"In any book of embryology, it is said that shortly before one month after conception, the organs and the DNA are already delineated in the tiny fetus before the mother even becomes aware," he said in the interview released Monday, Nov. 28.
"Therefore, there is a living human being. I do not say a person, because this is debated – but a living human being."
The pontiff's remarks during the interview did not sit well with many critics, as the personhood of unborn children is a hotly contested topic in the United States – especially in the context of abortion. The Fourteenth Amendment states: "Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
While the pontiff did not say something heretical in his answer to the question on abortion, LifeSiteNews co-founder John-Henry Westen noted that an earlier document reiterated the personhood of unborn children. Westen cited the 1987 document "Donum Vitae," which stated that the "human being must be respected – as a person – from the very first instant of his existence."
"From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a new life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother, said the 1987 letter. "It is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would never be made human if it were not human already."
Pontiff harboring contradictory stances on the abortion issue
The Catholic magazine's interview with the 85-year-old Jesuit pontiff also touched on an inquiry about the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion – which was purportedly polarizing American Catholics.
"Abortion is killing a human being to resolve a problem," Pope Francis said. However, the supreme leader of the Catholic Church said the problem "arises when this reality of killing a human being is transformed into a political question, or when a pastor of the church uses political categories."
The Jesuit admitted that there is a failure of pastoral care in approaching this problem, adding that "we cannot deal with [abortion] as if it is only a civil matter."
However, Francis did not explain how he thought a bishop or priest could explain church teaching in a way that was pastoral but not political and he declined to give an opinion on whether the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops should present the fight against abortion as its preeminent concern.
"This is a problem the bishops' conference has to resolve within itself," he said. "The sacramental part of the pastoral ministry is in the relationship between the pastor and the people of God, between the bishop and his people. And this cannot be delegated to the bishops' conference." (Related: Report: More than 10K abortions PREVENTED in the first 2 months of Roe v. Wade overturn.)
Pope Francis has been known for having a tolerant view on important Catholic topics such as same-sex unions and LGBTQ ideologies, saying in 2020 that gay people "have a right to a family." He also pushed for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines and claimed that taking them is an "act of love."
Abortions.news has more stories about the rights of unborn children.
Watch John-Henry Westin comment on Pope Francis' refusal to call unborn children as persons below.
This video is from the LifeSiteNews channel on Brighteon.com.
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