By Dave Andrusko
Pope Francis
Reiterating that human life is sacred and inviolable, Pope Francis told the Italian pro-life group Movimento per la Vita today that it is “necessary to reiterate the strongest opposition to any direct attack on life, especially innocent and defenseless, and [the mother’s] unborn child in the womb is the innocent par excellence.”
In his remarks Pope Francis quoted from Gaudium et Spes [“The Gospel of Joy”] from the Second Vatican Council: “From the moment of its conception, life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes.”
Picking up on theme he has emphasized repeatedly, Pope Francis further noted, “If you look at life as something that is consumed, it will also be something that sooner or later you can throw away,” beginning with abortion.
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Human life is “a gift from God,” he said. If it is accepted as such, “then you have before you a valuable and intangible asset, to be protected by all means and not to be discarded.”
Vatican Radio reported that
“Pope Francis also showed gratitude for two specific activities of the Pro-Life Movement: The ‘Gemma Project,’ which works with woman facing crisis pregnancies; and the ‘One of Us’ Campaign, which is a European Union Citizens’ Initiative requesting the prohibition of EU financing of activities which involve the destruction of human embryos, especially in the areas of research, development cooperation and public health.”