Pope Francis called for action to
remove women from pressure to have abortions in a message to a
Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica for the Italian Movement for Life
on Saturday.
"I encourage you to advance the social protection of motherhood
and the acceptance of human life in all its stages," Francis,
who is being treated for bilateral pneumonia in Rome's Gemelli
Hospital, said in the message, which was delivered on his behalf
by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
"The unborn child represents, in the fullest sense, every man
and woman who does not count, who has no voice," he said.
"Taking their side means standing in solidarity with all the
discarded of the world.
"There is still, and now more than ever, a need for people who
dedicate themselves to the service of human life, especially
when it is most fragile and vulnerable.
"A just society is not built by eliminating unwanted unborn
children, the elderly who are no longer independent, or the
incurably ill".
(see related).
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