Pope Francis Tells World Youth Day Participants to Oppose Abortion, You Must “Defend Life”

Pope Francis urged young Catholics to “defend life” from the threats of abortion and euthanasia during a special luncheon Thursday in Lisbon, Portugal with representatives from around the world.

The meal with the pope and other church leaders took place during World Youth Day, an annual gathering that brings together hundreds of thousands of young Catholics from across the globe. Along with speaking to the crowd, Pope Francis also hosted a private meal for 10 young adults where they discussed topics ranging from faith and soccer to abortion and euthanasia, according to the Catholic News Agency.

Clara Yacolca Farfan, 24, of Peru, told CNA they asked the pope for advice about stopping abortion and euthanasia. Many countries in South America, including Peru, protect unborn babies from abortion, but pro-abortion groups, largely funded by wealthy Americans, are putting intense pressure on their lawmakers to legalize abortion on demand.

“Some of us asked for advice on how young people today can face some issues that are difficult, that are very talked about. We talked about euthanasia, abortion,” Yacolca Farfan said.

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She said Pope Francis urged them to “defend life” because every human being is “sacred.”

“We know that there are people that go through very strong situations, but the pope invited us care for life, because it is sacred and to do it from wherever we are,” she told CNA. “We don’t have to do big things. Simply, if you work in politics, defend life in politics, in whatever job you have, defend life in whatever your position is.”

Another attendee from South America, Luis Cruz Duarte, 31, of Colombia, said the pope reminded them to care for the elderly as well.

Using a soccer analogy, the pope told the young Catholics to “be goalkeepers in life, and to prevent the bad things in life from scoring goals on you,” Cruz Duarte said. He also encouraged them “not to leave grandparents on their own.”

Others who attended the luncheon included young adults from the United States, Portugal, Brazil, Philippines, Palestine and Equatorial Guinea, according to the report.

The Catholic Church teaches that every human life, from conception to natural death, is valuable because he or she is created in God’s image, and killing innocent human beings, whether by euthanasia or assisted suicide, abortion or infanticide, is wrong.

Pope Francis repeatedly has condemned the killing of unborn babies in abortions, likening it to hiring a “hitman” to kill a child. However, he also has faced criticism for appointing pro-abortion academics to the Pontifical Academy for Life, an institution dedicated to defending life.

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