Pope Francis Welcome 2025 New Year’s Day Mass At St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, followers again called on them to reject abortion.
Francis has been more outspoken on abortion in recent years than he was at the beginning of his pontificate, with his recent comments sparking outrage in Belgium.
What did Francis say?
In his homily, Francis prayed that everyone should learn to care for “every child born to woman.”
He urged followers to protect “the precious gift of life: life in the womb, life of children, life of the suffering, the life of the poor, the elderly, the lonely and the dying.”
“I ask for a firm commitment to respect the dignity of human life from conception to natural death, so that everyone can value their own life and that all can look to the future with hope,” he said, using language that typically emphasizes the church’s opposition to Abortion and assisted suicide.
What do we know about the Pope’s stance on abortion?
Argentinian Jesuit Francis is more vociferously opposed to abortion than he was at the beginning of his pontificate.
In the first months of his pontificate in 2013, he complained that the Church was obsessed with “narrow rules” on issues such as abortion.
The Pope now often compares abortion to “hiring a killer to solve a problem.” In September, he sparked controversy when he visited Belgium and called the country’s abortion laws “cruel.”
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo summoned the Vatican ambassador and lambasted the remarks as “unacceptable.”
More than 500 people asked to be baptized in protest at Francis’ remarks on women’s rights and their role in society during his visit to the country.
