Pro-Life, Bio-Ethics, and Disabilities

In a wide-ranging interview with the Reuters news agency, Pope Francis condemned abortion, dismissed the idea that he's preparing to resign and said he still hopes to be able to visit Russia and Ukraine in the fall.

In a wide-ranging interview with American journalist Philip Pullela of Reuters, Pope Francis covers topics such as the recent US Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the possibility of resigning, the decision to postpone his planned Apostolic Visit to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and his hopes for a trip to Moscow and Kyiv.

With the reversal of Roe, Judy Orr, executive director of Catholic Charities in the Nashville Diocese, and the agency's adoption and pregnancy counseling staff expect an uptick in the need for those services.

Nancy Pelosi took Communion during a Mass presided over by Pope Francis on Wednesday.

For almost three generations of Americans, abortion has been not only a constitutional right but a fact of life.

Although Friday’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade rightly has been styled as a monumental victory for the pro-life movement, observers warn it’s likely to trigger a series of acrimonious political fights, with some states clamping down on abortion access and others expanding it.

A truly pro-life celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade would lead to cooperative efforts to pass legislation protecting life, women's rights and motherhood, said an editorial in Vatican News and L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade is "tremendously important" for the nation and the cause of life, but it's not "a day simply for celebration," said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

In affirming the law 6-3, the high court also voted 5-4 to overturn 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide, and 1992's Casey v. Planned Parenthood ruling, which affirmed Roe.

Before the vote, Section 219a prohibited the offer, announcement or advertisement of abortions if done for commercial purposes or in a grossly offensive manner, reported the German Catholic news agency KNA. Some doctors had been prosecuted for offering information on abortions.

The Church also has a long history of assisting and advocating for the voiceless and those in need. Through the years, the Church in the United States has responded with compassion to expectant mothers in crisis or with unplanned pregnancies.

WASHINGTON - In response to the Supreme Court of the United States issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement:

As Bishop of the Diocese of Tucson, I stand in solidarity with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in support of the historic opinion handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court today in the Dobbs case. 

On the eve of the World Meeting of Families and with a view toward the beatification Sept. 4 of Pope John Paul I, attention turned to his initial openness to softening Catholic teaching on contraception and his later support for the teaching of St. Paul VI.

Church leaders in Italy have called life a gift and have urged greater closeness to the sick and suffering after the death on Thursday of Federico Carboni, the first person in the country to successfully avail himself of assisted suicide.