He appealed to his hearers both from the perspective of religion and that of secular ethics. “By the light of both faith and right reason,” the Pope said, “human life is always sacred.”
Last month, the Holy Father made points about abortion and euthanasia from a religious standpoint for the Catholic group, proclaiming that it is “playing with life” and in a sinful manner, when it comes to abortion and euthanasia. Such is a good point to remind people of all faiths that we are not God, and it is not our job to be “playing with life” as Francis words it.
Francis also mentioned that we “are living in a time of experimentation with life. But a bad experiment…” He also referenced arguments that modern thought has supposedly evolved on such life issues, in that “in ancient thought and in modern thought, the word ‘kill’ means the same!” It is helpful to remember such words when we reflect on our country’s history, of how in 1973 two companion U.S. Supreme Court cases legalized abortion in all 50 states, with abortions even being performed up until birth for the mother’s “health.” The legalization of abortion has led to the “bad experiment” of over 56 million deaths of unborn Americans. And just as Francis has mentioned before, there is nothing modern or progressive when it comes to the taking of life of the innocent.
Francis reminds us that “[t]he belief that abortion is helpful for women, that euthanasia is “an act of dignity,” or that it’s “a scientific breakthrough to ‘produce’ a child (who is) considered a right instead of accepted as a gift” are all part of conventional wisdom that offers a false sense of compassion, he said.”
