Pope Francis respects US Supreme court decision and condemns abortion
By Pope staff reporter
Pope Francis has responded to the U.S. Supreme Courtâs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which returned power to regulate abortion to the individual states, saying he respected the decision, but had not studied it enough to comment on it from a juridic point of view. âI tell you the truth. I donât understand it from a technical point of view,â he explained, adding, âI have to study it because I donât really understand (the details of) the ruling 50 years ago and now I canât say whether it did right or wrong from a judicial point of view.â However, he said, âI respect the decisions.â
The science and morality of abortion
The Pope went on to consider the question of abortion itself, saying, âLeaving that [the Supreme Court decision] aside, letâs go back to the issue of abortion, which is a problem.â He said it is important to look at what science has learned in the past few decades: âIn this we have to be scientific, see what science tells us today. Science today and any book on embryology, the one our medical students study, tells you that 30 days after conception there is DNA and the laying out already of all the organs.â
He asked, âIs it legitimate, is it right, to eliminate a human life to resolve a problem?â He insisted, âItâs a human life - thatâs science. The moral question is whether it is right to take a human life to solve a problem."
Pope Francis made the remarks in an hour-and-a-half-long interview with Reuters correspondent Philip Pullella, published on Monday.
The Holy Father also emphasized the importance of a pastoral approach to Catholic politicians who support abortion, saying, âWhen the Church loses its pastoral nature, when a bishop loses his pastoral nature, it causes a political problem. That's all I can say.â
Rumours of impending resignation
The interview, conducted in Italian with no aides present, covered a wide variety of topics, including swirling rumours that the Pope might be planning to resign, possibly during an upcoming trip to LâAquila. The Italian city, as Pullella notes, is associated with Pope Celestine V, who resigned in 1294; and with Benedict XVI, who is thought to have foreshadowed his own resignation when he laid his pallia on Celestineâs tomb during a visit to the city in 2009.
âAll of these coincidences made some think that the same âliturgyâ would happen,â Pope Francis said. âBut it never entered my mind. For the moment no, for the moment, no, really.â However, he said, âwhen the time comes that I see that I canât do it [run the Church, because of bad health] I will do it [resign].â The Pope noted, âThat was the great example of Pope Benedict. It was such a very good thing for the Church. He told popes to stop in time.â
When asked directly when he might resign, Pope Francis responded, âWe donât know. God will say.â
Cancer rumours
Pope Francis denied rumours that cancer had been found during an operation last year to remove part of his colon. âYes, they took out 33 cm of my colon, the sigmoid colon, for diverticulitis. It went well. It took more than six hours of anaesthesia and thatâs why I donât want to have surgery here [on the knee], because anaesthesia leaves traces.â
When asked about reports that the doctors discovered cancer during the operation, the Pope replied, laughing, âThey didnât tell me about it. They didnât tell me. They explained everything to me well - full stop. No [cancer].â
He denounced reports to the contrary, saying, âThat is court gossip. The court spirit is still there in the Vatican. And if you think about it, the Vatican is the last European court of an absolute monarchy.â
The Popeâs knee
The Pope went on to give further details of the specific health issues, explaining, âItâs a ligament that became inflamed, and because I walked badly and this walking badly moved a bone, [this caused] a fracture there and thatâs the problem.â
Now, he said, âI am well; I am slowly getting better I am slowly improving and technically the calcification has already occurred, thanks to all the work done with the laser ... and magnet therapy.â Now, he said, âI have to start moving because thereâs a danger of losing muscle tone if one doesnât move. Itâs getting better; it gets better.â
Papal journeys
Health issues with his knee forced the postponement of his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, a trip that would have taken place this week. Pope Francis said the decision to postpone the trip caused him great suffering.
However, he said, âI will do the one to Canada because the doctor told me, âWith 20 more days you will recover.â But [they told me] this trip [to Africa] is a health risk. Thatâs why I stopped it.â
A visit to Russia?
With regard to possible future travels, Pope Francis said, âI would like to go [to Ukraine], and I wanted to go to Moscow first. We exchanged messages about this because I thought that if the president of Russia gave me a tiny window, I would go there to serve the cause of peace.â
Now, he said, âItâs possible, after I come back from Canada; it is possible that I [might] manage to go to Ukraine. The first thing is to go to Russia to try to help in some way, but I would like to go to both capitals,â that is, Kyiv and Moscow.
The Pope noted that, with Russia, âthere is still that very open dialogue, very cordial, very diplomatic in the positive sense of the word, but for the moment itâs OK; the door is open.â
A summary of the first part of Philip Pullellaâs interview was published by Reuters on Monday, with future installments expected on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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