Pope Francis launched a historic criticism against surrogacy by describing it as a “deplorable” practice. The Pontiff even asked for a global ban as soon as possible. In his annual foreign policy address to diplomatic envoys accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis mentioned surrogacy on his list of threats to global peace and human dignity. Even throughout his intervention, the degree of threat placed it on the same level as climate change, migration, and the war in Ukraine.
Pope Francis Criticizes Surrogacy
Pope Francis made a very harsh statement about surrogacy, especially when it became a mechanism for commercial purposes.
“I consider the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood to be deplorable, which represents a serious violation of the dignity of women and children, based on the exploitation of situations of material needs of the mother. “A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.”
It is not the first time that Francis has expressed the Catholic Church‘s opposition to surrogacy, although the Vatican’s doctrinal office had previously said that children born from surrogacy to homosexual parents could be baptized, as long as there was ‘hope’ well-founded belief that the child will be educated in the Catholic religion.
“The path to peace requires respect for life, for all human life, starting with that of the unborn child, which cannot be suppressed or turned into a commercial product.”
Pope Francis and a New Controversy With the LGBT Community
In the same speech on Monday, Francis also reiterated his condemnation of ‘gender theory’ that challenges the binary categories of man and woman, describing it as ‘extremely dangerous, since it cancels out differences in its claim to make everyone equal.’
Francis has been praised by some for leading a more progressive Catholic Church, especially when it comes to acceptance of the LGBT community; Just a few weeks ago, he approved that priests could bless same-sex couples. However, he has maintained conservative positions in other areas, such as abortion.
This story was written in Spanish by Miguel Fernandez in Cultura Colectiva News.