Pope Francis reminded society that unborn babies are a sacred gift from God on Sunday at a pro-life rally in Rome, Italy.
His comments follow on the heels of Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone formally notifying Nancy Pelosi that she is not allowed to receive communion unless she repents of her abortion advocacy.
As he frequently does, the pope criticized the modern “throwaway culture” that justifies killing unborn babies in abortions in his remarks to the national Scegliamo la vita (Let’s Choose Life) rally, according to the Catholic News Agency.
“Let us remember that life is a gift from God!” Pope Francis said. “It is always sacred and inviolable, and we cannot silence the voice of conscience.”
Sadly, however, he said society has rejected this gift and made “individual choice” paramount, the report continues.
“In these last years, there has been a change in the common mentality, and today we are more and more led to think that life is a good at our complete disposal, that we can choose to manipulate, to give birth or take life as we please, as if it were the exclusive consequence of individual choice,” the pope continued.
LifeNews is now on TruthSocial. Please follow us here.
He praised pro-life advocates for their continued dedication to unborn babies, and thanked them for fighting to stop the growing push to eliminate conscience protections for pro-life medical workers.
“I thank you for your dedication in promoting life and defending conscientious objection, which there are often attempts to limit,” Pope Francis said.
As LifeNews reported, Cordileone said he formally notified U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week that she can no longer be allowed communion because she is no longer in communion with the Catholic Church by virtue of her repeatedly promoting abortion. Cordileone, who serves Pelosi’s home district of San Francisco, said he informed the congresswoman of his decision Thursday after repeated attempts to speak with her about the “grave evil” that she is supporting.
Bishop Robert Vasa of the Diocese of Santa Rosa told The Pillar May 20 he has instructed priests to observe the decision of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone when Pelosi attends Mass at the parish nearby her Napa Valley vacation home and vineyard. And several other Catholic bishops say they have supported the decision.
The Catholic Church leader frequently speaks about the value of children, born and unborn. Last fall, he criticized the “throwaway” culture that makes abortion seem “normal.” He also angered abortion activists by comparing abortion to hiring a hitman to kill a child.
“There is the waste of children that we don’t want welcome,” he said. “It is really a murder.” Later, he added: “Is it right to eliminate, to take a human life to solve a problem? Is it right to hire a hitman to solve a problem? That’s what abortion is.”
Pope Francis also has been encouraging families to have children as birth rates drop across the world and global powers push to expand abortions.
“Having a child is always a risk, either naturally or by adoption,” Pope Francis said in January. “But it is riskier not to have them. It is riskier to deny fatherhood or to deny motherhood, be it real or spiritual.”
