Pope Francis strengthened the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion over the weekend, describing the act as the “white glove” equivalent to crimes Nazis committed during the Third Reich’s eugenics program.
“Last century, the whole world was scandalized by what the Nazis did to purify the race. Today, we do the same thing but with white gloves,” the pope said while speaking at a meeting of an Italian family association over the weekend.
Francis urged attendees to accept children “as God gives them to us,” The Associated Press reported.
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The pope lamented about couples who choose not to have children and others who undergo prenatal testing to see if the baby has any genetic problems, as this has led many parents to consider abortion.
“The murder of children. To have an easy life, they get rid of an innocent.”
As a little boy growing up in Argentina, the pontiff said was horrified to learn about babies who were thrown from the mountain if they were born with malformations, he said.
“Today we do the same thing,” he said.
Francis referred to abortion as a result of the current “throw-away culture.” He decried a modern culture that views the sick, the poor, the elderly and the unborn as unworthy of protection and dignity.
The pope has also discussed how the proliferation of prostitution and sex-trafficking has made many women part of a society that views everything and everyone as commodities to be used or thrown away.
“How many of you pray for these women who are thrown away, for these women who are used, for these girls who have to sell their own dignity to have a job?” Francis asked during his morning homily Friday.
The pope is expected to highlight this issue of throw-away culture during his trip to Ireland in August.
(H/T: The Associated Press)