This Monday, Pope Francis described the practice of surrogacy as “deplorable” and called on “the international community to commit to banning worldwide this technique, which is illegal in Spain and in which a woman carries a child for third parties.” . The pontiff made these statements in the traditional speech at the beginning of the year before the accreditation of the diplomatic corps to the Holy See.
“The path to peace requires respect for life, especially human life, starting with the unborn child, which cannot be oppressed or converted into a commercial product. In this sense, I consider the practice of so-called surrogacy to be regrettable,” he said. In his opinion, this not only constitutes a “serious violation of the dignity of women and children” but is also “based on the exploitation of the mother’s material need.”
“A child is always a gift and never the subject of a contract. “I therefore call on the international community to commit to banning this practice worldwide,” he said. “Human life must be preserved and protected at every moment of its existence, although I note with regret, especially in the West, the continued spread of a culture of death that singles out children and the elderly and the sick in the name of false compassion.” , emphasized Francis.
The pope also sharply criticized the “gender theory,” which he deemed “extremely dangerous.” “Unfortunately, the attempts made in recent decades to introduce new rights that are not entirely compatible with the rights originally defined and are not always acceptable have led to ideological colonization,” he explained. And among them “gender theory occupies a central place, which is extremely dangerous because it erases differences in its claim to make everyone equal.” “Such ideological colonizations cause wounds and divisions between states rather than building them up of peace,” he stated.