Pope compares abortion to hiring a hit man to solve problems

Andrew · Oct 10, 2018

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VATICAN CITY (AP)*- *Pope Francis compared abortion to a mafia-style killing Wednesday, saying it's the equivalent of hiring a hit man to "take out a human life to solve a problem."

Francis made the comments, among his strongest yet against abortion, during his weekly Wednesday audience dedicated to the commandment exhorting the faithful not to kill.

Francis said some people justify abortion as respecting other rights. But, he asked, "How can an act that suppresses innocent and defenseless life as it blossoms be therapeutic, civil or simply human?"

He asked if it was fair "to take out a human life" to solve a problem: "Is it fair to hire a hit man to solve a problem? It is not fair. We cannot take out a human being, even if it is small."

It was the second time within recent months that Francis has expressed the church's longstanding opposition to abortion in violent, stark terms.

In June, Francis denounced how some couples resort to pre-natal testing to see if their unborn babies have malformations and then choose to have an abortion, which he said was the "white glove" equivalent of the Nazi-era eugenics program.

Francis has framed both abortion and euthanasia as part of what he calls today's "throwaway culture," where the sick, the poor, the elderly and the unborn are considered unworthy of protection and dignity by a society that prizes instead individual prowess and success.

Official church teaching opposing abortion is absolute, providing for no exceptions. That said, Francis has acknowledged that women sometimes are driven by circumstance to abortion and he has extended the ability of ordinary priests - and not just bishops - to absolve them of the sin of abortion if they repent.

Francis' comments came during a three-week meeting of bishops from around the world on young people, where sexuality, including premarital sex, is among the topics of discussion.

Catholic teaching on abortion has been in the headlines lately, including during the divisive confirmation process of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Jesuit-educated Catholic whose vote could overturn legalized abortion in the U.S.

In addition, senators in Argentina rejected a bill in August that would have legalized the procedure in Francis' home country.

Source: http://www.fox26houston.com/news/pope-compares-abortion-to-hiring-a-hit-man-to-solve-problems-1

Josiah · Oct 10, 2018

NewCreation435 · Oct 10, 2018

I'm glad he is clearly speaking out against this violence

psalms 91 · Oct 10, 2018

JRT · Oct 19, 2018

It is obvious that both the female egg and the male sperm have a form of life but no one would call either a person. When they unite to form a zygote it certainly is alive. There is a potential person there and a great many people would claim that it actually is a person. Let us grant for a moment that the zygote is a person and let us call that person Mary. I choose a female name since all embryos are female until about the sixth or seventh week.

Now, we all know that a zygote develops into an embryo through the process of cell division. Every now and again the first cell division does not produce a two celled embryo but rather a second zygote --- identical twins. Did Mary suddenly become two persons? Was Mary two persons to begin with? Was Mary even a person to begin with? Let us set those questions aside for the moment and grant that the second zygote is also a person whom we shall call Margaret. It is entirely possible that one or both of these zygotes could divide again to result in triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets etc. The same question applies as to whether one person can became two, three or more persons. When does a person become a person?

These questions might be difficult enough but now it becomes even more complex. Sometimes two eggs are fertilized to form non-identical twins. Once again, let us call them Mary and Margaret. Rarely the two zygotes merge together again to form a two celled embryo. This is called a chimera. Who is this new embryo? Is it Mary or is it Margaret? This new embryo, this chimera, let us call it Mary, develops to term and is born. There is now no question at all that Mary is indeed a person. But here is the odd thing, some of the organs of Mary carry her genes but other organs carry the genes of her twin sister Margaret. So Margaret continues to exist within Mary or perhaps it is Mary within Margaret. Do we have two persons within a single body?

These very serious questions of person-hood arise only if we assume that the soul is infused at conception and that the brand new zygote is fully a person. Is there a more reasonable understanding? I believe there is. Personally I believe that the developing fetus becomes a person only when it is able to survive outside the womb. Sentience occurs at about the same point in the pregnancy very late in the second trimester. For this reason I am against abortion beyond the twentieth week except in very rare extreme circumstances.. Otherwise I believe that abortion should be legal, it should be safe, it should be available and it should be the woman’s informed choice but most important of all --- it should be rare. In conclusion, we should always keep in mind that there is no more powerful abortifacient in the world than poverty.

psalms 91 · Oct 19, 2018

JRT said:
It is obvious that both the female egg and the male sperm have a form of life but no one would call either a person. When they unite to form a zygote it certainly is alive. There is a potential person there and a great many people would claim that it actually is a person. Let us grant for a moment that the zygote is a person and let us call that person Mary. I choose a female name since all embryos are female until about the sixth or seventh week.

Now, we all know that a zygote develops into an embryo through the process of cell division. Every now and again the first cell division does not produce a two celled embryo but rather a second zygote --- identical twins. Did Mary suddenly become two persons? Was Mary two persons to begin with? Was Mary even a person to begin with? Let us set those questions aside for the moment and grant that the second zygote is also a person whom we shall call Margaret. It is entirely possible that one or both of these zygotes could divide again to result in triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets etc. The same question applies as to whether one person can became two, three or more persons. When does a person become a person?

These questions might be difficult enough but now it becomes even more complex. Sometimes two eggs are fertilized to form non-identical twins. Once again, let us call them Mary and Margaret. Rarely the two zygotes merge together again to form a two celled embryo. This is called a chimera. Who is this new embryo? Is it Mary or is it Margaret? This new embryo, this chimera, let us call it Mary, develops to term and is born. There is now no question at all that Mary is indeed a person. But here is the odd thing, some of the organs of Mary carry her genes but other organs carry the genes of her twin sister Margaret. So Margaret continues to exist within Mary or perhaps it is Mary within Margaret. Do we have two persons within a single body?

These very serious questions of person-hood arise only if we assume that the soul is infused at conception and that the brand new zygote is fully a person. Is there a more reasonable understanding? I believe there is. Personally I believe that the developing fetus becomes a person only when it is able to survive outside the womb. Sentience occurs at about the same point in the pregnancy very late in the second trimester. For this reason I am against abortion beyond the twentieth week except in very rare extreme circumstances.. Otherwise I believe that abortion should be legal, it should be safe, it should be available and it should be the woman’s informed choice but most important of all --- it should be rare. In conclusion, we should always keep in mind that there is no more powerful abortifacient in the world than poverty.

It is quite simple, God said I knew you before you were in the womb so it is a no brainer. Life starts at conception and abortion is murder

Albion · Oct 19, 2018

It is an interesting lecture, JRT, and youve got the usual slogans down pat. But there don't seem to be any pro-abortion leaders or organizations or Congresspersons who are willing to modify the abortion-on-demand system we now have, not at all. Not even to prohibit delivering the child and then killing it.

Pope compares abortion to hiring a hit man to solve problems

Andrew

Matt 18:15

Josiah

simul justus et peccator

NewCreation435

Well-known member

psalms 91

Well-known member

JRT

Well-known member

psalms 91

Well-known member

Albion

Well-known member