Pope Francis Speaks Out Against Abortion And Compares It To 'Hiring A Hitman'

Mason Joseph Zimmer
Pope Francis standing with folded hands at microphone during address
instagram | @franciscus

Pope Francis reportedly supports the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe V. Wade, which has led his earlier statements condemning abortion procedures as akin to "hiring a hitman" to resurface.

Even before his ascent to the papacy, Pope Francis was touted as a leader who would help modernize the Catholic Church and stand against some of its traditional conventions.

And to an extent, that's been true. Not only has he been more open about the church's history of abuse than previous pontiffs, but he's voiced his support for same-sex civil unions in a first for the long-standing institution.

However, we can also see that it's hardly unusual for him to carry on the church's traditional line on some subjects, which was especially clear when he suggested that couples were selfish for having pets instead of children.

And it seems that Pope Francis and his colleagues within the clergy are also of the same mind when it comes to abortion.

On July 4, TMZ reported that Pope Francis was strongly in support of the recent overturning of Roe V. Wade in the United States.

In their report, they described him as reiterating both his and the Catholic Church's position that life begins at conception, which would then make abortion an act that ends a human life in their view.

Such a statement is entirely consistent with previous remarks he made from his Vatican residence back in May of 2019, in which he compared the act to hiring a hitman.

According to AP News, he said, "Is it licit to throw away a life to resolve a problem? Is it licit to hire a hitman to resolve a problem?”

He then answered these rhetorical questions by stating the Church doesn't feel that any human being is "incompatible with life."

As such, he maintained that there is no context in which the Church can condone abortion, even if a fetus is likely to die at birth or soon after.

He also indicated that he thought there was a value to carrying such a fetus to term for the parents.

In his words, "Taking care of these children helps parents to grieve and not only think of it as a loss, but as a step on a path taken together."

Although these statements certainly sound consistent, it seems that they've caused some confusion among the Church's more conservative dioceses.

Nancy Pelosi sitting on red chair in front of bouquet of white flowers
Wikimedia Commons | Brian Birzer

According to Reuters, this is because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to receive communion at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican last week. This is despite the fact that Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco banned her from receiving the sacrament in her home city due to her support of abortion rights.

Although the Pope didn't personally give communion during Pelosi's visit, he was nonetheless asked about this difference between dioceses.

As he said in response, "When the Church loses its pastoral nature, when a bishop loses his pastoral nature, it causes a political problem. That's all I can say."

h/t: TMZ